Walking on Tenerife – Organised Hikes – Chinyero

It’s 100 years since the last volcanic eruption on Tenerife when rivers of lava spewed from the Chinyero volcano and threatened to engulf villages in the Santiago del Teide Valley. Anyone who’d like to visit the scene of the crime might be interested in the organised walk arranged by the Tenerife Cabildo on Saturday 23rd May. Places are limited so book your passage now. The route starts in San José de Los Llanos and should take around 6 hours…as long as Chinyero doesn’t decide to celebrate its centenary with a bang.

Price: €5 (includes breakfast and insurance)

Call 922 136 715/ 922 815 705 for more information

Walking in the Teide Crater - An out of this world plant for an other-worldly landscape

The next few weeks are an ideal time to explore Las Cañadas del Teide on foot. In truth any time of year is perfect for venturing deep into the incredible landscape which makes up Teide National Park and after a few minutes walking from even the busiest tourist hot spots you’ll soon find that you have the awe inspiring scenery all to yourself.

But what makes the next few weeks extra special is the flowering of the incredible tajinaste plant. On terrain as epic as this it takes something special to drag the eye away from the basaltic lava fields and the coils of pahoehoe spilling down the mountainside like dried wax. The tajinaste is more than up to the challenge. Its vibrant red spikes mock its surroundings, a loud splash of colour against an earthy canvas. It’s an alien life form in an other-worldly environment and even when you photograph it, the results don’t look real, like a Photoshop creation instead of nature’s.
And if you think I’m exaggerating, go see for yourself. You’ve probably got until about mid June to see the tajinaste fields at their best.

How to get lost walking in Tenerife

Here’s a confession which might raise a Roger Moore style eyebrow from anyone thinking of buying any of our Real Tenerife Walking guides…I have become lost many times during my exploration of Tenerife’s wonderful countryside.

I’ve followed forest paths in the Anaga Mountains where the vegetation has just become thicker and thicker as the path got smaller and smaller until I had to concede that a bird’s trail through some leaves didn’t constitute a path. I’ve trekked three hours to see the incredible Paisajes Lunar only to find the path ended at an outcrop above said rock formations…so close and yet so far (a bit of dry slope skiing sorted that dilemma out). I’ve reached crossroads in the middle of the forest above Garachico where every direction looked like a mirror image of the other three. My best was to spend an hour walking through dense laurel forest to end up at an outcrop about 20 metres from where I started.

Not much of a vote of confidence you might think; however there’s another side to this story.

On every occasion I had route instructions in my possession. Some were freebies provided by the Island’s government, some were ones which I’d bought. In some cases I was following signs which basically gave up the ghost at various points during the route, in others the route had been mysteriously changed by the powers that be and I ended up on a wild goose chase. In one ‘squeaky bum’ experience, the official route I was following fell away and I was left to inch my way along a narrow water course above a sheer drop into a bottomless abyss (the imagination doesn’t help at times like that).
I have certificates for map reading, so I always take a compass with me…not that it’s always helped; on one occasion the compass icon on the ‘route map’ I was using had north in the wrong place; which I didn’t notice until I’d gone way wrong. Eventually though, I’ve always found the right route.

The point is this there’s a big country out there. The more rewarding routes sometimes have the fewest walkers and, especially where there are forests involved, finding the right path is not always as easy as it might sound.

I guess what I’m really saying is that I’ve gotten lost walking all over Tenerife so that you won’t.

Tenerife Guided Walks – Erjos Pools to Portela Baja

Arona council are organising a guided walk from the Erjos Pools to Portela Baja on the 25th April. The route is classed as being of medium difficulty and is about 8 kilometres long; it should take around 4-5 hours.

It’s €10 to take part and there’s a maximum of 25 places.

Call 922 761 600 to register.

Tenerife’s Most Popular Walk – The Barranco del Infierno (Hell’s Ravine)

It’s got a great name and it’s known as Tenerife’s most popular walk.

The Barranco del Infierno’s proximity to the main tourist resorts probably has more to do with it earning the title of Tenerife’s most popular walk than anything else. Lying at the top of Adeje old town, it’s easily accessed from Playa de las Américas, Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos and for that reason it attracts people who may not normally venture too far into the countryside. It’s not uncommon to see people arrive at the entrance to the walk dressed as though they were about to spend a day at the beach.

Basically the route involves venturing deep into a ravine, criss-crossing a trickling stream until it ends at a magical little grotto where there’s a small waterfall; anyone expecting Angel Falls might be a tad disappointed. Along the way it’s worth looking out for falcons, kestrels, wagtails and tiny green frogs in the little pools that run parallel with the path. The walk to the waterfall and back again takes around three hours.

There are a few factors which set this particular walk apart from hiking in other parts of Tenerife – some positive, others less so. Firstly for conservation purposes the number of walkers is limited to 200 people per day, so booking a reservation is recommended, if a bit at odds with walking most other places on the island where you can just more or less go where and when you want. There’s also a charge of €3 to enter the ravine; another unique aspect. Having a kiosk marking an entrance to a walk makes me think of the toll gate in Blazing Saddles.

The walkway itself has been nicely developed, but if you like your countryside paths to be more of a ‘walk on the wild side’, you might find it borders on being a tad manicured.

The big difference for me is the ‘kit inspection’ before you’re allowed to enter the ravine. Seeing the state of some people who turn up, I understand the safety reasons behind it, but it’s very ‘nanny state’ and it just doesn’t happen anywhere else on Tenerife.

However, saying all that, it is a very pleasant walk and the existence of streams, pools and a waterfall on the arid south coast is fascinating in itself. Serious walkers might find it not particularly challenging, but it’s a good introduction to exploring Tenerife on foot.

For me, walking the Barranco del Infierno is akin to reading an abridged version of a classic book.

Barranco del Infierno official website: There’s a downloadable pdf about the walk here.

Spring: A Magical Time for Walking in Tenerife

If you happen to be staying on Tenerife at the moment, take my advice and head into the hills at the first opportunity, the landscape is ablaze with a spectacular display of wild flowers. Possibly one of the best areas to experience nature’s artistic hand is in the northwest hills around Santiago del Teide, El Tanque and above Garachico.

It’s a few weeks since we walked in that area and at that point the hedgerows and borders of the little agricultural allotments were just beginning to fill with profusions of scarlet, violet and buttercup yellows.When we travelled the road the other day there were stretches where carpets of vividly coloured wild poppies covered the verge; it was stunning and I wished I’d had my walking boots in the car so I could just park up and head off along the first path I saw.

Walking on Tenerife - San Miguel to Mirador Centinela

One of the factors which makes Tenerife ideal for walkers is that, within reason, you can pretty much walk everywhere. You don’t tend to get red faced farmers jumping up and down waving sticks at you.

Camino Reales (old trading routes) and goat trails from past centuries have left a network of paths across the whole of Tenerife. Some are quite short and perfect when you want to stretch the legs, but aren’t in the mood for a 20 kilometre hike.

One of these is the camino real linking San Miguel de Abona and the Centinela Mirador in the south of Tenerife.

Armed with a route guide we picked up free from a tourist office we headed up hill to the starting point at San Miguel.

I’ve got a soft spot for San Miguel. It was the subject of our first location report for Living Tenerife Magazine and it was the place that made me realise that even in the main tourist areas in the south, you don’t have to travel far to find the Real Tenerife.

What happened next highlighted something we’d been saying ever since we started exploring this island on foot. Many of the officially produced guides are nice enough to look at, but are little more than guidelines in practice.

We couldn’t find the start of the route. There were no signpost and the directions in the guide didn’t match reality. We saw a postman so decided to ask him where the camino real was. You’ll never guess his reply…

“Hmmm, sorry…I don’t know where it is,” then he added a classic. “I don’t know this area very well.”

Talk about instilling confidence. We searched the area and eventually, after exploring a couple of back streets, settled on a road which looked promising. Within a few minutes we knew we’d chosen well. A tell tale cobbled path led into a barranco and soon we left the town behind and had descended into a barranco where the only sounds were the haunting cries of a pair of kestrels.

It was fascinating to think of the traders who had treaded this path in the past. Despite being able to see the airport and some of the modern coastal resorts like El Médano way below us, it felt as though very little had changed up here in 100 years. The path snaked past old jablé terraces and rundown cottages emerging onto a tarmac road with no signs. It took a bit of searching to find where the camino real started again near a place called La Hoya where there was a small, mostly abandoned, settlement of traditional agricultural architecture and an old tile kiln.

Just past La Hoya there was a wonderful little rural hotel. It was in a beautiful location, but we wondered how much business it would get out here. However, when you think about it though it might be ideally placed; feeling as though it’s in the middle of nowhere, yet it’s only short drive from Tenerife’s modern resorts of Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas.

We continued along the path until we emerged just below the Centinela Mirador. If you were starting the walk from the mirador, you’d be hard pressed to notice where it started as whoever landscaped the area around Centinela had completely obscured the path.

Conveniently placed benches below the main building were ideal for having a rest and some lunch. We tucked into our bocadillos whilst also feasting on some of the best views of the south coast you’re likely to find.

It’s a great little walk and opens up a very different face of the south of Tenerife. One note of warning; the Centinela Mirador is a wonderfully scenic spot for lunch, but the second you unwrap the bocadillos you’ll find yourself starring in a lizard version of Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’.
The San Miguel to Centinela walk is part of The Old South Island Walks, delivered to your email within 24 hours.