“What’s your favourite walk on Tenerife?”

At one point in the past I might have immediately replied. But the more we walk on Tenerife, the more difficult that question becomes to answer, especially as some walks have seasons and can be much more spectacular in spring than in summer when the landscape just about everywhere is brown and thirsty.

A few weeks ago we’d walked in the Anaga Mountains, checking our route from Cruz del Carmen to Chinamada. The weather was as good as we’ve seen it in the Anagas, making the views of the area’s challenging peaks and back-breaking terraces (back-breaking if you’re a local farmer) all the more inspirational and surprising if you’ve never had the joy of seeing this incredible part of Tenerife.

It is the big country – epic and remote; a place that could easily be the adventure playground of Elves, Dwarves and big-footed Hobbits (we’ve recently re-watched Lord of the Rings).

It is about as far removed as most people’s image of Tenerife as you can get.

As we negotiated its narrow trails, it was my favourite walk on Tenerife.

A week later and we were in the Teno Mountains on another beautifully clear spring day being wowed by views that we hadn’t seen before thanks to low cloud or hazy visibility. A snowy Mount Teide from Teno Alto was a thrill of a surprise; however, it was dwarfed by a vista of the mysterious Teno Mountains, El Palmar and Teide was one of the best views we’ve seen on Tenerife. It could easily have been a landscape somewhere in South America. Combined with slopes bedecked with regal carpets of wild flowers and a shimmering Atlantic at their base, this was surely my favourite walk on Tenerife.

Jump forward another week and we’re in the upper La Orotava Valley; the scent of pines and occasionally eucalyptus acts like a delicious narcotic and butterflies and bees are bustling about in the wild blooms. With the developed lower valley obscured, the scene in front of us across the sea of pines must be not a lot different than when Alexander Von Humboldt was moved to extol the valley’s beauty 200 years ago.

It’s a scene that does inspire a poetic outburst and at that moment I can think of no place quite so stunning on Tenerife (heady scent, hot sun and sense of carpe diem resulting in short term memory loss).

Therein lies the problem in picking a favourite walking route on Tenerife. It would be a crime to compare those three areas alone. The scenery is different, the terrain is different, even the flowers and trees are different. But they all have the capacity to deliver a serious whack to the solar plexus on a regular basis.

And that’s even without venturing into the weird wonderland that is one of the most unusual places on the planet, Teide National Park.

Head north or into the hills and it’s a very different canvas; there spring has erupted (not always a good word to use given the volcanic nature of these islands) in an explosion of colours courtesy of an army of flamboyant wild flowers.

Anonymous fields have turned from ugly ducklings into stunning swans. Apart from being pretty on the eye, the kaleidoscope of colours scream ‘here comes the warm weather’. In truth, the warm weather didn’t actually leave Tenerife and the other Canary Islands but when you live here you notice the change.

It’s a scene that adds an extra jauntiness to the step and makes those vertical goat trails all the more manageable.

Last year, a worrying drought meant that spring’s arrival wasn’t accompanied by the sort of displays of wild flowers that make walking on Tenerife at this time of year such a soul pleaser. The return of the November rains and the handful of showers since has resulted in a spring display that has come back with a vengeance. We don’t remember seeing such a profusion of wild flowers in recent years.

All of the images below came from one walk in the Teno Mountains. We’re not experts in flora, and research materials relating to flora on Tenerife can be a bit hit and miss, so apologies if I’ve misidentified any and feel free to correct; it would be appreciated.

Corn poppies (papever rhoeas). Possibly my favourite wild flower. You don’t have to head into the hills to find poppies. A bus journey from Los Gigantes to Icod de los Vinos will expose you yo plenty of these wonderful wild ones.

I’ve struggled to pin down the long, gangly yellow flowers in this shot. The closest I’ve managed to come up with is charlock, a type of wild mustard, but I’m not convinced, so any alternative suggestions would be welcome. Adding to the contrast are cirsiums and viper’s bugloss which is out in spectacular force at the moment.

These alien looking flowers have a great name – bladder campion (silene vulgaris).

This lovely, lilac cirsium lends a slightly Scottish vibe to the Tenerife hills. Add the Tenerife flag and it really might get confusing.

A nice combination of white and orange from the elegant asphodel (asphodelus tenuifolius).

There were gangs of Canary Island bellflowers (Canarina canariensis) tumbling down stone walls along our route. They looked particularly impressive when the sunshine lit them up like a lamp.

St John’s wort is used as a herbal treatment for depression; seeing the Canary Islands’ version  (hypericum canariense) against a sky like that does tend to chase away the blues.

The wild fennel in these parts gives the local cheese an exquisite flavour. But I’m not sure if the goats actually munch on these giant fennel (ferula communis).

Another sign of spring in the west, red tabaiba or spurge (euphorbia).

Simply a glorious sight; fields of viper’s bugloss (echium plantaginum) and eruca sativa.

There were lots more flowers in bloom but to include them all would have made this blog similar to the scenery we enjoyed during our walk – epic.

Jack is co-owner, writer and photographer for BuzzTrips and the Real Tenerife series of travel websites as well as a contributor to lots of other places. Follow Jack on Google+

However, last month we were on a press trip to La Isla Bonita, La Palma where we joined a couple of organised walking groups. It was an interesting and extremely enjoyable experience (the walking routes were out of this world). But with various experienced walkers struggling with the heat, ascents, descents and river crossings it also brought home to us how much we had adjusted to walking in the Canary Islands and how people from cooler climes with different landscapes might find walking on Tenerife just a little bit different.

Heat
It seems obvious but temperatures on Tenerife and the other Canary Islands can make, what seems on paper, a relatively straightforward hike into a challenging one. Even in September you could find yourself walking in temperatures above 30C. On forest trails, with a light mountain breeze to help, this can feel exquisite, especially if you’ve just experienced a rotten summer. But on unshaded routes those temperatures can be a killer.
On La Palma, one of the group we walked with, who was in her 20s, struggled seriously under an unrelenting sun. And she had a hat, endless water supplies from fountains and a river from which to soak a towel that was placed around her neck to cool her down. The attentive guide Jonás shepherded her to the end of the route. Although it was a classic of a walk,  it was clearly not an enjoyable experience on her part.
Tip: Take note of forecasted temperatures, if high temperatures are predicted steer clear of open spaces. Always, always make sure you have plenty of water (take a lot more than you normally would on a hike in cooler climes), pack a hat that covers the head and the neck and take plenty of sun cream.

Rain
Rain is relatively infrequent on Tenerife’s coasts, even in the north and even in winter. It’s less so the case in the hills, but even there you’d have to be unlucky to experience heavy rainfall. When the island does have heavy rain (often around the change of seasons in October/November and February/March), there can be monsoon-like downpours and even flash flooding.
Tip: Heavy rain rarely comes without a warning so, in winter months especially, check reputable forecasts like AEMET before setting off walking in the hills – if there’s an alert for heavy rain, don’t chance it. Often these alerts don’t affect all parts of the island, so there’s usually somewhere dry to walk.

Altitude
Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain, is 1,344 metres in height. Mount Teide touches the skies at 3,718 metres and a lot of the good walking on Tenerife starts at around the 1000 metre mark. The air is thinner and although altitude sickness doesn’t normally affect people below 2,400 metres, you will notice a difference, especially given the nature of Tenerife’s terrain (see below).
Tip: Don’t head off in gung ho style, take time to adjust to the differences.

Ascending
Tenerife’s landscape climbs from sea level to high altitude over a very short distance. The island’s slopes are filled with deep ravines. Both of which means that many routes are going to involve quite steep ascents. Personally I prefer ascending to descending but if you’re not used to walks that can rise 600 metres or more in the space of a few kilometres, it might involve a lot of huffing, puffing and grunting.
Tip: If  you’re fit it shouldn’t pose a problem but if you’re more used to walking on less undulating terrain try a couple of shorter Tenerife walks before attempting any biggies.

Descending
What goes up must come down and descending down goat trails over a long distance can put a lot of pressure on knee joints and also force toes right up against your walking shoes, potentially causing damage to the nails. One of the people we walked with in La Palma had almost completely lost one of his nails after a long descent.
Tip: Knee supports can be a life-saver if a number of walks that involve lengthy descents are planned. As for the toes, keep the nails very, very short.

Stunning Views
They come as standard on most walks on Tenerife. Often paths are narrow and ravines are deep.
Tip: Always take the time to stop to soak up the views. It’s much more satisfying… and safer.

I’ve always felt that exploring the countryside with someone who knows the lay of the land, as well as having a rucksack packed with humorous and interesting anecdotes, is a good way to get to know a new hiking destination… if you don’t prefer exploring on your own.

There’s no real difference between lone hikers and organised groups; we all have the same ethos, a love of the countryside and, importantly, respect for other walkers.

Or so I thought until the last time I hiked the Masca Barranco.

Walkers are nice people – they stand aside to let each other pass by and they smile a hello (hola here).

Not so some of the organised groups in the Masca Barranco.

Our first clue that all was not as it should be was when we stopped early in the walk to let a few people in a walking group pass us. The group turned out to number around thirty people. Not one smiled or said ‘thank you’ or ‘gracias’ or even ‘danke’ as they trundled past. We were two, they were thirty. Had they done the math, they would have realised that had they stood aside, all of us would have been able to move on a lot quicker.

By the time this happened with another couple of groups we were getting mightily hacked off with the rudeness displayed by these organised groups.

We’d never experienced this before in eight years of hiking in the Canary Islands.

However, what really had the steam coming out of the ears was when rude behaviour became dangerous behaviour. After we’d reached the beach, eaten lunch and had a bit of a rest, we made our way back up the barranco (the masochistic leg). At one point an organised group had stopped to rest on a rocky section with drops on both sides of the path. The group completely blocked the way ahead and, as we tried to manoeuvre around them, not one of them budged to let us actually use the path. It meant we would have had to scrabble around the edge to proceed. As none of the people in the group seemed to understand English or Spanish, I resorted to communicating in Anglo-Saxon as I barged through.

I was furious that they were so clueless that they’d force people off the path at such a dangerous section. And I was even more furious that they had a so-called experienced guide who allowed them to do so.

Unfortunately this sort of behaviour is clearly not uncommon. There was a thread on TripAdvisor not so long ago from a woman who broke her ankle because of having to detour from the path due to a group who wouldn’t budge to let her past.

Having traversed the barranco both ways, passing hundreds of walkers, gave us some clues as to why there is a lack of walking ethics and savvy in that wonderful place that you simply don’t encounter anywhere else walking on Tenerife.

Like the Barranco del Infierno in Adeje, the Masca walk attracts people who aren’t used to walking in the countryside. They simply don’t know how to conduct themselves and many are not in a suitable condition physically to undertake the walk. It is not easy terrain and to make matters worse, there is a race against time to catch the boats at Playa de Masca that transport walkers back to Los Gigantes.

The group that blocked our way had stopped because one elderly man had fallen and cut himself badly. Whilst we were in the barranco, a Guardia Civil helicopter flew through the ravine on its way to rescue another walker. This happens time and time again. There are people who simply should not be attempting this walk.

That they are in this position begs the question, why are walking companies allowing people who clearly aren’t capable of a hike of this level to join their groups? And also why aren’t they giving more guidance about ethics and common sense when walking the barranco?

In the midst of a seemingly never-ending crisis, there would appear to be an obvious answer.

An inexperienced walker forcing other walkers onto dangerous ground is down to ignorance; an experienced guide allowing them to do so is simply not acceptable.

Here’s our message to any walking company guilty of the things I’ve mentioned. You’re responsible for the people you take out on hikes. Don’t cut corners and take risks with people who lack the necessary fitness levels. We don’t want to be victims of your sloppiness.

Note: Most walking companies on Tenerife are reputable and behave in a responsible manner. The Masca Barranco is unique. As the most popular walk on Tenerife it could be seen to be a bit of a money-spinner and subsequently might attract businesses who don’t always adhere to the same code of ethics as is found elsewhere walking on Tenerife.

There’s nothing particularly spectacular about this shot but it sort of sums up some of the reasons why the Anaga Mountains are our favourite area for walking in Tenerife. They make you feel quite small.

Other walks on Tenerife are beautiful with plenty of WOW moments, but the Anagas are wild and untameable and that gives them a thrilling edge to go with their rugged good looks.

It’s a savage, often difficult landscape that makes visitors work hard to discover its glorious plunging ravines and dense forests and furthermore it boasts a personality that couldn’t be more removed from the shiny, new resorts near the other end of the island.

If the Anaga Moungtains don’t impress then you might as well give up travel altogether because everywhere is going to be a disappointment.

This photo was taken on our Stepping Back in Time walking route.

This week there were at least two. One involved a 70 year old walker injuring himself after falling from a path just outside Puerto de la Cruz. There’s not much anyone can do about accidents apart from exercise as much care as possible…but every walker knows that.

The second story was about a visiting walker having to be rescued from Las Cañadas del Teide by helicopter after becoming completely lost. There is something everyone can do about this type of situation. Don’t head into Tenerife’s countryside unless you’re prepared.

Tenerife offers fantastic walking routes through a dramatic scenery and sometimes demanding landscape. Despite welcoming millions of tourists to its resorts each year, much of Tenerife is wild and untameable. Steep and deep ravines where farming is nigh on impossible characterise the length of the island. The wonderful climate that attracts visitors also has forests and plants growing at a rate you wouldn’t believe – paths can quickly become overgrown and difficult to spot.

We’ve followed pilgrims’ routes to find ourselves trapped by a thorny sea of brambles feet from our destination, a cave where the resident saint (a sculpture of at least) looked on pitifully at our progress. We’ve followed routes through ravines that were officially recommended to come to dead ends and spooky abandoned mining camps. We’ve even followed a route that suddenly ended where the path had collapsed into a deep, black abyss. The very first time we went walking in the Anaga Mountains armed with a map issued by the visitors’ centre we got hopelessly lost in dense forest where it was so thick that every direction looked exactly the same (in truth the map was so poor that you wouldn’t have been able to use it to find the visitors’ centre from the car park). We’ve followed signs to find that whoever put them up had obviously gotten bored half way around the route and simply stopped putting signs up.  And we’ve followed signposts that actually take walkers away from what we consider to be the highlight of the route.

All of these and many more have been adventures. It’s exploration and involves the satisfaction of feeling you’re taking on nature. But we live here; we have the time to invest in testing out routes that may lead to a ‘WOW’ sight or, alternatively, nowhere. And, importantly, we know the terrain. We know the lie of the land and where things are, or where they should be. Take down a signpost or even a lone hut that acted as a helpful landmark and we can still figure out which is the right way to proceed… with or without a compass.

Someone on holiday for two weeks doesn’t have that luxury and heading into the wilderness without preparation when you’re not familiar with the terrain could be asking for trouble. It doesn’t matter whether you buy our routes or someone else’s but the reality is that the freebie walking map in the tourist office isn’t actually going to help you when the way ahead becomes unclear.

You’d think that it would be difficult to become lost walking in Las Cañadas del Teide where Mount Teide mostly acts as a guiding beacon… but people manage it.

The Barranco del Infierno has been closed to the public for more than two years and there appears to be little sign of anything changing in the near future.

Reports suggest that both the Tenerife Cabildo (Government) and the local authorities in Adeje want the Barranco to re-open but there has to be an agreement between both before it can happen. However, where the Cabildo suggested that the Barranco del Infierno could open if walkers were told of the risk and provided with a safety helmet, the local council in Adeje felt this wasn’t enough of a guarantee against injury and subsequent possible proceedings against them for criminal liability.

The result is that an impasse has been reached until this particular part of Tenerife’s natural beauty is made completely safe – not something easily achieved where nature is concerned.

We checked the situation at the Barranco del Infierno out this week and sure enough the small offices and the gate at the entrance to the ravine remains closed. A sign warns of the risk of entering the ravine but, whilst we tucked into Adeje’s famous pollo al ajillo (garlic chicken) at Otelo’s, I counted four groups of walkers who completely ignored the warning signs.

I can understand why the sign is ignored. All experienced walkers know that nature can be dangerous, it’s not a situation that is exclusive to the Barranco del Infierno. When walking on Tenerife, just like walking most places, you’ve got to be aware of your surroundings whether there is or isn’t a warning sign.

The Barranco del Infierno may be closed but there are still plenty of people unofficially enjoying the second most popular walking route on Tenerife.

The situation regarding Hell’s Ravine remains…well, hellish.

But the weather is about as close to perfect as most people would want – it is warm and dry for most of the year. And that is on any coast despite popular misconceptions.

But, despite other popular misconceptions, there are seasons on Tenerife. The island does enjoy spring, summer, autumn and winter. The differences may be more noticeable in some parts than others; if all you’re doing is lying on a beach that might amount to being less hot in spring, autumn and winter months than in summer.

If you’re planning on walking on Tenerife, being aware of the differences in seasons and how they affects the weather is essential, especially at this time of year as we move into the winter season.

Whilst the winter months are in many ways perfect for walking, with the temperatures not as demanding and the scenery more vibrant and lush than in summer months, there’s a reason for this. Rain.

Rain on Tenerife isn’t frequent but sometimes when it falls it does so with monsoon-like force, especially on higher ground. Flash flooding happens most years with the most likely months being November and February.

Only a couple of weeks ago a group of walkers in the Caldera de Taburiente on La Palma had to be rescued during heavy rainfall. The Spanish press often runs reports of walkers being rescued because of adverse weather conditions. Yet often this need never happen.

The Spanish Meteorological Office AEMET have an excellent website that has a detailed weather forecast for each municipality on Tenerife. It also warns in advance of extremes of weather. They issue weather alerts ranging from yellow (low risk) to red (things are going to get serious).

Anyone planning on walking on Tenerife should make sure they are aware what weather forecast is before they set off. If there’s even a yellow alert for rain in the location you’re planning on walking – don’t go. It’s as simple as that. A yellow alert can easily become orange and anyone caught on the slopes of the Anaga Mountains in monsoon rains could find themselves in a lot of trouble.

Similarly, if the alert is for high winds, we’d advise against walking. It’s just not worth the risk. Check out the damage caused by the wind to the forest in the upper La Orotava Valley in the picture below and you can see why. These pines were snapped in half as easily as if they were matchsticks.

For anyone staying in a hotel, receptionists often have information about the weather but usually it is just for the area around the hotel. It’s essential to find out the weather forecast for the walking location you’re heading for. Tenerife has a number of micro-climates, so whilst it might be sunny in the resort, the weather in the hills in a different location may be positively apocalyptic.

For that very reason weather alerts don’t necessarily mean that plans for walking on Tenerife have to be scuppered. Simply be flexible and head to a different area where there isn’t an alert in place.

Most of the time, the weather will be perfect for walking on Tenerife, but in winter months especially it’s always worth taking a few minutes to check out the weather situation before heading into the hills.

There isn’t a great amount of wildlife in Tenerife’s hills so it always nice when we stumble across something other than birds, butterflies and bunnies. There are plenty of goats wandering the countryside in Tenerife and they’re usually good for a silly shot. This inquisitive fellow was in the Teno Mountains and seemed perfectly happy to go into stereotypical goat on a rock pose .

We’d traipsed around Santa Cruz to map out our first town and city walking guides and enjoyed the countryside in other locations from the Highlands of Scotland to the Picos de Europa. But there’s nothing quite like Tenerife’s sheer volcanic slopes to challenge the thigh muscles. So, having cleared a space in the diary, yesterday we headed along the north west coast of Tenerife to Garachico for a walk that although not very long is a bit of a lung buster, especially in August temperatures that hover around the 30C mark.

The route runs from Garachico to San Juan del Reparo – more or less straight up the hill. Garachico was looking bright and perky in the summer sun and all spruced up for the Romería de San Roque and a helpful sign post had been erected since we last did this walk. But like so many of the walking routes on Tenerife, after the first kilometre the positioning of some signposts could have confused walkers not familiar with the area.

It was around this point that we encountered an obstacle that halted us in our tracks. A plastic barrier had been placed across the path and a sign had been taped to it which told us that the route was closed because of the risk of rock fall. Sure enough, there were a few rocks scattered across the path just beyond the barrier. Not for the first time the authorities had blocked off a route not at the start but at a point some way along the route. We’d just walked a kilometre straight up from Garachico and were not happy bunnies.

This lack of thought and basic common sense on the part of the authorities on Tenerife sometimes makes my head want to explode. It doesn’t take a great brain to figure out that a sign at the start of the walk would be more helpful…and yet that little nugget appears to be beyond them.

The reason for the path being closed is also frustrating and has its roots in the tragic rockfall on Los Gigantes beach in 2009. Councils on Tenerife are terrified of being held responsible if anyone is injured by rockfall in their municipality and subsequently some beaches and walking routes, like the Barranco del Infierno in Adeje, have been closed…indefinitely.

Experienced walkers know that care should always be exercised anywhere where there are ravines, cliffs etc. Closing off nature to walkers because of the risk of someone being injured is a nonsense, especially when you consider that paragliding, windsurfing, rock climbing and other extreme sports are being promoted by the same people who close walking routes.
I grew up in the country and we didn’t have signs telling us where was and where wasn’t safe. But knowing the countryside I respect nature and am aware of its power.

The upshot is that we ignored the sign and carried on. We did this for a number of reasons. The earth was dry and we knew the path beyond the area of the rockfall was solidly built and had existed for a couple of hundred years – it was an old merchants’ route. Another was that sometimes the authorities put up signs and forget to take them down. We’ve passed signs blocking paths because of men at work when the men at work had long gone. So we tend to treat these sort of things as guidelines and make a judgement based on the evidence in front of us.

We’ve also got a theory that the authorities put up these signs simply to cover their backs. Why they don’t just put up a sign saying walk in the countryside at your own risk I don’t know.

Anyway we continued on, enjoying more spectacular views of Garachico way below with every step and pausing beneath shady pines to escape the heat and catch our breath. On route we were passed by a family of German walkers, from young children to gran and grandpa, and a number of Canarios in sportswear obviously using the old path as a training course…oh, and a dog lazing in the shade of a fig tree (there’s almost always a dog).

What we didn’t encounter was any more evidence of rockfall…apart from the lava stream that ran parallel with the path, but that obviously occurred 300 years ago.

It was a wonderful and invigorating walk and I’m glad we ignored the signs. Non-walkers may consider it foolhardy. But here’s the thing that experienced walkers are only too aware of – nature can be dangerous with or without a sign.

It’s the people who aren’t aware of that who are at most risk.