Walking holidays in Tenerife and La Gomera
Holidays in the sun are great, especially when the UK is experiencing cool and wet autumnal weather. But for walkers, after a day or two's recovery it's time to do some exploring. The Mediterranean resorts usually have lots of sunbaked hillsides to climb, if you can find a goat track through the thornbushes to a rocky (often limestone) summit. Tenerife is a rather different place for walking.
The landscape of Tenerife has been created in the not-so-distant geological past by tremendous volcanic forces, the results of which can be seen not only in the vicinity of El Teide but also in old craters and lava flows in many parts of the island. It's also a relatively hot and dry island, so that there are many areas with limited vegetation, especially in the more arid south. Nevertheless there is a wide belt of forest running like a necklace around the outside of the Teide National Park (the Corona Forestale, or Forest Crown). There are also areas of laurel forest in the Anaga area in the north, and on the neighbouring island of La Gomera. Away from the coasts, farming and plantations soften the landscape.
We only made it to the southern part of the island on this visit, apart from visits to Santa Cruz and El Teide, but the north and north-west are apparently less dry and greener, and less developed for tourism. The "Directions Rough Guide" which I had bought provided useful information on walks in the south - more in fact than the Sunflower Landscapes guide for Southern Tenerife and La Gomera - including relatively short hikes up some of the coastal hills and the popular Barranco del Infierno near Adeje. However it was a family holiday and I think I'd have been walking any of these on my own. The Barranco del Infierno sounds impressive but tricky in places, whilst the coastal hills would have provided no shelter from the heat of the sun.
So, I only have first-hand experience of the climb of Mount Teide. Unlike the lower altitude hikes elsewhere, it had no difficulties for the faint-hearted despite the altitude (which created the main challenge). With the route starting at around 2,300m, it is manageable in the day if you have the right walking gear and plenty of fluid.
The Sunflower Guide for the North of Tenerife by Noel Rochford (simply titled "Tenerife Car Tours and Walks") would provide an excellent companion for anyone who does venture to that side of the island. It details 30 routes, many of them with easier variations so that the number of possibilities is considerable. They are concentrated in the Orotava Valley around Puerto de La Cruz in the north-west, Las Canadas in the Teide National Park, and the Teno and Anaga peninsulas. If you prefer to avoid exposed sections of path you would need to select your route carefully, and the descriptions are detailed and helpful. The landscape of the Orotava Valley sounds particularly attractive and varied,with farmland and forest, ravines and open hilltops, and views of El Teide. There's also information on bus routes which is useful if the route starts and finishes at different points.
We visited Tenerife in October, and it was still rather hot and sunny with temperatures generally 26-30 degress every day. It would be even hotter in the summer, although the higher routes in the north with some shade might be not be too uncomfortable. The winter and spring would probably be the best times for walkers, as it shouldn't get too cold except on El Teide itself and the other high peaks nearby. The flowers in spring and early summer would add further interest to the already impressive scenery.
However, apparently the north often has days of cloud and rain, and strong winds can affect all parts of the island including the south-east coast. Friends of ours went to northern Tenerife and La Gomera a fortnight after us, and only had a few fine days in a two-week stay. They were unable to climb El Teide due to rain and low cloud, and the next day it was covered in snow!
Although we didn't spend time in any of the smaller towns and villages away from Los Cristianos, these could certainly add further colour and interest to many of the walks.
We'd booked our flights and hotel separately on the internet, but as we'd booked the hotel through Thomsons we could still benefit from their entertainment package and courier service. On a family holiday there are plenty of other diversions - going on a half day cruise to see bottlenose whales (and maybe dolphins) offshore; visiting the various waterparks and wildlife parks; shopping; hiring a car to visit other beaches; or just having fun by the pool. The tour companies are very good providing information (and tickets) for these sorts of things, but not so good at giving information on walking possibilities. The Gallery provides a flavour of the southern part of the island from a week's stay.
The scuba diving lesson at Abades was a particular highlight for our daughter, after a taster at the hotel pool - contact EasyBlueWorld if you're interested.
The companion Sunflower guide to Southern Tenerife and La Gomera concentrates mainly on the smaller island of La Gomera, which is reached by ferry from Los Cristianos. It's much quieter than Tenerife, and we had been considering going there before we realised how much the travelling would take out of a one-week holiday. Another year, we would either go to the north of the island or to La Gomera. Relatives recommended La Gomera as a good place for a walking holiday, and Charlie Ralley, who goes there regularly confirmed this. He had just returned from his latest October visit, and supplied the striking photos which are shown here (thanks Charlie).
Valle Gran Rey is the picturesque area on the opposite, western coast of the island to the main town of San Sebastian where the ferry arrives, with the main tourist centre at Playa de Santiago in the south. The volcanic landscape with deep ravines running down to the coast on all sides makes for difficult communications, and the roads have to cross over the higher ground via numerous bends.
Like the larger island, La Gomera is dominated by a single high volcanic peak, in this case Garajonay, which is also protected as a national park. It's much lower, at 1487m / 4880 ft, just a bit higher than Ben Nevis, and as with El Teide the starting point for the walk is more than halfway up, but it passes through very different landscape of laurel forest, farmland and vineyards. As with El Teide, it sounds less challenging in terms of terrain than many of the other walks which, as the book indicates, generally have "at least one vertiginous section." However, there seem to be shorter and easier options in many cases.
Noel Rochford describes a wide variety of these routes and provides detailed maps based on the 1:50,000 military maps which are also available for Tenerife. He also gives lots of advice about being properly equipped and well prepared for unfavourable weather, both on La Gomera and Tenerife.
Contributed by Andrew Llanwarne
Final two images supplied by Charlie Ralley
< Back to Spain page for links to other stories< Back to Tenerife page with links to other stories
Gallery
View a gallery of further images for this story.Comments
Join Walking Stories for free to comment on this story. Have an account already? Log in to comment.
