Los Rodeos (Airport) - Los Gigantes Cliffs

Las Lagunetas, a protected paradise.

The title of this section of the route already reveals the reason to make a stopover in Las Lagunetas. Only 40 minutes by car from the airport, almost 4,000 hectares of natural reserve enchant visitors: Huge pine forests, gently sloping hills and steep gorges alternate and offer an unforgettable sight.

The diversity of Las Lagunetas comprehends three areas of particular ecological interest: the Nature Reserve of La Resbala, the Special Nature Reserve of Las Palomas and the Natural Pine Forest of Santa Úrsula. You can already enjoy the first panoramic views in Santa Úrsula: from the “photographer's viewpoint, the Mirador del Fotógrafo, you can even see the Summit of Teide.  Just a few hundred meters from the Mirador there is a recreation area (Laguneta Chica Recreation Area) with picnic areas. It is highly recommended to take a short break there and regain strength with a snack.

Teide’s Astronomic Observatory.

Without leaving the TF-24 road, and after 40 minutes by car, we get to the Astronomic Observatory. It is an astrophysical complex that houses three of the best solar telescopes in Europe (VTT, Themis y Gregor). If possible, you should join a guided visit. The only particular thing you need to check is the guided visits’ timetable; there are guided tours in the morning and in the evening. If you are lucky and can do the guided visit in the morning, perfect. Otherwise, you could return later during your stay in Tenerife, or do overnight here and continue your route the next day.

Teide National Park, we arrive at the volcano.

For the first time on our route, we have to leave the TF-24 (near Las Cañadas del Teide) and drive on the TF-21.

Once we arrive at the Teide National Park, there are several excursion options, including the option of climbing the volcano by feet. If we choose the most common, practical and perhaps the most attractive option, we will take the cable car. To do this, we cross the recreational area passing by the viewpoints (Minas de San José and Tabonal Negro). Just a little further away, at the foot of the volcano, the cable car awaits.

Here, too, we should pay attention to the opening times of the cable car. It is normally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but there may be deviations from these opening hours.

If we finally manage to hop on, the ascent from 2,350 meters to 3,550 meters begins. For a 10-minute drive, that's a lot. Another surprise awaits us up at the volcano: the Mirador de Pico Viejo. Because you certainly don't want to miss a crater with a diameter of 800 meters...

Do not lose sight of the time for the descent. There may be longer waiting times for both the ascent and the descent.

Icod de los Vinos and Cueva del Viento.

Depending on the hour we leave the Teide behind, we should readjust our further route. Probably we might have lost some time at one or more of the stops on our route, and should keep in mind the return journey, if it is back to Santa Cruz area. If we are well on schedule (and it is only the early afternoon), it is worth continuing with the route.

We drive back to the TF-21 and head west to the coast. Once we have passed La Orotava, we take the national road TF-5 and arrive in Icod de los Vinos about an hour later.

Without losing sight of time, we should definitely visit two sights here: La Cueva del Viento, a 17 km long lava tube. There is a section that is accessible and secured for visitors. You have the possibility to visit the tube within an approximate 2-hours guided tour of medium difficulty.  In case you should be interested in a tour, you better should reserve this one for another visit in the next few days.

The second attraction in Icod de los Vinos is the Drago Milenario, a dragon tree (which is not a tree, but a lily plant) 17 meters high, 20 meters in diameter and with a recently estimated age of 800 years.

The mountain village of Masca.

In the Teno Mountains, a massif of high mountain ridges and deep gorges, there is a small mountain village. It is a must-see on Tenerife. The journey there, however, is quite curvy and adventurous. The multitude of gorges that can be admired from this beautifully situated mountain village are definitely worth the effort of the journey. The Masca Gorge (Barranco de Masca) offers experienced hikers the possibility to descend to the beach. After a three hours walk, you reach a beach with only few visitors due to the difficult access. Unfortunately, on our route there is no time for this excursion. If hiking is your thing, it is surely another lovely excursion to bookmark.

Population: approx. 120 inhabitants. Without doubt a fairy-tale place.

The Cliffs “Los Acantilados de los Gigantes”.

About half an hour from Masca we come to the end of our route. The crowning glory of our tour is the Acantilados de los Gigantes: At a few places, those cliffs’ rocks drop vertically up to 500 meters into the sea. The island ends there. There is nothing more than the wide ocean. For the Guanches, the indigenous people of Tenerife, the cliffs of Los Gigantes symbolized the end of the world. With a sea depth of 30 meters just off the coast, pilot whales and dolphins have found their habitat here.

Let yourself be enchanted by this spectacular sight.