Organised Walking Routes on Tenerife – Walk to the Cave of Hermano Pedro

Admittedly this walk isn’t going to get the lungs going or test those leg muscles, but it involves an interesting little pilgrimage to the cave of the Canary island’s one and only saint, Hermano Pedro. It’s also guaranteed to give an insight into what much of the real Tenerife is about.

The walk begins in El Médano’s plaza at 21.00 and the route to the cave takes about 45 minutes. Many people carry lanterns and bring food and drink so that they can have a nocturnal picnic beside the cave before making the return journey at around 22.45.

Okay, it isn’t really a walk as such, but it is a nice little bit of local tradition to experience.

Date: Friday 18th September

Walking on Tenerife: Organised Routes – The Almond Walk at Vilaflor

This sounds like a lovely little walk organised by the council in Vilaflor. Juan Antonio, an expert in keeping old island traditions alive, is organising a harvest of the almond crop. The walk begins in Vilaflor’s picturesque square before heading into the area’s alpine-esque countryside for 5 kilometres to a charming finca where the almonds will be harvested and loaded onto mules.

Afterwards there’s a picnic in the pines (bring your own food and drink). It sounds absolutely delightful.

The harvested almonds are due to be sold at the almond fair in Aripe (Guia de Isora) on the 8th November and proceeds sent to a hospital in Guatamala which was founded by Vilaflor’s very own saint, Hermano Pedro – so it’s for a good cause to boot.

Date: Saturday, 26th September.

Anyone wanting more information should call Montse, or María José on 922 709 802 at Vilaflor Town Hall.

Walking on Tenerife – Into the Eastern Anaga Mountains

Yesterday was one of those days where I turned into ‘Mr Bean does Walking Tenerife’.

We were exploring some new routes in the north eastern Anaga Mountains and by the end of the day my hat and sunglasses had blown down a barranco, I’d nearly ended up on my backside three times, I had a grazed foot, a bruised ankle, sunburnt knees and cactus spines embedded in my right leg. Andy escaped completely unscathed.

As we hadn’t been walking for some time we decided to ease back into it with what I thought would be a relatively easy route beyond Igueste.

Route details were typically scarce save for one brief online Spanish description which sort of said there’s a hard bit at the start and a hard bit at the end and that was about it…hmmm.

But surprise, surprise the initial stages of the route were clearly signposted with the walkers’ yellow and white markers.

Did I say we thought it was going to be an easy route? Anyone who knows the Anaga Mountains will know that ‘easy walking in the Anagas’ is an oxymoronic statement. Any route is going to involve lots of ups and downs.

This one was a real thigh tester. The path was good hard volcanic rock, but it snaked directly upwards and walking in the September sunshine made the ascent just that little bit more strenuous. However, numerous stops to catch the breath and glug down plenty of fluids gave us the opportunity to soak up the scenery. There was a bit of a haze, so the vistas weren’t as impressive as they would be on a clear day, but still we could see the outline of Mount Teide dominating the centre of the island and the coast all the way down to Las Galletas.

One of the things which fascinates me about the Anagas is that they are full of sleepy little villages and hamlets stuck in time and yet the island’s bustling capital is only a relatively short drive away. From our position on the hillside we could see the little town of Igueste, with its fruit trees and neat plots, and also in the distance, the ultra modern Auditorio gleaming in the sunshine – complete opposites.

The path seemed to climb upwards for ever before we eventually reached the top and almost immediately began a steep descent – what was that about a hard bit at the beginning and end? Where was the bit in between? Walking markers became scarcer and then petered out altogether along with the path at a curious abandoned lookout point called the Semiforo where there were pretty amazing views along the coast on one side and over a deserted remote bay on the other.

At this point we decided to try another route. The path became less of a path and more of a goat trail and I picked up injury number one as my heel made contact with a pointed rock (not normally a problem, but I was wearing walking sandals, so had no real protection for my foot). The goat trail climbed to an old derelict building (strangely with a brand new door) on the summit of a ridge and just as we arrived the cloud descended and the wind blew up a gale. Andy sensibly decided to stay sheltered beside the derelict building whilst I went to explore an old mirador, which is where my hat was rudely removed from my bonce, taking my sunglasses with it and thrown down a barranco by the wind. I picked up the grazed foot and leg-full of cactus spines while Andy sat blissfully unaware that I was risking life and limb to retrieve a pair of cheap sunglasses and a NYY baseball cap which was probably older than some NYY players.

Unfortunately the low cloud made the views of secret and completely remote valleys less impressive than they should have been and we headed back down to Igueste along a trail which had seemed solid on the way up, but on the way down became a slithery trail of scree. Cue three ‘cartoon stepping on marbles moments’, which Andy at least found very amusing, before we emerged back at Igueste.

Overall, it was satisfying to give the leg muscles a decent workout and it was interesting to explore a new area, but whether to include it as a walking route when we complete our eastern Anaga routes, we’re unsure. I’m still deciding if ending up with a pin cushion leg was a price worth paying.

Walking on Tenerife – Tenerife Government to Improve the Network of Paths

Good news for walkers on Tenerife, I hope. The Cabildo have just announced that they are going to invest 2.3 million euros in improving 135 kilometres of forest paths and recreation zones between Los Realejos, San Juan de la Rambla, La Guancha, Icod de los Vinos, Garachico, El Tanque, Santiago del Teide and Buenavista del Norte.

It’s another step forward in developing Tenerife as the ideal walking destination and looks as though we might have to start thinking about investigating new walking routes in those areas.

You might have noticed that I said ‘I hope’ at the start, but that’s only because part of the press release talks about one of the machines which will be used which sounds like something out of the Transformers. it’s called the ‘StoneCrusher’ and everyone knows what boys and their toys are like – so I’m just hoping they don’t get carried away and it ends up more destruction than creation.

Walking on Tenerife – Simply Stunning Scenery from Off the Beaten Track #1

Although it’s true that you don’t need to spend hours walking to find some of the most stunning views on Tenerife (our driving guide includes many of what we consider the best views you can get on the island from some incredible miradors) what walkers are more likely to experience are views that people who stick to their cars, or coach excursions, will probably never see.

Because much of the information and even photographs about Tenerife in print and on the web still sticks to the well worn tracks, walkers who explore Tenerife’s countryside are almost guaranteed to emerge from a forest, or over the top of a hillock and find themselves going ‘WOW’.

We’ve been walking, exploring roads and researching this island online and in libraries for almost 6 years and there are still plenty of occasions where we’ll turn a corner and stop in our tracks and one of us will announce. “Well, I’ve never seen a picture of that before”. Such was the case with this bullet shaped rock in the Anagas - spot the little houses built into the cleft halfway up the rock.Even Tenerife’s iconic Mount Teide can still surprise. Ask me 3 years ago ‘where do you find the best views of Mount Teide’ and I might have said from El Sauzal. Ask me 2 years ago and I might have answered ‘from the coast at Icod de los Vinos on a clear day'. Last year I would have probably responded with ‘Oh, definitely from the hills above El Tanque’ after viewing it from a completely new angle where the mountain seemed to rise menacingly from the pine forest rather than the volcanic landscape of the Las Cañadas crater. Next year no doubt I’ll have a different answer. But hopefully you get my point. When you’re walking in different areas, the mountain changes its aspect, revealing many faces from various angles.
It is just one of the many rewards facing visitors who take the time to explore Tenerife’s great outdoors

Every month we’ll post another couple of shots of Tenerife’s beauty spots from a walker’s perspective.

Walking on Tenerife – Favourite Refreshment Stops

At Real Tenerife, we love that feeling when you come to the end of a long, immensely satisfying walk when the end is in sight and you know that in a few moments you can slip out of the hiking boots and into some soft sandals – it’s a bit like ‘skinny dipping’ for the feet. However, what’s even better is to plonk yourself down at a welcoming hostelry and order an ice cool beer as a reward.

It’s something we feel is an integral part of a really good walking package – spectacular vistas, diversity of landscape, interesting curios along the way, challenging but not soul destroying terrain, attractive flora and fauna and a cosy little bar to collapse into at the end.

We have a few personal favourites across the island.

In the Anaga Mountains, the Cruz del Carmen restaurant is a sanctuary for walkers and local forestry workers, especially when the bruma descends and chills through to the bone. We’ve found ourselves held prisoner by the ambience here for a couple of hours after we’ve finished a walk in the past - the horizontal rain outside the window didn’t help with motivating us to leave.

There are great other little bars in tiny hamlets as well, places where you feel you’re their first customer in days. In a bar in Chamorga, the owner had to break off from painting her nails to serve us. Another fave is Casa Carlos on the road which runs along the Anaga’s spine. On a clear day, the views of the lush mountains are something quite special.

Up above Santiago is one of the most popular walkers’ bars on Tenerife, Bar Fleytas. It’s perfectly placed as a starting and finishing point for exploring the Erjos Pools and the Valle de Santiago – and they have great home made almendras.

In Teno Alto the little bar is more like a mix of corner shop (not a lot of items) and bar. Grab a beer and sit on a wall in the sunshine as abuelas wander by with clumps of aromatic herbs in their hands – it epitomises the simple pleasures in life.

At Ifonche in Adeje, the Tasca Taguera is a higgledy piggeldy mix of cable drums turned into tables and vine covered terrace where bags of water hang like decorations (apparently to keep the mosquitoes away). It’s the most bohemian feeling walker’s bar we’ve frequented.

My favourite of all is the La Caldera bar and restaurant. For me it’s just the perfect walker’s rest. Log cabin exterior, chunky wooden tables and benches, a roaring log fire inside (essential for winter months when the cloud descends), fresh trout on the menu and any number of little birds like Canary Island Tits, Blue Chaffinches, Capirotes and Robins looking for easy pickings. We never go into the place before setting off on a walk as the walk would probably never happen if we did.

There are more great little places and I’m sure others have their own personal favourites. We’d love to hear about any little gems that any of you walkers out there might know about.

Walking in Tenerife – News - Barranco del Infierno Closed

Anyone planning on walking in the Barranco del Infierno in Adeje in the near future is in for a disappointment as it’s closed for a bit of TLC and improvements over the next few weeks.

Nearly €362,000 is being spent on improving one of Tenerife’s most popular walks, renovating water channels and cutting back overgrown vegetation and should last about a month (just remember a Tenerife month isn’t the same as a month anywhere else).

We’ll let you know when we hear that it’s open again. Meanwhile there are plenty of other great walks on Tenerife and what’s more, the others are all free.