It might be one of Spain's most-photographed places, but still nothing prepares you for the sheer drama of El Teide, the tallest peak in the country at a staggering 3718m high. Sprawling around it, the 189.9-sq-km Parque Nacional del Teide is both a Unesco World Heritage Site and Spain’s most popular national park, with walking trails weaving out across El Teide’s slopes.
Cable-Car Trip
The easiest (and most popular) way to head up El Teide is by cable car. In just eight minutes, the 35-person Teleférico del Teide zips you from 2356m to the upper cable-car station (also called La Rambleta) at 3555m. Up at the top, views sweep across the surrounding national park and the shimmering Atlantic, and on clear days you can easily see La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro. Be sure to walk out along at least one of the two short trails from the top of the cable car. Sendero 11 leads 400m north to the Mirador de la Fortaleza (with panoramas stretching across the north of the island), while Sendero 12 heads 730m west to the Mirador Pico Viejo (overlooking El Teide's dramatic neighboring peak).
Hike to the Peak
This is it: the path to the top of Spain. Starting from a ranger checkpoint beside the upper cable-car station, the well-marked Sendero Telesforo Bravo (or Sendero 10) meanders upwards to finally reach Pico del Teide at a whopping 3718m. From here on the most elevated point in the entire country, Tenerife's volcanic mass swirls beyond a volcanic crater stretching 80m wide. It's an utterly soul-stirring spot.
The final ascent might look simple at just 0.6km each way, but it involves climbing from 3550m to 3718m and the effects of the altitude shouldn't be underestimated. Only 200 people can summit the peak each day, and prebooked national-park permits are essential; these give you a two-hour window to reach the summit and walk back down.
It's also possible to do a longer, much tougher ascent of Pico del Teide by combining the summit trail with climbing Montaña Blanca (Sendero 7; 9.5km one way, around five hours) or walking via Pico Viejo. A popular option is to stay overnight at the basic Refugio de Altavista at 3270m (book ahead), from where you can summit El Teide before the crowds arrive; at the time of writing the refugio was closed for renovations and expected to reopen in late 2024 or early 2025.
Pico Viejo
Looming immediately west of Pico del Teide, Pico Viejo is the most recent Tenerife volcano to erupt on a grand scale, back in 1798, when it smoked for three long months and its southwestern flank tore open, leaving a 700m gash. There are particularly great views of Pico Viejo's arid magma-molded slopes from the Mirador Narices del Teide lookout (along the TFR38 road on the western side of the park), as well as from the Mirador Pico Viejo lookout near the top cable-car station.
For keen hikers, Pico Viejo also offers a tough, 10km (one way) alternative route up El Teide, which involves crossing the ridge between the two mountains after climbing first to the 3134m-high summit of Pico Viejo (allow around nine hours and research the route beforehand, possibly considering staying overnight at the Refugio de Altavista).
