HIKING TEIDE – HOW TO CLIMB THE HIGHEST POINT OF SPAIN
Welcome to my guide for hiking Teide (3718m) – the highest point of Spain and the holy grail of all the hikes in Tenerife, Canary Islands. This guide is about a true hiking experience without using a cable car. Hiking Teide is an adventure within reach for most people but it does require the right preparation and a bit of determination. I’ll provide you with all the information you need to plan and execute a successful hike up Teide, including tips on obtaining a permit, choosing your route, packing appropriately, and enjoying the views. Prepare your hiking shoes and conquer the highest point of Spain!
HIKING TEIDE FACTS
Distance: The total distance for this hike is 12km out and back if hiking from the car park below Montana Blanca or 18,5km if descending via more challenging route through Pico Viejo (3135m).
Hike duration: This hike’s duration was 7h. Adding a lunch break and a few stops this hike should take no more than 10h.
Elevation gain: The total elevation gain for this hike was 1466m or around 1300m if you go back the same way.
Difficulty: This hike is hard. The biggest challenge is almost 1500m of elevation gain and most importantly – serious altitude sickness risk that can not be ignored.
Understanding altitude sickness
For some very odd reason you can’t read much about altitude sickness risks on other hiking Teide guides out there but I think it’s worth to know that at elevations above 2,500 meters the air becomes thin and the body must work harder to get the oxygen it needs. This can cause a range of symptoms including: headache, dizziness, shortness of breath and nausea. In severe cases high altitude sickness can be life-threatening. If you are not used to high altitudes, it is important to take your time and acclimatise to the elevation. You can do so by hiking at higher elevations before, for example: hiking Alto de Guajara is a great warmup and acclimatisation hike. During the climb, you should drink plenty of water (bring minimum 2-3 litres), avoid alcohol and caffeine and take frequent breaks to rest. If you experience any strong symptoms (a minor headache is considered to be ‘normal’) of high altitude sickness, stop hiking immediately and descend to a lower elevation. Be sure to listen to your body and be cautious on the trail.
Gear needed: Although Tenerife is warm all year round, you should always remember to check the weather forecast. Remember to bring layers, especially against the wind, fleece, hat and gloves as temperatures at this altitude can get down to 0C degrees easily. Sun protection is a must for this hike due to exposition. Another essential is a head torch if you start or finish during the night time. If you’re unsure on what else to bring for a hike, read this guide.
Permit: You’re going to need a permit if you want to climb Teide between 9:00-17:00. All the necessary info can be found here. Climbing outside of the operating hours is obviously at your own risk but many people choose to do so. Sunrises and sunsets from the highest point of Spain can be really epic 🙂
Choose your route: There are a few different routes you can take to reach the summit of Teide. This guide is for the most popular route – the Telesforo Bravo trail which starts at the Montana Blanca car park and takes around 5-6 hours to complete out and back.
My Strava map + gpx file: TEIDE ASCENT + TEIDE DESCENT PICO VIEJO
GETTING TO TEIDE HIKE
By car: This hike begins in the Teide National Park. You can park your car here.
Bear in mind that finding a parking spot will most likely be challenging so my advice is to begin your climb during the night or after 17:00. You’ll then hike in a dark but the experience will be unforgettable.
By bus: You can also take a bus no 341 or 342. The current schedule can be found: here.
MY EXPERIENCE HIKING TEIDE
2748m – the starting point
The hike starts on the Sendero de Montana Blanca, a dry pebbly road right next to the little car park. The first part is flat and easy. After a short while we reached the first fork in the road. That’s where we took left and continued on the path.
I really enjoyed the landscape there, it was super dry and it felt like walking on the Moon. The whole Teide Park gives that kind of vibe so if you’re into dry trails and out of earth experiences go ahead and check out my dedicated blog post for hikes in Teide Park – Top 10 hikes in Teide Park in Tenerife.
From this point, the first steeper section begins which is about 2.5 km long. As we climbed higher, I started to slowly feel the effects of the altitude. It was just a minor headache which is considered normal but it was still a bit annoying. There is a nice spot for a quick snack and water around a big formation of stones that provided us with some shade. Perfect spot for a quick break.
3270m – reaching the Mountain Hut “Refugio de Altavista”
Refugio de Altavista is located at the elevation of 3270m. Unfortunately, it has been temporarily closed since covid but as of 2022 they still keep one emergency room with 3 bunk beds open. As you can imagine, they are often full since many hikers like to stay there for a night after hiking Teide for sunset and then for sunrise. We hanged around for a while to have some lunch and recharge our batteries before the final push towards the cable car. Sadly during our visit, the surroundings of the hut became a toilet for many.. you can imagine the smell in a hot day. If you need to pee, just go further away and help protecting the area.
3555m – Teleforico cable car station
Vast majority of tourists visiting Teide are taking the cable car up to the altitude of 3555m and either climb up Teide from there or go back after taking some pictures. Not gonna lie, reaching the viewing point where you can see this incredible cable car felt really good (to this day I wonder how in the world are we capable of building something so complex at such an altitude, crazy). Arriving to this spot was also a clear sign that there’s not so much climbing left as most of the people can get to the summit point from here in about 30-45 minutes. Since we began our climb at around 4PM, the whole area was already empty at that time so we had all the magnificent views only for ourselves, yay!
The trail from the cable car station to the summit is relatively easy, with dozens of steps on a well-maintained path (mostly stairs). We decided to make another short break to recharge our batteries and change clothing as temperature up there dropped down to around 0C and the wind became quite strong. You’ll most likely smell some sulphur during the summit push. After all, Teide is an active volcano though it has not erupted since 1909.
3718m – the summit!
Aaand there we had it! The summit of Teide – the highest point of Spain and the highest point above the sea level in the islands of the Atlantic. Standing at 3718 meters, the views from the top were breathtaking. On a clear day you may even be able to see the neighboring islands of La Gomera, La Palma, and El Hierro. We weren’t that lucky due to the Calima Storm that blocked most of the view, nevertheless the group was happy and very proud!
DESCEND THROUGH PICO VIEJO
After reaching the summit of Teide most of the people go back the same way to get back to their cars. Not too many hikers choose to descend through Pico Viejo. We were fortunate enough to have two cars and decided to go after this difficult, long and very tricky (sharp and loose rocks on the way) route. That gave us a chance to explore some of the less-visited areas of the Teide National Park.
Unfortunately, it was already getting late so majority of our descend was in the dark which made it more difficult and sadly.. I couldn’t take many pictures but you’ll have to take my word for it that it was a magical experience witnessing all those colours changing during the sunset. It’s also worth adding that due to the difficult terrain we ended up having two people getting injured, this path really isn’t the most pleasant and you must be very careful during your descent. These rocks are also very sharp so it doesn’t take much to end up getting cut!
CONCLUSION
I had a lot of fun hiking Teide. Taking the route from Montana Blanca sounds like the most reasonable choice for most of the hikers because it’s pretty straight forward, easy to follow and on a good day, you’ll most likely be rewarded with some awesome views from the summit. As long as you’re fit, like the challenge and enjoy the process, hiking Teide should be on your must-do list when visiting Tenerife. I hope you found this guide useful and you’ll enjoy hiking Teide as much as I did! If you have any questions – don’t be shy and leave the comment below. Wishing you happy and safe hiking!
HAVE YOU SEEN MY OTHER HIKING GUIDES FOR TENERIFE?
I lived and worked in Tenerife for three months, hiking nearly every day. I’ve explored over 70 trails to bring you an ultimate guide – highlighting the Top 30 Best Hikes in Tenerife. Each guide has a detailed description including the distance, difficulty, gear needed and everything else needed to complete the hike successfully. If you happen to notice any changes on the trail that should be updated – please drop the comment below so I can keep this guide up to date.
If you prefer easier hikes that can be completed under 3 hours, check out Top 12 Short Hikes in Tenerife guide.
Safe and happy hiking my friend!
