rel="nofollow" href="http://www.stanfords.co.uk">www.stanfords.co.uk), The Map Shop (15 High Street, Upton-upon-Severn, WR8 0HJ, tel. 01684 593146, www.themapshop.co.uk) or Cordee (www.cordee.co.uk).
The sketch maps in this guidebook are at a scale of 1:50,000. Routes marked on them can be transferred to other maps if required.
Food and drink
Tenerife is self-sufficient in terms of fruit, vegetables and fish. While some restaurants are cosmopolitan, others offer good local fare. Specialities include goat cheese. Wrinkly potatoes (papas arrugadas) cooked in salt are surprisingly refreshing in hot weather, served with hot mojo roja sauce and gentler mojo verde. The most popular fish dishes are based on vieja. If any dishes such as soups or stews need thickening, reach for the roasted flour gofio, which also serves as a breakfast cereal. Local wines are also available. Never pass an opportunity to indulge in local fare!
Tourist information offices
Tenerife Sur Airport, tel. 922-392037
Tenerife Norte Airport, tel. 922-635192
Intercambiador (Bus Station) Santa Cruz, tel. 922-533353
Santa Cruz (Cabildo), tel. 922-239592
La Laguna, tel. 922-632718
Candelaria, tel. 922-032230
Garachico, tel. 922-133461
Los Cristianos, tel. 922-757137
Buenavista del Norte, tel. 922-127192
Icod de los Vinos, tel. 922-812123
La Orotava, tel. 922-323041
Puerto de la Cruz, tel. 922-388777
Puerto de la Cruz, tel. 922-386000
Emergencies
The pan-European emergency telephone number 112 is used to call for assistance throughout the Canary Islands, linking with the police, fire or ambulance service, for a response on land or at sea. The Guardia Civil telephone number is 062, and it is likely they would be involved in a response involving mountain rescue, as they generally patrol rural areas.
Using this guide
The walks are spread around the island, and where they lie side-by-side, links between routes are possible. Routes are described on the Anaga peninsula in the north-east, followed by those on the Teno peninsula in the north-west. Routes are then described between Guía, Arona and Vilaflor, handy for the resorts of Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos in the south. To the north, routes in the Valle de la Orotava are handy for Puerto de la Cruz. The highest and wildest routes are in the Parque Nacional de Teide, where routes onto El Teide are described separately. Finally, the GR 131 trail is described as a five-day long-distance walk from Arona to La Esperanza. This route can of course be followed as a series of linear day-walks broken at intervals.
Workmen restoring an old zigzag path on part of the long-distance GR 131 (Walk 45)
On arrival on Tenerife, visit a tourist information office as soon as possible and ask for an accommodation list, and any information about walking opportunities that they stock. Remember to pick up leaflets about any visitor attractions that seem interesting, as they usually give full contact details, opening times and admission charges. Visit a bus station or bus information kiosk for an up-to-date bus timetable. After that, you should have all the information you need to enjoy the walks to the maximum!
ANAGA
Anaga, one of the oldest parts of Tenerife, is riven by deep and steep-sided barrancos
The Anaga peninsula, in the extreme north-east, is one of the oldest parts of Tenerife, and is protected as the Parque Rural de Anaga. Its rugged coastline often features cliffs, its mountains are riven by deep, steep-sided barrancos and the highest parts are covered in dense laurisilva cloud forests. Small villages cling to steep slopes that have been terraced for cultivation, and a network of old paths and mule tracks, as well as convoluted roads, link one village with another. Many routes have been signposted and waymarked in recent years.
Eight walks are offered on the peninsula and, while each one stands on its own merit as a day walk, they could also be linked together to create a long-distance walk around the peninsula. While the nearby urban areas of Santa Cruz and La Laguna offer plenty of accommodation, walkers also have the option of staying at a hostel high in the mountains at El Bailadero; the Albergue Montes de Anaga, tel. 922-823225, www.alberguestenerife.net.
There is an interesting visitor centre at Cruz del Carmen, dedicated to the natural history of the Anaga peninsula, tel. 922-633576. It offers plenty of information about walking opportunities in the area. Buses serve the villages on the peninsula from Santa Cruz and La Laguna.
WALK 1
Pico del Inglés to Valleseco
| Start | Pico del Inglés |
| Finish | La Quebrada or Valleseco, near Santa Cruz |
| Distance | 7km or 9km (4½ or 5½ miles) |
| Total Ascent | 30m (100ft) |
| Total Descent | 960m (3150ft) |
| Time | 3hrs |
| Terrain | Mostly good paths and mostly downhill, but occasionally rugged. The final stretch is on a road. |
| Refreshment | Bars at Valleseco. |
| Transport | Occasional buses from La Laguna to Pico del Inglés. Regular buses from Valleseco to Santa Cruz. |
| Waymarked route(s) | Route uses PR TF 2. |
The ‘English Peak’ can be reached by bus. A relatively straightforward route runs down to Valleseco in the suburbs of Santa Cruz. The lush laurisilva forest on the mountains gives way to scrub more suited to arid conditions further downhill, as the route drops into a deep barranco.
There are occasional buses to Pico del Inglés, around 1000m (3280ft) high, and if these are not convenient, other buses pass 1km (½ mile) from a car park and mirador near the summit. Despite nearby masts there are splendid views of the Anaga peninsula, the urban sprawl of Santa Cruz and La Laguna, with El Teide rising beyond. Gran Canaria lies out to sea. The peak was named after a visitor who fell to his death; only he wasn’t an Englishman, but an Austrian.
From the Pico del Inglés car park a signpost for Valleseco points down a short flight of steps. Turn left and right past a derelict
