Tenerife’s landscape creates perfect terrain for hiking with mountains, coastal paths, secluded villages and volcanic geology to offer. Hiking in Tenerife has long been popular amongst Europeans, yet you’ll find seclusion as you explore some of the remote parts of the island.
So get your walking boots on and find out about the best spots to get roaming on your Canary Island trip, with our guide to hiking holidays to Tenerife…
Teide National Park
The volcanic, lunar-like landscape of Teide National Park provides the backdrop for a hiking experience not unlike exploring Arizona or Utah. Gnarled volcanic rock formations and mini canyons characterise the landscape with mountains rising up into often clear blue sky. There are a number of well-marked hiking trails around the park with a printed guide available at the entrance. Rock formations such as the Roque Cinchado make for interesting hiking terrain and scenery.
Mount Teide at Sunrise
Mount Teide stands 3,718 metres tall at the centre of the park and is the highest mountain in the whole of Spain. Many hikers make it their ultimate challenge to reach the summit of the mountain by sunrise. The reward of stunning views over the volcanic landscape of the island and ocean beyond make the early start well worth it. Of course, you will need a good level of physical fitness, map or guide and torches to attempt this climb. Those who begin to feel very out of breath should descend as thin air can cause problems. Pre-dawn temperatures can also be very cold, even in summer.
Lighter Hikes
Alternatively, you can hike the final stretch to the summit of Mount Teide after taking a cable car the rest of the way up. From the end of the cable car the hike to the summit takes around an hour. Montana Blanca, the park’s third highest peak is a much easier walk and still offers very rewarding views, so this is a good option for people seeking a more moderate hike.
Coastal walks
The island’s entire coast is ringed by hiking trails and many of these are of easy or moderate difficulty. Try Los Crisitanos to Las Galletas for nature reserves and stunning views. Lush pine forests and secluded beaches make hikes from the main resorts in the south of the island very rewarding.
Francis Tapon is half Chilean and half French and he was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He’s been to over 80 countries, but he keeps coming back to this magical city because he loves earthquakes.
He spoke Spanish at home, French at school, and English everywhere else. He can get by in Portuguese and Italian, barely survive in Russian and Slovenian, and speak a few other languages.
Francis has an MBA from Harvard Business School and co-founded a successful Silicon Valley company that did robotic vision. He left his technology life to walk across America four times. He has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, and in 2007, became the first to do a round-trip on the Continental Divide Trail. In 2009, he was one of the finalists for the California Outdoors Hall of Fame, which “features nominees who are world-renowned for their skills and who have helped inspire thousands of others to take part in the great outdoors.”
Francis has written a couple of travel books including The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us and Hike Your Own Hike: 7 Life Lessons from Backpacking Across America. He also produced a 77-minute video about his CDT Yo-Yo.
