Best Hikes in Tenerife - Our Top 6 Favourite Hiking Trails

Most people come to Tenerife for the sunshine and to enjoy the beaches. But Tenerife is much more than this. We absolutely recommend exploring the forests and the trails on the island, as you will probably be amazed by the beauty that you'll discover when hiking in Tenerife.

In fact, there are so many hiking trails in Tenerife that you could stay here for a year and still discover some new paths every day. 

Hiking in Tenerife South

The great thing about hiking in Tenerife is that the weather is pleasant and warm all year round and you can see many different landscapes on this island that is characterized by great natural diversity.

Barranco del Infierno

• Length: 6,5 km
• Duration: 3 - 4 hours
• Difficulty: low - medium difficulty

Located in the town of Adeje, this ravine is easily accessible for anyone staying in the south of the island.

Since Barranco del Infierno is a protected nature reserve, only 300 people are allowed to visit this place each day.

So you will have to book online and pay a fee of 11 Euros/adult and 5.5 Euros/child. This is the only trail that we know of in Tenerife where you have to pay in order to have access to it. 

At the entrance, you will get a helmet that you will need to wear for the duration of the hike, as there is the risk of rocks falling from the ravine walls. 

Best Circular Hikes in Tenerife

The great thing about circular hikes is that at the end of the day you end up where you started, without having to walk on the same path twice.

This is especially helpful if you are traveling by car and you have to get back to your car after finishing the hike.

Vilaflor Lunar Landscape - Paisaje Lunar de Vilaflor

• Length: 13 km - the entire hike / 8 km - this is the shorter version we did (click on the link above to read more details)
• Duration: 5 h / 3 h
• Difficulty: medium difficulty
• Details about Vilaflor Lunar Landscape hike

This hike starts in Vilaflor, the highest village in Tenerife. It takes you to a place known as the Lunar Landscape, due to its moon-like aspect. PR-TF 72 is an approved hiking trail in Tenerife, which means that it is well signposted trail and you can easily do it just by following the signs along the way. We also recommend using an app on your phone (we use the AllTrails app).

This hike goes through a pine forest and when you get to the highest point, if the day is clear, you will be able to see Gran Canaria, one of the other Canary Islands.

Chinyero Walk - A beautiful and easy hike in Tenerife

• Length: 7 km
• Duration: 3 hours
• Difficulty: low
• Details about Chinyero Volcano Walk

Chinyero Loop is actually more of a circular walk since you don't have to climb a lot during the course of this trail.

The Chinyero hike is one of the easiest hikes in Tenerife, recommended even to families with children. You will walk around the Chinyero volcano, following a path through the site of the most recent volcanic eruption that took place in Tenerife.

This trails is mostly flat and will take you through different types of landscapes, plus you will have several viewpoints from where you can observe Mount Teide.

Alto de Guamaso - The easiest hike in Tenerife inside Teide National Park

• Length: 2.4 km
• Duration: 40 minutes
• Difficulty: low
• Details about Alto de Guamaso hike

We actually did the shorter version of the Alto de Guamaso hike, since we did not start at El Portillo, instead, we kept driving for under 1 km until we reached a small parking where we could leave the car and start our walk. We explained everything in our dedicated article (just click on the link above).

Part of this path is also accessible for wheelchairs.

This is quite an easy hike and also a short one. You will have the opportunity to see the Orotava Valley from above (and maybe also the sea of clouds, a phenomenon that often happens in this area). As you go around the trail you will also see Mount Teide in all its might, although we were a bit unlucky as we did this hike on a day with calima, which is why it looks so hazy in our photos.

Hiking in the North of Tenerife

The North of Tenerife is home to some of the most magical hiking trails on the island.

Anaga is best discovered on foot and there are so many hiking trails in this part of Tenerife that you could spend an entire summer exploring these mountains and forests. But if you don't have a lot of time and you want to see the best of Anaga and the most wonderful trail there is, then we recommend that you go to El Pijaral.

El Pijaral - Hiking in Anaga's Enchanted Forest

• Length: 7 km
• Duration: 3 hours
• Difficulty: medium
• Info about hiking in Anaga forest (El Pijaral)

Attention!

You need a permit in order to do this hike. The permit is free, but you will need to book ahead of time since there are only 45 permits per day available. Click on the link above to go to the dedicated page where we explain how you can obtain the permit. 

This magical hike will take you through the laurel forest also called the "Enchanted Forest". The pictures really don't do it justice, as this place is really like a fairy tale forest. The forest trail leads to a viewing point with a spectacular view over the beaches of Anaga. This is also a circular hike and you will go around the forest in order to get back to the car.

If you don't have a permit you can skip the hike through the forest (that's the only part of the trail for which you need a permit since the forest is a protected natural space) and you can come of the other route straight to the viewpoint. You can read more in our dedicated article, where we explain everything in detail.

Masca Canyon - Difficult hike in Tenerife

The Masca trail is located in Teno Rural Park and the Masca ravine is one of the most important ravines in this natural park, due to its unique landscape and biological diversity. 

• Details about Masca Canyon Hike in Tenerife

The Masca trail has reopened after being closed for several years and the number of people that can go on the trail is limited and you have to obtain a ticket or book a tour with an agency that is authorized to take groups on this hike.
The Masca hike is classed as one of the most difficult hikes in Tenerife and if you're planning to go with a group, the hike will take around 6 hours in total with all the stops (around 3 hours each way, including the lunch stop at the beach).

You need proper hiking boots to go on the Masca trail and you'll also get a helmet that you'll need to wear in case of loose rocks falling.

Only people in good physical condition should attempt to go on the Masca trail as both the descent from Mascal village to the beach, as well as the ascent back are quite difficult and require concentration and resistance.

Unfortunately, many people underestimate the difficulty of this Tenerife hike (or overestimate their own physical condition) and they get injured along the way or need to be rescued by helicopter from the beach because they're not able to make it back up to the village.

Choose an easy trail for your first time hiking in Tenerife

As you can see, there are many hikes that you can do in Tenerife and these are just some to get you started if you are a novice, or it's just your first time thinking of exploring Tenerife on foot.

You can start by doing the Chinyero Volcanic Walk, which is one of the easy hikes in Tenerife to get you familiar with the terrain here. This is also quite a scenic route, with wonderful views of Mount Teide and portions of the trail that will take you through a pine forest.

We recommend that you wear proper hiking shoes since the terrain is rough on most places and safety must come first. If you go on approved trails they are well signposted and it would be hard to get lost, but we still recommend using a map or at least an app on your phone (keep in mind that in some places you will have no internet connection - this was the case for the forest hike in Anaga and also part of the Lunar Landscape hike).