Walking in a Mountain wonderland in Tenerife

The Teno Rural park in the west of the island is probably best known as the location of the village of Masca, where tourists flock in their thousands to explore the remote, idyllically situated village and walkers to stretch their legs in the barranco down to the sea. Yesterday morning, as I drove through, I was early enough to have the place to myself as I headed further up the valley to the village of Carrizal Alto. Leaving the car and the main road, I descended the narrow road from the slumbering, upper village to Carrizal Bajo, as I admired the surrounding mountains and impossibly steep cliffs that sheltered the villages from the strong wind that blew isolated puffs of cloud across the tops of the mountains. On the outskirts of the lower village, I left the road to begin a mountain walk that will rank among the best I have ever done. Soon, I was climbing steeply from the Barranco Carrizal as gusts of wind tugged at my clothing and the views became ever more expansive. Cresting the top of the first ridge, I stood agape admiring the sea of peaks and ridges spread out around me as far as I could see, clinging to the rocks to avoid being blown from my lofty perch. 

The Amazing Anaga Mountains in Tenerife

For me, the most beautiful part of Tenerife is The Anaga Mountains in the far north-east of the island and this walk didn't disappoint. The initial part of the walk to the cave-house village of Chinamada was impressive enough but from there, the long descent into Barranco del Tomadero on the path to Los Batanes was simply epic. Surrounded by jagged, towering peaks and beautiful flora, this path entered a magical world of trickling streams, rock pools, croaking frogs and cave houses. At one point, the 'path' was nothing more than a few narrow footholds in the rock accompanied by chains as handholds to assist you.Reaching the tiny hamlet of Los Batanes, the climbing began and for around two hours, the path climbed relentlessly up, while the stunning views helped to take your mind off of the climb. In all the walk took 6 hours.

Moonscapes and Waterfalls in Tenerife

 A walk to the Lunar Landscape and Fuente Madre del Agua waterfall in the south of Tenerife

Cloud Drifting Over Teide

A short video clip taken from the Degollada de Mesa

Exploring the Barranco del Rey in Tenerife

Early morning cloud drifts over the mountains

Most hikers who have walked in the south of Tenerife will be familiar with the Barranco del Rey. The GR131 long distance trail flirts with this impressive gorge in it's initial stages and as it departs Arona, on it's journey to La Esperanza in the north of the island, it crosses the ravine before heading off into the hills. 

A Walk to Cuevas Negras and the Cascada Lomo Morin in Tenerife

Today, I set off on a walk to the mostly abandoned settlement of Cuevas Negras, deep in the laurel forest in the Barranco de Las Cuevas Negras, in the Teno Mountains in north-west of Tenerife . Starting from the village of Erjos, I descended steeply before leaving the path after a couple of miles to the village of Tierra del Trigo. After climbing out of the Barranco de Las Cuevas Negras, I paused for a break by some abandoned buildings on the Lomo del Topo from where I had stunning views to Los Silos and the Isla Baja. After my break, I continued towards the village of Tierra del Trigo and just before the village, took a path running alongside a water channel filled with water rushing down the hillside. The path ended where the water channel finished, with the water then simply tumbling down the hillside. This is the Cascada Lomo Morin, which in the bottom of the valley, becomes an impressive waterfall. Unfortunately, the path to the falls in the valley has become so popular with walkers posting photos and video of themselves standing under it on social media that it has been closed to walkers by the addition of a locked gate at the start of the path. The number of walkers using this unofficial path had become a problem for local people working in the area so the authorities felt it necessary to take action. Having enjoyed the view from the top of the cascade, I made my way to the village before climbing steeply back to Erjos, which was something of a slog in the heat. Despite this, the views throughout the walk were simply stunning.

The Canal de Vergara & Black Mountains

A video taken last week from a hike and overnight camp on the edge of the National Park. I hiked up from Chio late afternoon and pitched my tent just as the sun was setting on the edge of the Teide National Park. The stars were incredible! The following morning, I got up in time to watch the sun come up and hiked to the summit of Montaña de La Botija for some stunning views before hiking back down to Chio. 

Montaña Colorada & Las Casas de Teresme

This walk started from the Las Lajas recreation and camping area on the Teide road above Vilaflor. The route initially followed the marked trail to Adeje as it headed for Montaña Colorada, which certainly lived up to it's name 'Red Mountain'. The next landmark was the ruins of the Casa de Teresme, where I paused for a break as the cloud slowly began building up. I then crossed a number of barrancos and in the first of these I passed the Galeria El Rosario before climbing steeply out and heading towards Alto de Chimoche. After crossing the Barranco del Agua and Barranco del Rey,I descended via Guayero to Ifonche before finishing in Arona. The whole walk was 13.5 miles/21.7 kilometres and took 7.25 hours, passing through some quiet, spectacular countryside, although some of the far reaching views to the coast were spoilt by the haze.

Climbing Montaña Blanca in Tenerife

Yesterday's walk took me from the lower cable-car station to the summit of Montaña Blanca, which is a hill on the flanks of Teide reaching just over 9,000ft in altitude. The path is signposted from the roadside below the cable-car station and is easy follow as it passes through the awesome, other-wordly landscape of the Las Cañadas National Park. Crossing the road at the small Montaña Blanca parking area, I joined the crowds of people heading up towards the start of the Teide path. The initial trail is a fairly easy, steady climb on a wide track in incredible scenery with views across to La Foretleza and the bulk of Teide looming above. Soon, the path passes the Huevos del Teide or Teide Eggs. These huge boulders are giant accretion balls, formed as they rolled downhill on slow moving lava flows and gaining in size like huge snowballs. Soon, I reached the split in the path where the path to Teide turned right and I watched the line of people heading up into the cloud that had now formed on the volcano as I headed left to the top of Montaña Blanca. The views from the top were superb but there was a very cold wind blowing so I didn't linger long before turning and heading back.

A Las Lajas circular walk

Montana Colorada

Las Lajas is a campsite and recreation area sitting at around the 7,000ft/2,100mtr altitude on the main road from the south of the island to the Teide National Park. I set out on this walk on a beautiful morning and headed for a path contouring around Montana de Las Lajas and descended a very steep, slippery and eroded path enjoying the stunning views towards the south coast and to nearby Montana Colorada.