Tenerife is the perfect island for those who want to combine beach life with hiking. The island is highly varied, with lava landscapes, desert terrain, pine forests, and laurel forests. The altitude causes clouds to stop and release moisture in the form of mist and rain, creating a green belt around the island at higher elevations.
Playa de las Américas, Los Cristianos, and Costa Adeje
The best sunshine conditions on Tenerife are found on the southern side of the island, in Costa Adeje. This is also where you’ll find the largest concentration of hotels, with Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos being the biggest resorts. Los Cristianos is an old town with a history dating back to the 1600s. Originally a harbor and fishing village, it developed into a major tourist destination from the 1970s onward. You can still find parts of the old town, now surrounded by large tourist hotels.
Playa de las Américas was a dry desert area that was built up from scratch into a tourism machine, with enormous hotels lined up one after another. The two towns have now grown together.
The sun and the many beaches make this a popular destination for tourists. If you’re traveling with children, they will especially enjoy the numerous beaches and swimming pools. The countless bars may also be a draw for some.
If you want to go hiking, there are plenty of options in the surrounding area, up toward Mount Teide, or you can head north to the Santa Cruz area, where there are many more opportunities.
Santa Cruz and the neighboring town of La Laguna offer a big-city feel with a wide range of restaurants, shops, and museums. La Laguna also has the largest old town of all the Canary Islands.
Read about hiking Northern Tenerife here: Tenerife North– Hiking
Read about towns, villages and landscapes of Northern Tenerife here: Tenerife North – Santa Cruz, La Laguna and Puerto de la Cruz
La Gomera
If you are staying in Las Américas or Los Cristianos, I would also recommend a trip to La Gomera by boat. It only takes 40 minutes. La Gomera is perhaps the most beautiful of the Canary Islands when it comes to hiking. You should set aside a couple of days if you want to see some of the island, for example by crossing it on foot. One night’s accommodation is sufficient.
Read about La Gomera her: La Gomera hiking
Map
As you can see from the map, there are many more options. Blue, yellow, and green indicate trails; orange indicates roads.
The map is a screenshot from the Locus Maps app, using maps from openandromaps.org. Read more about it here:
Down from Teide to Vilaflor, E7
Perhaps the most spectacular trip is from the lunar landscape around Teide, Las Cañadas. Take the bus from the bus station in Las A. or Los Cristianos up to Paradores Cañadas del Teide at about 2100 meters altitude and follow E7 down. Las Cañadas is in itself worth a visit, a wild lava landscape. The first part runs flat through Las Cañadas, but as you pass the edge you get a fantastic view of the landscape down with the sea far down there. Then it just goes down through rugged valleys and eventually pine forest. You pass among other places Paisaje Lunar, which the name indicates appears as a lunar landscape with fairy-tale-like rock information. They look like tall towers of volcanic rock and are known as Tenerife’s foremost natural sight.
You end along a dirt road leading to Vilaflor which is a small village with a shady square with outdoor seating where you can enjoy an ice cold reward far from the hustle and bustle down in the tourist ghetto. Vilaflor is Spain’s highest situated village at 1,420 meters. The church from the 18th century is also worth a visit. The bus takes you back to the city. Check the times in advance, the buses do not leave often.
Alternatively you can also continue E7 down to Arona. The hike is suitable for children from 10 years.
Barranco del Infierno
Barranco del Infierno by Adeje is a narrow gorge that ends in a waterfall after 6 km. It is a nature reserve with access restrictions so you must reserve a permit. The hike inland is easy even for the little ones. There is a rich plant and bird life.
Booking: https://www.barrancodelinfierno.es/en/
Around Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos
Las Galletas
There are several opportunities for shorter hikes near the city. A nice little walk is from Los Cristianos to Las Galletas over the cliff Montaña de Guaza. It runs partly along the sea and is also great for running. From Las Galletas you can take the bus back.
Roque del Conde
Another possibility is a small summit hike to Roque del Conde which can be seen behind Las Americas, direction Teide. Take the bus to Arona, it leaves quite often. Then follow GR131 some distance up, and then the yellow path to the top.
Canal Intermedio
If you stand in Las Americas and look in the direction of Roque del Conde, you can see a horizontal line along the mountainside. This is Canal Intermedio. It can be followed a long way north and offers a nice view. Take the bus in the direction of Arona, but get off two stops before, at Bar Gela. Walk a little back and follow the dirt road to the right and cross the gorges Baranco De la Arena and del Ray. Then follow the path further on. You will meet the canal when you get around the corner of the hill in front of you.
Los Gigantes – Santiago del Teide
North of Santiago del Teide lies a mountainous area with peaks over 1,100 meters high. The area is covered in forest and has many trails. I haven’t been there myself yet, but I noticed that many hikers took the bus in that direction from Puerto de La Cruz. It’s not far by bus from Los Christianos either.
Tenerife North. Santa Cruz – Parque Rural de Anaga
Just north of the capital Santa Cruz lies a rugged mountain landscape, home to the natural park Parque Rural de Anaga. The climate here is more humid than in the southern part of the island, which makes this area far greener. Among other things, you can find laurel forests similar to those on La Gomera. There are many hiking opportunities.
Read all about Tenerife: Tenerife EN
Reed more about north: Tenerife North– Hiking
Other Canary hikes:
Hiking on La Gomera, El Hierro, La Palma, Tenerife: /canaryislands/
Other hikes:
Mallorca hiking
Madeira Levada hiking
Viñales Cuba, tourism and hiking
Hiking Peru – Inka Trail to Machu Picchu
Phong Nha National Park Vietnam
