Wolfgang Reinelt - pictures Gomera & Tenerife (2003)

outdoor @ wolfgang-reinelt.de	Hiking Tenerife, 2003

Tenerife - would that be beach, sun & pensioners? Or is there anything else? Yes. There is no beach but Spains highest peak in the centre and the north is not always sunny :-)
Good spots to hike include the Cañadas, for instance Teide, Guajara (don't get lost...), Paisaje Lunar or Roques de García. Outside Cañadas try Roque de Taborno in the very north or the Masca valley in the south (good luck, we didn't see that much since it is not always sunny on Tenerife, see above). The Pyramides of Güímar weren't that convincing but there's nothing to walk anyway. You will not be alone when doing these walks, but the crowd of walkers is not too big there, the entry of Roques de García being an exception.

Teide should be one goal. Probably the best to do is to go up to the cabin in the evening and proceed to the very top next morning for sunrise.
Some preparations are needed: you'll need a permit for Teide's top, which you get in Santa Cruz (see guide book for the adress). When applying for the permit, you need to make decision for the day to get up and a 2hr time slot on that day (9-11, 11-13, 13-15, 15-17). Also bring a passport and a copy of at least one passport (within one group) to leave at the office. The permit is free.
In the case that you stay in the Refugio de Altavista over night, yhen you need to make areservation at the tourist office in Santa Cruz (not in the place where you get the permit!). You are then asked to pay the money to the refugio's account at Caja Canarias (which has a branch around the corner) and return the receipt to the tourist office. Only then, the reservation is valid. 12Euro is a rough figure for one adult/night. All these preparations will pretty much kill a half day :-(

Then.....the big moment: finally going up! Try to pick a day with only few clouds in order to over the island and probably see Teide's shadow moving over La. Gomera during sunrise. Walking times are 3-4 hrs from the parking lot down at the street to the cabin (so you'll have some time to visit for instance the ice-cave near to the cabin), and 1 1/2 hrs from the cabin to the very top (even in darkness; to be at the top at sunrise leave the cabin at 6am - in December). Be aware of the fact that the cabin is open 5pm-6:30am (no typo!), meaning that people who want to sleep longer should take the smaller hut right of the main building. Paperwork to bring is the receipt that you already paid for the overnight stay, and permit & passport for the top.
The cabin has stove, plates, knives etc that you could use. There will be no drinking water and no food, this should be in your backpack. The beds and blankets were surprisingly OK and warm, no need to bring a sleeping bag (an inlet would be fine). The remaining equipment should cover hat, gloves, long underwear, windproof jacket and windproof trousers.
HAVE FUN and enjoy the sunset & sunrise at Spain's highest peak. Yes, and the phone networks are pretty OK on the top so that you can tell everybody once you made it up there. A suitable way down is then the route via Pico Viejo or a one way ride with the cable car.

Stuff to read:

Klaus und Anette Wolfsperger: Teneriffa. Bergverlag Rother, 2002. Includes good descriptions for the main walks and lots of practical information. Also available in English in the Cañadas tourist office.
Tenerife photos by Erwin Harkink

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