Six of the Best Tenerife Walks That Are Easy to Access

Since the beginning of the year, we’ve been re-walking many of the routes in our Walk This Way Tenerife guide to make sure they’re still accurate and up to date. We’ve been taking a friend along with us, someone who loves to walk and loves the island but who doesn’t drive. Heading up to La Caldera in the upper La Orotava Valley, we walked The Guanche Way route which proved to be a big hit with our friend and, as it’s so easy to access by bus, he has since been back and walked it on his own.

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Then last week we took him to Garachico to walk our Following The Lava route, one of the walks in the guide that strays from the well known Tenerife walking routes and follows paths unknown to walking groups, long forgotten by merchants and now only used by locals and by cats on their morning constitutionals. Those are some of our favourite routes as you never see another walker. Unsurprisingly, our friend loved the route and because it’s so easy to access by bus, is probably re-walking it on his own as I type.

So it got me thinking…which other of our walking routes are close to centres or easy to access yet, within a few metres can take you right off the beaten track and onto some glorious paths? This is my six of the best of those kind of walks.

Walking The Guanche Way in La Orotava

The Guanche Way, La Orotava
Access: By direct bus (345) from Puerto de la Cruz
Distance/Time: 15km/4hrs 45mins
Difficulty: After an initial, gradual ascent, it’s level forest paths all the way until a small ascent to end.
Beginning from the La Caldera car park above Aguamansa in the upper La Orotava Valley, this route is no longer officially signposted so we didn’t see another walker until we joined the GR131, almost two thirds of the way into the route. Ascending above the forest, fine views over the La Orotava Valley, the north west coast and Mount Teide accompany you on this route which blends forest trails with wide open vistas.

Following the Lava walking route, Garachico

Following The Lava, Garachico
Access: By direct bus (363) from Puerto de la Cruz or Icod de los Vinos; (107) from Buenavista or Santa Cruz
Distance/Time: 7km/2hrs
Difficulty: All the hard work is done in the first third with a long, steady ascent. After that, it’s flat then downhill all the way.
Lots of people know the camino real that rises from the back of the town and connects to San Juan del Reparo, but our route then takes you through San Juan to El Tanque and returns you to Garachico along a little used path with fabulous views across Isla Baja. We can pretty much guarantee you won’t see other walkers on the return route.

Cereal Killers walking route, Guia de Isora

Cereal Killers, Guia de Isora
Access: By direct bus (417) from Costa Adeje; connecting buses (110, 111, 343) from Los Cristianos
Distance/Time: 7.2km/2hrs 30mins
Difficulty: This is an uphill and downhill walk with all the work in the first half.
Accessed straight from the main road and following a trail of dilapidated kilns, abandoned terraces and faded threshing circles, this route takes you on a journey through Tenerife’s agricultural past, to its present day quaint villages. Not far from the south coast, it’s a world away from the resorts.

Camino de la Virgen de Lourdes, Santiago del Teide

Camino de la Virgen de Lourdes, Santiago del Teide
Access: By direct bus (325) from Puerto de la Cruz, Icod de los Vinos & Los Gigantes; (460) from Costa Adeje; (462) from Playa de la Arena; connecting buses (110, 111, 343) from Los Cristianos to Costa Adeje
Distance/Time: 1km/30mins
Difficulty: You’ll be hard pressed to work up a sweat on this one, even though it’s uphill on the way out.
A lovely, tiny walk that takes you above the picturesque village of Santiago del Teide on a pilgrim’s path, to arrive at a pretty shrine of flowers. the views from here are idyllic and it leaves you plenty of time to enjoy the village itself.

Pools & Pines walking route, Erjos

Pools & Pines, Santiago del Teide
Access: See above, alight at Restaurant Fleytas
Distance/Time: 5.9km/2hrs 15mins
Difficulty: A bit of work is required to earn those views but it’s not a testing ascent.
A delightful walk that takes you alongside the dragonfly and duck filled pools of Erjos, ascending into the forest and then emerging with spectacular views over Mount Teide and Pico Viejo.

A Glimpse of Rural Life route, La Orotava

A Glimpse of Rural Life, Aguamansa
Access: By direct bus (345) from Puerto de la Cruz
Distance/Time: 7.6km/2hrs 20mins
Difficulty: A gentle, country walk with a couple of short, steep ascents.
Beginning from the La Caldera car park above Aguamansa in the upper La Orotava Valley, this route follows a panoramic path through pine forest with fabulous views over Mount Teide and the La Orotava Valley before descending along flower-filled paths and gentle meadows to the hamlet of Aguamansa.

 

All these routes are also available as PDFs in our Island Walks routes which are available for immediate download.

Buy all seven Island Walks guides for just €9 (normal price €14)

 

About Andy 74 Articles
Andrea (Andy) Montgomery is a freelance travel writer and co-owner of Buzz Trips and The Real Tenerife series of travel websites. Published in The Telegraph, The Independent, DK Guides, Wexas Traveller, Thomas Cook Travel Magazine, EasyJet Traveller Magazine.

2 Comments

  1. Staying I. Costa adeje 31 January to 3 February- what walking do you have in that period please.
    Thank you
    Blanche Cooper

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