# Teide National Park

The Las Cañadas caldera and the highest peak in Spain, an hour and ten minutes from Santa Cruz. Cable car, routes across lava flows, an observatory-quality sky and a Parador inside.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/canary-islands/teide-national-park · Revisado: 2026-11-13

Teide is not just a peak. It is an enormous caldera, Las Cañadas, ringed by walls and filled with lava flows, cones and roques, with the 3,718 m volcano on its northern rim. The road crosses it entirely and almost everything you will do starts from it: the cable car, the Roques de García, the viewpoints and the routes. From Santa Cruz de Tenerife you get there in an hour and ten minutes by car, so it fits into a Sunday. With a night inside, at the Parador or the refuge, you also get the sky and the sunrise.

## How do you get there from Santa Cruz?

By car, via La Laguna and the La Esperanza road, the TF-24, which climbs along the island's spine to El Portillo, the northern entrance. It is about 52 km and about 50 minutes to the El Portillo visitor centre, and about 65 km to the cable car base station or the Parador, an hour and ten at an easy pace. It is a mountain road, with many bends: factor them in when working out the time of your cable car slot.

Without a car it is possible, but on a fixed timetable. The TITSA guagua 348 leaves Puerto de la Cruz at 9:30 and La Orotava at 9:45, passes El Portillo and the cable car and ends at the Parador after an hour and forty minutes. It returns at 16:00 from the Parador. From Santa Cruz you reach Puerto de la Cruz on line 102, in an hour. From the south, line 342 leaves from Playa de las Américas.

## Do you need a permit?

To enter the park, no. To set foot on the summit, yes. The cable car leaves you at La Rambleta, at 3,555 m, and from there three paths set off: two lead to viewpoints and are free; the third, the Telesforo Bravo, climbs the last 168 m to the crater and needs a Tenerife ON permit. The cable car ticket does not include it. Places open 56 days in advance, on Mondays at 7:00 Canarian time, and they go fast.

A reservation is also required for the Montaña Blanca path to La Rambleta, the one that climbs on foot from the road, and from October 2026 for three other high-mountain paths. Going without a permit on them can cost up to €600 in fines. The Roques de García, the roadside viewpoints and the caldera paths are free.

## How much time do you need?

A day well used covers the cable car, the Roques de García and lunch at the Parador. If you want the summit, book the permit and allow the whole morning: the cable car gives you an hour up top, two if you have the crater permit. With a night you can add stargazing or the visit to the Teide Observatory, and sunset at the Narices del Teide viewpoint. To walk up via Montaña Blanca and watch the sunrise from the top, sleep at the Altavista Refuge.

## Where to park

In the car parks at the viewpoints and the visitor centres, along the TF-21. The cable car one is free, has 220 spaces and closes outside the installation's opening hours; the company itself asks you to come by guagua and, if you come by car, to arrive after 13:00. For the Roques de García you park at the La Ruleta viewpoint, opposite the Parador: first thing you have more leeway.

## When to go

You can go all year. In spring the red tajinastes bloom, tall spikes of flowers that colour Las Cañadas, as the Parador itself recalls. In summer the sky up there is almost always clear even when there is cloud on the coast, and the days are long: the cable car runs until 18:40. In autumn the air is cleaner and there are fewer people. In winter it can snow up there, and with snow or ice access to the summit is restricted. Check the status of the cable car and the paths before setting out.

## Where to eat and sleep

Inside the caldera you sleep at the Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide, at 2,152 m and facing the Roques. Its restaurant opens every day for lunch from 13:30 to 15:00. At the cable car base station there is a café with views. Outside, Vilaflor, at 1,500 m and half an hour from the Parador, has the adults-only Hotel Spa Villalba and the Restaurante Eustaquio for dinner.

## Dónde está
- Zonas: Starry skies in Spain, Unusual places to stay in Spain
- Cerca: Teno and Masca (a 19.7 km), Anaga Massif (a 52.8 km), Agaete and the North-West of Gran Canaria (a 94.2 km), Tejeda and Roque Nublo (a 105.4 km)

## Qué hacer
- **Teide cable car, from 2,356 to 3,555 m** (2 h · From age 3; not for pregnant women or people with heart problems · Desde 43 € per adult, return): The cable car climbs in about 8 minutes from the base station, at 2,356 m beside the TF-21, to La Rambleta, at 3,555 m, about 160 m of ascent below the summit. There are two cabins of up to 44 people. At the top there is no café: a small lobby with toilets and wifi, and the mountain.
What you do at the top
You have an hour at La Rambleta, two if you carry the crater permit. It is enough for the two free viewpoints: La Fortaleza, over the north of the island, and Pico Viejo, over the neighbouring crater and the Las Cañadas caldera, of 25 and 30 minutes each. The trail to the summit, the Telesforo Bravo, can only be walked with a permit.
Prices and hours
Return, €43 for non-resident adults and €21.50 for ages 3 to 13; one way, €24 and €12. Residents of the Canary Islands pay €10.75 return. It runs every day of the year except 25 December. From 25 October to 31 December 2026 it is open from 9:00 to 17:00, with the last ascent at 16:00 and the last descent at 16:50; in July, August and September, until 18:40.
Rules worth knowing
Book on the official website, volcanoteide.com: only the ascent has a set time, and you must be there 20 minutes beforehand. The descent is taken in order of arrival. Children under 3, pregnant women and people with cardiovascular problems cannot go up, nor can pushchairs, large bags or animals, except guide dogs. Closed shoes with a grippy sole. If wind stops it, they let you know around 8:30 by email or text message.
- **Climbing the Teide peak on the Telesforo Bravo trail** (1 h 30 · 653 m · With a permit, good health and mountain footwear · Tenerife ON permit · €15 for non-residents of the Canary Islands, free for under-14s): The last stretch of the Teide goes from La Rambleta, at 3,550 m, to the summit, at 3,718 m: 653 m of paved, steep path and about 40 minutes of climbing, according to the National Park. At the top you look into the volcano's crater, at the highest point in Spain.
The permit
Without a permit you cannot go beyond La Rambleta. It is granted by the Cabildo on Tenerife ON, on the page for trail PNT 10 Telesforo Bravo: you must register, choose a day and time slot and carry the permit, on paper or on your phone, with your ID card or passport. It is booked up to a maximum of 56 days ahead and new places open every Monday at 7:00, Canary Islands time. One booking is valid for one date and up to 15 people. If you are not going to use it, cancel it: anyone who fails to show up without notice cannot request another for three months.
Since 2026 the trail has a daytime fee: under the regulations published in October 2026, €15 for those not resident in the Canary Islands, €6 for residents of other islands and free for Tenerife residents and under-14s. The slots are 90 minutes. Confirm the amount when booking.
How to get up to the start
Almost everyone goes up on the cable car, which is booked separately. The permit does not depend on it: if the cable car is not running, the permit is still valid only for its date and slot, and the alternative is to walk up via Montaña Blanca, which takes over five hours. With a crater permit you can stay two hours at the top instead of one. Anyone sleeping at the Altavista Refuge has the permit included and can climb at dawn.
What to bring
The Park requires high-mountain equipment: mountain footwear, a coat, water, a thermal blanket and a torch. Climb slowly: at that height the air is thin and it is easy to feel dizzy.
- **Roques de García trail** (2 h · 3.6 km · Families with children who can walk · Self-guided · free): This is the most trodden route in the park and the one that best explains the caldera: a 3.6 km loop around the Roques de García, towers of volcanic rock that were left standing in the middle of Las Cañadas, with the Teide always behind. The Park numbers it PNT 03 and rates it of medium difficulty, two hours and 202 m of accumulated ascent. It is free access, with no booking, and costs nothing.
From the La Ruleta viewpoint
It starts and ends at the La Ruleta viewpoint, at km 46.5 of the TF-21, opposite the Parador and the Cañada Blanca visitor centre. The Park lists it as the most visited viewpoint in the whole park. The first metres of the trail coincide with a stretch adapted for people with reduced mobility, running from La Ruleta to the Tagorores; if you are with a wheelchair or pushchair, you can do that part.
Plain, lava flow and La Catedral
You set off leaving the rocks on your left: Roque Cinchado, Roque El Oso and the Torrotito. The path descends to the edge of the Llano de Ucanca, where you walk on the flat for quite a while. Then it drops a little with views of La Cascada, a very fluid lava flow, and goes round La Catedral, which rises about 144 m above the plain. At its foot trail 26 starts, which in an hour and with almost no gradient crosses to the Llano de Ucanca viewpoint: if someone is picking you up on the road, you can finish there.
The climb at the end
The stretch that makes this a medium-difficulty route is the last: a steep zigzag climb of about 200 m that takes you back to La Ruleta. It has no technical sections, but it does have loose stone and a sustained gradient, and at over 2,000 m you feel it in your legs and your breathing. Wear mountain footwear, not smooth-soled trainers. With small children, the sensible option is to do the first part to the plain and return the same way, without the climb.
When to go and what is there at the end
First thing or from 15:00 there are fewer people and the low light gives relief to the rocks. In the caldera there is almost no shade: water, cap and sun cream. At the end, the Cañada Blanca centre, open from 9:00 to 16:00, explains how people have lived in Las Cañadas since prehistory and what is being researched in the park today, and has a terrace with a model of the landscape. For lunch, the Parador restaurant serves from 13:30 to 15:00, and its Los Roques café from 10:00 to 18:00.
- **Montaña Blanca and the Altavista Refuge, on foot to La Rambleta** (5 h 30 · 8.2 km · Fit mountaineers, from age 14 · Booking on Tenerife ON · €6 on weekdays and €10 at weekends for non-residents of the Canary Islands): This is the way to climb the Teide without the cable car: the Park's route 7 leaves the TF-21 at around km 40 and climbs 1,186 m in 8.2 km to La Rambleta, beside the upper station. The Park estimates 5 hours 30 and rates it high difficulty. First you cross Montaña Blanca, with its balls of dark lava on pale pumice, the Huevos del Teide (Teide's Eggs); then the path climbs the slope of the volcano and passes the Altavista Refuge, at 3,260 m.
Booking and fee
The stretch to La Rambleta needs a booking on Tenerife ON, with an entry time to the trail, just like the summit. Under the October 2026 regulations, non-residents of the Canary Islands pay €6 on weekdays and €10 at weekends and on public holidays; residents of Tenerife pay nothing. To set foot on the peak you also need the Telesforo Bravo permit. If you sleep at Altavista, both permits are included in the refuge booking.
Getting to the start
By car there is a small car park beside the road, about three minutes from the cable car base station. Buses 348, from Puerto de la Cruz, and 342, from Playa de las Américas, stop at Montaña Blanca. Many climb on foot and come down by cable car: buy the down-only ticket, but be ready to walk down if wind stops it.
Who it is for
For fit mountaineers acclimatised to walking many hours. Children under 14 are not admitted on this trail, and the Park advises against it for anyone with heart problems. Compulsory equipment: long trousers and a coat, boots, a phone with battery, a thermal blanket, water, hat and gloves, and a torch with spare battery. Without it, the wardens may not let you pass even if you have a booking.
- **La Fortaleza and Pico Viejo viewpoints, at La Rambleta** (55 min · 1.3 km · From age 3, anyone who can go up on the cable car; no heart problems · Included in the cable car ticket): When you get off the cable car at La Rambleta, at 3,555 m, two short trails leave that need no booking: one looks out over the north of the island and the other to the west. With the time your ticket gives you at the top there is time to do both without rushing, and they are the way to see something more than the station terrace.
An hour up top and two paths
The upper station is a small lobby with toilets, wifi and vending machines for drinks and packaged food; there is no café. Right beside it is the La Rambleta viewpoint, and from there the two trails start. Your stay up top is limited to one hour; only those with a permit for the crater can stay two. Do one first, return to the station and carry on with the other, and leave a margin for the queue down.
To the north: the red crags of La Fortaleza
Trail PNT 11 measures 0.61 km and takes about 25 minutes, with 38 m of ascent. The Park rates it of medium difficulty because of the altitude and slope, not because of hard passages: the path is laid out. It leads to the La Fortaleza viewpoint, over the north of the park and of the island. If the day is clear, in the foreground you see the reddish crags of La Fortaleza, the vent of an old volcano of very viscous lava; to the east, Gran Canaria, and with great luck Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Often the north is covered by the sea of clouds, which stays below you. From this viewpoint the Montaña Blanca trail descends towards the Altavista Refuge.
To the west: the Pico Viejo crater and three islands
The PNT 12 is 730 m and takes about 30 minutes. It descends a little at the start, 66 m in all, among fumaroles and areas of old eruptions, and ends at the Pico Viejo viewpoint. From there you look into the Pico Viejo crater, also called Montaña Chahorra, with a mouth of about 800 m, and the lava flow of the Narices del Teide, from the 1798 eruption, the most recent in the park. On clear days you can see La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro. Bear in mind that the return is uphill at over 3,500 m: it is the stretch that tires you most.
What the cable car requires for going up
The return ticket costs from €43 per adult and these trails are included: you pay nothing more. The company requires closed mountain or sports shoes with a grippy sole; you cannot go up in sandals, heels or smooth soles. Children under 3, pregnant women, people with cardiovascular problems and people with reduced mobility cannot go up. Volcano Teide warns that trails 11 and 12 depend on the Cabildo having them open, and if they are closed the ticket is not refunded. If the cable car is not running, you can only get here on foot via Montaña Blanca, with a booking.
- **Llano de Ucanca viewpoint and walk** (30 min · Everyone, including small children · Free): The Llano de Ucanca is the largest cañada (flat basin) in the National Park: an almost level expanse at the foot of the south wall of the Las Cañadas caldera, with the Roques de García, La Catedral, Pico Viejo and the Teide to the north. You can see it from the road, without walking at all, and you can also cross it on foot along low-difficulty trails that need no booking.
Kilometre 48.7 of the TF-21
The Llano de Ucanca viewpoint is at kilometre point 48.7 of the TF-21, about 2 km south of La Ruleta, the Roques de García car park. You park beside the road, walk a few steps and have the classic picture in front of you: the pale plain in the foreground, the rocks on the right and the Teide with Pico Viejo behind. The Park has one of its audio-guide points here, number 27. Ten minutes is enough to look and take photos; with small children it is a comfortable stop, because you do not have to move away from the car.
The light changes the place a great deal. First thing and late in the day the plain takes on colour and the walls gain relief; at midday everything flattens out and there is no shade.
Crossing the plain to Boca Tauce
Trail PNT 40 starts here and runs across the plain to the south-west, among large rocks and lava flows, along the foot of the caldera wall, to Boca Tauce. It is 4.85 km each way, about two hours, with 74 m of accumulated ascent: almost flat. It is linear, so you have three options: return the same way, which makes it about four hours; have someone pick you up at Boca Tauce, or do only a stretch and turn back.
At Boca Tauce, at the junction of the TF-21 with the TF-38, is the Juan Évora Ethnographic Museum, the restored house of the last resident of Las Cañadas who lived like the shepherds of old. It is open every day from 9:00 to 16:00 and has toilets. If someone is going to pick you up there, note: the museum car park closes at 15:45.
To La Catedral on trail 26
The other option is shorter. The PNT 26, of 1.77 km and an hour, goes from the viewpoint to the foot of La Catedral, with almost no gradient: 19 m of ascent in total. Along the way you see the Ucanca valley, the coloured rocks of the Los Azulejos hydrothermal zone, the Teide, Pico Viejo and the Cumbres de Ucanca. On arrival you link up with the circuit of the Roques de García, so you can combine both routes in one morning.
Two other stops on the same road
At km 47, a little before arriving if you come from La Ruleta, the Los Azulejos viewpoint looks at the plain from above. At km 50.5, beyond the plain, the Zapatilla de la Reina (the Queen's Slipper) is a rock sculpted by erosion about 100 m from the road. For a sit-down meal, the Parador restaurant is five minutes away, beside La Ruleta.
- **El Portillo Visitor Centre and botanical garden** (1 h · Everyone; half the garden accessible): It is the northern gateway to the National Park and the first building you meet if you climb from La Laguna by the La Esperanza road or from La Orotava: it is at km 32.1 of the TF-21, beside the El Portillo junction, where the two roads meet. It is run by the Park itself and is open Monday to Sunday from 9:00 to 16:15; it closes only on 25 December and on 1 and 6 January. It has parking and toilets, and there is a restaurant next door. To ask before you go, the Park's phone is 922 922 371.
If it is your first day in Las Cañadas, stop here before continuing to the cable car and the Roques: in an hour you understand what you are going to be looking at for the rest of the day.
How the caldera was made, told in one room
The exhibition runs through the geological history of the park, how its landscapes formed, the high-mountain climate and how plants and animals have adapted to it. The 74-seat screening room shows a continuous audiovisual about the Park, and a second video room gathers information on almost all the national parks in the Spanish network. With children, the screening works best: in a few minutes it tells them what they will later see through the car window.
The Wolfredo Wildpret garden: summit flora with names
Attached to the centre is the botanical garden, which the Park dedicates to the botanist Wolfredo Wildpret: two hectares with labelled plants, many endemic to Tenerife, raised in a nursery and planted among the vegetation already there. The inner path measures 1,075 m and about 500 m of it are adapted for people with reduced mobility, so half a circuit can be done with a wheelchair or pushchair.
At its two ends there are viewpoints: the northern one looks out over the sea of clouds and the western one looks at the Teide, Montaña Blanca and Pico Cabra. It is the place to put names to what you will later see on the trails without noticing it, such as the retama (broom), the codeso or the rosalillo de cumbre. The garden has the same hours as the centre.
La Fortaleza and Arenas Negras, on foot from the door
Two Park trails of low difficulty and free access, with no booking, start from the centre:

PNT 01, La Fortaleza. 5.46 km each way, an hour and three quarters to the Cuesta de La Fortaleza, with 276 m of accumulated ascent. It crosses the Cañada de los Guancheros between mounds of pumice from the Montaña Blanca eruptions and ends at the foot of the reddish cliffs of La Fortaleza. It is linear: the return is the same way, so allow double.
PNT 02, Arenas Negras. A 6 km circuit, three hours and 329 m of ascent. It skirts the Montaña del Cerrillar among broom; from the top you can see the sea of clouds over the La Orotava valley, La Palma and the Izaña observatories. It descends beside the picón cones of Arenas Negras, with sections of up to 60% gradient, and returns to the centre by the Siete Cañadas trail.

Where it fits in the day
If you climb from the north, El Portillo is the first stop; from here the TF-21 continues to the cable car and the Roques de García. If you come via La Esperanza, the visit to the Teide Observatory, at Izaña, comes just before and combines well with this stop. Without a car, the 348 bus from Puerto de la Cruz stops at El Portillo on the way up, and the return one passes here at 16:30.
- **Stargazing with telescopes at the cable car base station** (1 h · From age 8 · Desde 35 € per person): An hour of sky with telescopes and a guide accredited by the Starlight Foundation, in the car park of the cable car base station, at 2,356 m and inside the National Park. It is organised by Volcano Teide, the cable car company. It begins at nightfall, so the time changes with the season and is chosen when you book. It costs from €35 per person and does not admit children under 8, who must bring a document proving their age.
At the base station barrier, as night falls
You arrive in your own car at the cable car base station car park, at km 43 of the TF-21, and wait in front of the closed barrier for someone from Volcano Teide to come out and meet you. It does not include transport and is not held at the Teide Observatory: everything happens in the open air, beside the station. From the north or south of the island it is more than an hour of mountain road, and you will do the return in the dark; allow for that when choosing the time.
What you see through the two telescopes
The group works with a 9.25-inch Celestron CPC and a 30 cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian. The guide teaches you to recognise the constellations and tells the Greek myths behind their names, and at the eyepieces explains what each object you are looking at is. What appears depends on the night: with a full moon the deep sky fades, so if you are choosing a date, check the lunar calendar before booking.
Days, languages and what happens if it clouds over
In Spanish it takes place on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays; in English, on Mondays and Thursdays, and in French, on Fridays. You can change the date or cancel free of charge up to 24 hours beforehand; after that nothing is refunded. An unused booking allows up to three changes of date over a year. If the weather does not allow observation, the company refunds the amount. Animals are not admitted, except guide and therapy dogs.
January clothes in any month
At night, at 2,356 m and with wind, it is very cold, even in summer: bring a proper coat and comfortable closed shoes. Carry your booking voucher on your phone or printed; it is compulsory. If you have any health problem, the company asks you to check with your doctor first because of the altitude.
Dinner and bed without leaving the mountain
The Parador restaurant serves dinner from 18:30 to 21:30 and is about five minutes away by car: depending on the time of the observation, dine beforehand or book for afterwards. If you sleep at the Parador, you avoid driving down the mountain road at night. To see the sunset before the telescopes, the Narices del Teide viewpoint is a quarter of an hour beyond the Parador.
- **Guided visit to the Teide Observatory, at Izaña** (1 h 30 · From age 8 · Desde 21 € per adult): The Teide Observatory is at Izaña, at 2,390 m, where the municipalities of La Orotava, Fasnia and Güímar meet, a few minutes from the northern entrance of the National Park. It is run by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and can be seen inside on a daytime guided visit, lasting an hour and a half, sold by Volcano Teide from €21 per adult. From 8 to 16 years it is free; under 8 do not go in.
Izaña, the mountain of the solar telescopes
Astrophysics in the Canary Islands began here in the early 1960s: the first telescope, from the University of Bordeaux, was working in 1964. Today it is above all a solar observatory, with some of the best solar telescopes in Europe, among them the 1.5 m GREGOR. It also has night-time, robotic and remote-controlled telescopes. Helioseismology, the study of the Sun's interior through its vibrations, was born at Izaña in 1979, and the first brown dwarf, named Teide 1, was detected from here.
An hour and a half inside the site
The guide gathers the group at the barrier and you drive in in your own cars to the car park they indicate. The visit begins with an explanation of the Canary Islands sky, the observatory's telescopes and the IAC itself. Next comes an astrophysics workshop at the visitor centre and observation of the Sun with portable solar telescopes that the guide sets up outside. Then you go inside a night-time telescope, usually the Carlos Sánchez or, if it is not free, the IAC-80. The solar telescopes are not visited inside, so as not to interrupt the scientific work. Photos can be taken in the areas visited.
If there are clouds, the route may change. With snow or ice, especially in winter, the visit may be cancelled on the same day; in that case the amount is refunded.
The barrier at km 1 of the TF-514
You can only get there in your own car or with transport sold by the same company: there is no bus, a taxi has to wait outside and bicycles are not allowed in. You climb the TF-24, the La Esperanza road, and at around km 37 take the TF-514; at its km 1 is the outer barrier, at about 2,390 m. The company estimates an hour by car from Puerto de la Cruz, an hour and a half from Santa Cruz and two hours from the south. Arrive 30 minutes early and do not ring the bell: the staff will tell you where to wait. If you arrive late the visit is shortened, and if it has already started you cannot join; to change it, the phone is 922 010 444. The public toilets are 10 or 15 minutes' walk from the car park: use them before you start.
Who should think twice
There are stairs, gravel paths and quite a lot of walking, so the company does not recommend it to people with reduced mobility, or with anaemia, heart or respiratory problems. At the observatory there is no medical assistance and the nearest hospital is about 90 minutes away. Bring your ID card or passport and the booking voucher, a cap, sunglasses, sun cream, water and a warm layer, with closed shoes. Inside, no smoking or eating, and you must stay with the group at all times.
At km 0.5 of the TF-514, before the barrier, the Izaña viewpoint gives a view of the volcanoes inside and outside the caldera. After that, the El Portillo Visitor Centre is a few kilometres away, already inside the park, and the cable car about 17 minutes.
- **Sunset at the Narices del Teide viewpoint** (30 min · Everyone · Free): At km 3.2 of the TF-38, the road that drops from Boca Tauce towards Chío, this viewpoint, which the Park also calls Chahorra, looks straight at the slope of Pico Viejo, the Teide's neighbouring volcano, and at the vents where the park's last eruption, that of 1798, came out. It is the sunset the Parador itself recommends, a quarter of an hour by car from La Ruleta.
The 1798 eruption, head-on
What you have in front of you are the Narices del Teide (the Teide's Nostrils): the vents opened on the flank of Pico Viejo and the dark lava flows that came out of them. Behind them the Teide peeks out. From here you understand that the Teide and Pico Viejo form a single volcanic edifice and that this slope is the youngest part of the whole landscape you have seen during the day. The Park has its audio-guide point 42 at the viewpoint.
On the same bend there is an interpretive table about a lava channel, the Canal Lávico, but the Park warns that it has no official parking or clear, safe access: stay at the viewpoint.
At sunset
The sun sets behind you, to the west, and the slope of Pico Viejo and the Teide change colour in the last light. Arrive 30 to 40 minutes before sunset so you can park in daylight and watch the colour of the lava flows change. You park beside the road and there is no walking. After sunset the cold arrives quickly, even in summer: bring a coat even if it is warm down below.
Chavao: arriving on foot from Boca Tauce
If you prefer to arrive on foot, trail PNT 18, Chavao, links this viewpoint with Boca Tauce: 4.36 km each way, an hour and a half, low difficulty and free access, almost flat. It crosses an area of broom, wallflowers and codesos, beside the Cañada del Cedro, with ropy lava underfoot and the remains of the huts where the Civil War prisoners slept who built the road and planted pines near the summit. It ends at the Juan Évora Ethnographic Museum car park, which is open only from 9:00 to 15:45: if you want the sunset, do not leave your car there.
The trail 9 also ends here, coming down from La Rambleta through the Pico Viejo crater: 9.6 km and eight hours, of extreme difficulty and with a booking. It is not a walk to improvise at the end of the day.
Coming back at night through the mountains
From the viewpoint, the return to Santa Cruz via the TF-21 and TF-24 takes over an hour of bends in the dark. If you can, sleep nearby: the Parador is inside the caldera, and on the south side Vilaflor is handier, with the Hotel Spa Villalba and dinner at the Eustaquio Restaurant.
- **Astrophotography workshop for beginners in Teide National Park, with pick-up and equipment** (5 h 30 · Adults with no astrophotography experience who want to leave with their first photo of galaxies and the Milky Way · €250 per person, with transport, equipment and processing tutorials): A night in Teide National Park with an astrophotographer who provides the equipment and teaches you to use it: a camera on a small telescope with a motorised mount, which follows the turning of the sky so that the stars do not come out streaked. At the end you leave with your own photos of a galaxy or a nebula, and of the volcanic landscape under the Milky Way. There are one to four of you, they pick you up at your accommodation and the night lasts five to six hours including the journey. It costs €250 per person and is given in English.
From landscape to the deep sky
The workshop combines two things. One is night landscape photography: Teide, the roques or the tajinastes under the Milky Way, with the camera on a tripod. The other is the deep sky: with the camera on the telescope and the mount guiding, exposures of a specific object are accumulated. The targets change with the season: the Andromeda galaxy and the Pleiades in autumn and winter, the Orion nebula in winter, the centre of the Milky Way in spring and summer. When you finish they send you links and tutorials to process the photos at home, which is where the image is finished.
They pick you up and take you to that day's sky
There is no fixed meeting point: round-trip transport is included and the company takes you to the spot in the park or the Corona Forestal where there is the best sky that night. The session starts after sunset, so the pick-up time changes through the year. You book with the website form, giving the date and how many of you there are; the website does not publish a cancellation policy, so ask when booking.
What you bring
Genuinely warm clothing: the park is above 2,000 metres and at night it is cold even in summer. Drink and something to eat, because they do not provide them. Your camera if you want to use it; if not, the equipment is theirs.
If what you are looking for is to look through a telescope for an hour, without photographing, the stargazing at the cable car base station is shorter and cheaper.
- **Private astrophotography session on Teide with pick-up in southern Tenerife** (5 h 30 · Anyone who wants the Teide sky at their own pace, with the guide for their group, whether it is their first time or they already have practice · €250 for one person; up to three companions at €200 each): The same night under the Teide sky, but with the guide just for you and the plan made to measure for whatever you want to photograph. They pick you up at your accommodation in southern Tenerife, go up to the park, set up the equipment and accompany you from the first framing to the final shot. It is led by Stephen Phelps or Phil Cruz, the astrophotographers of Dark Skies Tenerife. It costs €250 for one person, and each companion, up to three, pays €200.
Made for what you want to capture
In a group a script is followed; in private you set it. If you have never done astrophotography, you start with night landscape and the Milky Way. If you already have practice, you can devote the night to the deep sky, with galaxies and nebulae, or to a combination with the roques and the tajinastes in the foreground. The session lasts five to six hours, but the timetable is adjusted: the company offers it flexibly.
The equipment, theirs or yours
They have EQ5 GoTo equatorial mounts, Skywatcher 72ED refractors and a Celestron NexStar 8SE, so you can take photographs without owning anything. If you travel with your camera, lenses or mount, the session serves to learn to use them at night. Afterwards they send you links, tips and tutorials for processing the images.
How to book
With the website form, with the date, how many of you there are and what interests you, or by email or WhatsApp. Pick-up and return from the south of the island are included. The website does not publish a cancellation policy or say what language the private session is in; the rest of its website and its workshops are in English.
Before or after, Teide by day
If it is your first time in the park, go up by day too: the cable car or the Roques de García trail show you in daylight the landscape you will later see at night.

## Dónde comer
- **Restaurant of the Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide** (Restaurant, Las Cañadas del Teide, €€€). Qué pedir: the escaldón de puchero canario to start and the goat stew or the wreckfish with boiled mojo
- **Cafe-restaurant at the cable car base station** (Café, Las Cañadas del Teide, €€). Qué pedir: something hot before or after going up; at the top, at La Rambleta, there is no cafe
- **Eustaquio restaurant, Hotel El Tejar** (Restaurant, Vilaflor, €€). Qué pedir: the grilled goat's cheese with mojo and the stewed veal; for dessert, the traditional Vilaflor one

## By car: By car from Santa Cruz, via La Esperanza
With a car you tour the park at your own pace: the TF-24 climbs from La Laguna along the ridge to El Portillo in about 50 minutes, and the TF-21 crosses Las Cañadas with the viewpoints, the cable car and the Roques de García a few minutes from each other. To come down by the south, the same TF-21 continues to Vilaflor.
Presupuesto orientativo: 60–160 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide** (Hotel): A mountain manor inside the volcano
Paradores describes it as a mountain manor house at 2,152 m, in the middle of the Las Cañadas caldera, facing the Roques de García and with the peak in view from the dining room and from some rooms. Paradores presents it as an example of sustainability: it generates its own electricity and draws its water from the mountain. At night, with no lights around, the sky is the show.
The rooms and the house
It has standard doubles, superior doubles, junior suites and accessible rooms. For cold nights there is a lounge with a fireplace, and for the afternoon, a covered heated pool, sauna and gym. The outdoor parking is free. Pets are admitted: check the conditions before booking. The restaurant serves Canarian cooking, with lunch from 13:30 to 15:00 and dinner from 18:30 to 21:30.
Getting there and what is nearby
It is about 70 km from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, via La Laguna and the La Esperanza road (TF-24) and then the TF-21; you can also reach it from La Orotava, Chío, Arona or Granadilla. Without a car, bus 348 ends at its door, leaving Puerto de la Cruz at 9:30 and returning at 16:00. Next door is the Cañada Blanca visitor centre, and the cable car is about five minutes away by car.
Sleeping here changes the day: you can be at the Roques de García first thing, go up on one of the first cable car slots and watch the sunset at the Narices del Teide viewpoint without having to drive down the mountain road afterwards in the dark.
- **Hotel Spa Villalba, Vilaflor** (Spa hotel, desde 118 € / night): The Hotel Spa Villalba is in Vilaflor, at 1,500 m, on the Camino de San Roque and inside the Teide forest crown, the Canary pine forest that surrounds the park below the caldera. It belongs to Hoteles Reverón, a family firm on the island dating from 1929. It is adults only, from age 14, and does not admit pets. It has 27 rooms, spa included in all rates and its own restaurant.
Vilaflor, the southern village 25 km from the park
Vilaflor is the southern village from which the TF-21 climbs to Las Cañadas, and the hotel calculates 25 km to the National Park. By that road you reach Boca Tauce, the Llano de Ucanca and the Roques de García without going via the north, and in the afternoon you can watch the sunset up there and come down to sleep. The hotel has no transfer: from the airport, according to the hotel itself, a taxi costs about €40.
Seven room types, with stairs or without
The 27 rooms are of seven types: standard double with mountain view, attic with garden view, superior double with mountain or garden view, junior suite, suite with hydromassage and suite with hydromassage and terrace. All face the pine forest, the garden or the mountains, and all have air conditioning, heating, free wifi, safe, coffee or tea maker, paid minibar and bathrobe.

Standard double: 35 m², bath and no balcony, on the east or west side; it keeps the building's original structure and is reached by stairs. From €118 a night on its website.
Superior double: 38 m², with sofa and balcony, facing east; from €138.
Suite with hydromassage and terrace: 50 m², up to three people, with a hydromassage bath and a terrace with an outdoor jacuzzi looking at the pines and the south of the island; from €135 on December dates.

The superiors and suites have a lift or are on the ground floor. Check-in from 14:00 and check-out until 12:00.
Spa and pool under the pines
The circuit begins in a relaxation room and continues through a Turkish bath, sauna, sanarium, pebble paths and jacuzzi, with a separate menu of massages and treatments. The pool has an indoor part and an outdoor part among Canary pines: in winter it is covered and heated, and in summer it is uncovered, with jets for neck and back. Access to the circuit is included in all rates, although prior booking may be required depending on occupancy.
La Vendimia and the Anconito garden
The La Vendimia restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner à la carte and at the table, with no buffet. The cooking starts from Canarian with international dishes, uses vegetables and herbs from its organic Anconito farm and wines from the Reverón organic winery, and has vegetarian and vegan options. The terrace looks out over the forest crown. On half board, drinks are paid separately. For dinner outside the hotel, the Eustaquio Restaurant is in the same village.
On foot from the door
The GR-131, the trail that crosses the island, passes practically by the door. The hotel also suggests a 6 km route to the Reverón winery, of moderate difficulty and a little under two hours, and longer ones through the Paisaje Lunar and Las Lajas. For bikes it has its own room.
### Servicios
- **Cañada Blanca Visitor Centre**: Next to the Parador and facing the Roques de García · Every day from 9:00 to 16:00 · Park information, parking and toilets
- **Summit and Montaña Blanca permits, on Tenerife ON**: Online booking 56 days ahead · New places on Mondays at 7:00 · Fines of up to €600 without a permit
- **Cable car base station car park**: 220 free spaces on the TF-21, km 43 · Closed outside the cable car's hours · Best after 13:00

## Car-free: By bus, on the 348 from Puerto de la Cruz
The Teide can be done without a car, on a fixed timetable. From Santa Cruz you take the 102 to Puerto de la Cruz, an hour away, and there the 348 at 9:30, which stops at El Portillo, at the cable car and at the Parador. The return leaves the Parador at 16:00. You get about five hours up top: cable car or Roques de García, and lunch.
Presupuesto orientativo: 50–130 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir without a car
- **Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide** (Hotel): A mountain manor inside the volcano
Paradores describes it as a mountain manor house at 2,152 m, in the middle of the Las Cañadas caldera, facing the Roques de García and with the peak in view from the dining room and from some rooms. Paradores presents it as an example of sustainability: it generates its own electricity and draws its water from the mountain. At night, with no lights around, the sky is the show.
The rooms and the house
It has standard doubles, superior doubles, junior suites and accessible rooms. For cold nights there is a lounge with a fireplace, and for the afternoon, a covered heated pool, sauna and gym. The outdoor parking is free. Pets are admitted: check the conditions before booking. The restaurant serves Canarian cooking, with lunch from 13:30 to 15:00 and dinner from 18:30 to 21:30.
Getting there and what is nearby
It is about 70 km from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, via La Laguna and the La Esperanza road (TF-24) and then the TF-21; you can also reach it from La Orotava, Chío, Arona or Granadilla. Without a car, bus 348 ends at its door, leaving Puerto de la Cruz at 9:30 and returning at 16:00. Next door is the Cañada Blanca visitor centre, and the cable car is about five minutes away by car.
Sleeping here changes the day: you can be at the Roques de García first thing, go up on one of the first cable car slots and watch the sunset at the Narices del Teide viewpoint without having to drive down the mountain road afterwards in the dark.
- **Altavista Refuge** (Mountain hut, desde 71 € / bed): What spending the night at 3,260 m is like
The Altavista Refuge is on the slope of the Teide, at 3,260 m, on the Montaña Blanca trail. It is run by the cable car company and is open every day of the year. It has 49 bunk places in shared dormitories: 39 in the main building, spread over two floors, and 10 in an annex. You sleep in it for one night only, and the reason is the next morning: the booking includes the permit for the Telesforo Bravo trail to reach the peak at dawn, between 6:00 and 7:30, without arranging anything separately.
It is cold. Even in summer the website asks for a fleece, long trousers and a thermal blanket, and in winter gloves and a hat; without warm clothing you can be refused entry to the trail. There is a rest room with a fireplace and a dining room, but there is no bed linen: a sleeping bag is compulsory. There are no showers either: two toilets for everyone. The refuge is not connected to the water mains and the electricity comes from solar panels, so use little and take your rubbish back with you. Quiet from 22:00 to 6:30. At 3,260 m you feel the altitude: if you feel dizzy or have a headache, the rule is to descend as soon as possible.
Hours, rates and food
You book only on its website; nobody is admitted without a booking. The general rate is €71; FEDME members pay €56.80 and Tenerife residents €29. Check-in is from 19:00 to 22:00, and you cannot enter the dormitories earlier. At 8:00 you vacate them. Between 8:00 and 11:00 and between 17:00 and 19:00 it closes for cleaning; from 11:00 to 17:00 passing walkers use the toilets and the machines outside.
There is no meal service. Carry up your dinner already made: there is a kitchen with a microwave and fridge to heat it, but no cooking. The machines sell water, soft drinks, hot drinks and snacks, and accept coins and card, not notes. No alcohol, fire, candles or smoking.
Going up and coming down
On foot along trail 7, which leaves from km 40.7 of the TF-21: 4 to 5 hours' climb, between 9:00 and 17:00. Or on the cable car, with a separate ticket, and an hour's walk from La Rambleta via the La Fortaleza viewpoint. If wind stops the cable car, you climb the whole way on foot, so do not cut it fine. The next morning you come down via Montaña Blanca between 7:30 and 12:00, or by cable car if it is running, with a ticket that can only be bought at the top, by card. By bus, line 348 from Puerto de la Cruz and the 342 from Playa de las Américas reach Las Cañadas.
From age 14, and under-16s with a responsible adult. Pregnant women and people with heart, respiratory or mobility conditions cannot sleep here. No animals are admitted.
### Servicios
- **TITSA bus 348, Puerto de la Cruz – Las Cañadas del Teide**: One departure a day, every day · Puerto de la Cruz 9:30, La Orotava 9:45 · Return from the Parador at 16:00
- **Cañada Blanca Visitor Centre**: Next to the Parador and facing the Roques de García · Every day from 9:00 to 16:00 · Park information, parking and toilets
- **Summit and Montaña Blanca permits, on Tenerife ON**: Online booking 56 days ahead · New places on Mondays at 7:00 · Fines of up to €600 without a permit

## On foot: On foot to the summit, with a permit and a night up high
The Teide is climbed on foot from the road via Montaña Blanca: 8.2 km and 1,186 m to La Rambleta, plus the final 168 m of the Telesforo Bravo. Both stretches need booking. The complete way is to sleep at the Altavista Refuge, at 3,260 m, and climb to the crater at dawn.
Presupuesto orientativo: 30–150 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're on foot
- **Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide** (Hotel): A mountain manor inside the volcano
Paradores describes it as a mountain manor house at 2,152 m, in the middle of the Las Cañadas caldera, facing the Roques de García and with the peak in view from the dining room and from some rooms. Paradores presents it as an example of sustainability: it generates its own electricity and draws its water from the mountain. At night, with no lights around, the sky is the show.
The rooms and the house
It has standard doubles, superior doubles, junior suites and accessible rooms. For cold nights there is a lounge with a fireplace, and for the afternoon, a covered heated pool, sauna and gym. The outdoor parking is free. Pets are admitted: check the conditions before booking. The restaurant serves Canarian cooking, with lunch from 13:30 to 15:00 and dinner from 18:30 to 21:30.
Getting there and what is nearby
It is about 70 km from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, via La Laguna and the La Esperanza road (TF-24) and then the TF-21; you can also reach it from La Orotava, Chío, Arona or Granadilla. Without a car, bus 348 ends at its door, leaving Puerto de la Cruz at 9:30 and returning at 16:00. Next door is the Cañada Blanca visitor centre, and the cable car is about five minutes away by car.
Sleeping here changes the day: you can be at the Roques de García first thing, go up on one of the first cable car slots and watch the sunset at the Narices del Teide viewpoint without having to drive down the mountain road afterwards in the dark.
- **Altavista Refuge** (Mountain hut, desde 71 € / bed): What spending the night at 3,260 m is like
The Altavista Refuge is on the slope of the Teide, at 3,260 m, on the Montaña Blanca trail. It is run by the cable car company and is open every day of the year. It has 49 bunk places in shared dormitories: 39 in the main building, spread over two floors, and 10 in an annex. You sleep in it for one night only, and the reason is the next morning: the booking includes the permit for the Telesforo Bravo trail to reach the peak at dawn, between 6:00 and 7:30, without arranging anything separately.
It is cold. Even in summer the website asks for a fleece, long trousers and a thermal blanket, and in winter gloves and a hat; without warm clothing you can be refused entry to the trail. There is a rest room with a fireplace and a dining room, but there is no bed linen: a sleeping bag is compulsory. There are no showers either: two toilets for everyone. The refuge is not connected to the water mains and the electricity comes from solar panels, so use little and take your rubbish back with you. Quiet from 22:00 to 6:30. At 3,260 m you feel the altitude: if you feel dizzy or have a headache, the rule is to descend as soon as possible.
Hours, rates and food
You book only on its website; nobody is admitted without a booking. The general rate is €71; FEDME members pay €56.80 and Tenerife residents €29. Check-in is from 19:00 to 22:00, and you cannot enter the dormitories earlier. At 8:00 you vacate them. Between 8:00 and 11:00 and between 17:00 and 19:00 it closes for cleaning; from 11:00 to 17:00 passing walkers use the toilets and the machines outside.
There is no meal service. Carry up your dinner already made: there is a kitchen with a microwave and fridge to heat it, but no cooking. The machines sell water, soft drinks, hot drinks and snacks, and accept coins and card, not notes. No alcohol, fire, candles or smoking.
Going up and coming down
On foot along trail 7, which leaves from km 40.7 of the TF-21: 4 to 5 hours' climb, between 9:00 and 17:00. Or on the cable car, with a separate ticket, and an hour's walk from La Rambleta via the La Fortaleza viewpoint. If wind stops the cable car, you climb the whole way on foot, so do not cut it fine. The next morning you come down via Montaña Blanca between 7:30 and 12:00, or by cable car if it is running, with a ticket that can only be bought at the top, by card. By bus, line 348 from Puerto de la Cruz and the 342 from Playa de las Américas reach Las Cañadas.
From age 14, and under-16s with a responsible adult. Pregnant women and people with heart, respiratory or mobility conditions cannot sleep here. No animals are admitted.
### Servicios
- **Cañada Blanca Visitor Centre**: Next to the Parador and facing the Roques de García · Every day from 9:00 to 16:00 · Park information, parking and toilets
- **Summit and Montaña Blanca permits, on Tenerife ON**: Online booking 56 days ahead · New places on Mondays at 7:00 · Fines of up to €600 without a permit

## By plane: Flight to Tenerife and a hire car to Las Cañadas
Tenerife has two airports with direct flights from many cities on the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands: Tenerife Norte, in La Laguna, and Tenerife Sur, in Granadilla. From either of them the National Park is about an hour by car: from the North you climb via La Esperanza and enter by El Portillo; from the South you climb via Vilaflor and enter by Boca Tauce.
### Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide** (Hotel): A mountain manor inside the volcano
Paradores describes it as a mountain manor house at 2,152 m, in the middle of the Las Cañadas caldera, facing the Roques de García and with the peak in view from the dining room and from some rooms. Paradores presents it as an example of sustainability: it generates its own electricity and draws its water from the mountain. At night, with no lights around, the sky is the show.
The rooms and the house
It has standard doubles, superior doubles, junior suites and accessible rooms. For cold nights there is a lounge with a fireplace, and for the afternoon, a covered heated pool, sauna and gym. The outdoor parking is free. Pets are admitted: check the conditions before booking. The restaurant serves Canarian cooking, with lunch from 13:30 to 15:00 and dinner from 18:30 to 21:30.
Getting there and what is nearby
It is about 70 km from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, via La Laguna and the La Esperanza road (TF-24) and then the TF-21; you can also reach it from La Orotava, Chío, Arona or Granadilla. Without a car, bus 348 ends at its door, leaving Puerto de la Cruz at 9:30 and returning at 16:00. Next door is the Cañada Blanca visitor centre, and the cable car is about five minutes away by car.
Sleeping here changes the day: you can be at the Roques de García first thing, go up on one of the first cable car slots and watch the sunset at the Narices del Teide viewpoint without having to drive down the mountain road afterwards in the dark.
- **Altavista Refuge** (Mountain hut, desde 71 € / bed): What spending the night at 3,260 m is like
The Altavista Refuge is on the slope of the Teide, at 3,260 m, on the Montaña Blanca trail. It is run by the cable car company and is open every day of the year. It has 49 bunk places in shared dormitories: 39 in the main building, spread over two floors, and 10 in an annex. You sleep in it for one night only, and the reason is the next morning: the booking includes the permit for the Telesforo Bravo trail to reach the peak at dawn, between 6:00 and 7:30, without arranging anything separately.
It is cold. Even in summer the website asks for a fleece, long trousers and a thermal blanket, and in winter gloves and a hat; without warm clothing you can be refused entry to the trail. There is a rest room with a fireplace and a dining room, but there is no bed linen: a sleeping bag is compulsory. There are no showers either: two toilets for everyone. The refuge is not connected to the water mains and the electricity comes from solar panels, so use little and take your rubbish back with you. Quiet from 22:00 to 6:30. At 3,260 m you feel the altitude: if you feel dizzy or have a headache, the rule is to descend as soon as possible.
Hours, rates and food
You book only on its website; nobody is admitted without a booking. The general rate is €71; FEDME members pay €56.80 and Tenerife residents €29. Check-in is from 19:00 to 22:00, and you cannot enter the dormitories earlier. At 8:00 you vacate them. Between 8:00 and 11:00 and between 17:00 and 19:00 it closes for cleaning; from 11:00 to 17:00 passing walkers use the toilets and the machines outside.
There is no meal service. Carry up your dinner already made: there is a kitchen with a microwave and fridge to heat it, but no cooking. The machines sell water, soft drinks, hot drinks and snacks, and accept coins and card, not notes. No alcohol, fire, candles or smoking.
Going up and coming down
On foot along trail 7, which leaves from km 40.7 of the TF-21: 4 to 5 hours' climb, between 9:00 and 17:00. Or on the cable car, with a separate ticket, and an hour's walk from La Rambleta via the La Fortaleza viewpoint. If wind stops the cable car, you climb the whole way on foot, so do not cut it fine. The next morning you come down via Montaña Blanca between 7:30 and 12:00, or by cable car if it is running, with a ticket that can only be bought at the top, by card. By bus, line 348 from Puerto de la Cruz and the 342 from Playa de las Américas reach Las Cañadas.
From age 14, and under-16s with a responsible adult. Pregnant women and people with heart, respiratory or mobility conditions cannot sleep here. No animals are admitted.
- **Hotel Spa Villalba, Vilaflor** (Spa hotel, desde 118 € / night): The Hotel Spa Villalba is in Vilaflor, at 1,500 m, on the Camino de San Roque and inside the Teide forest crown, the Canary pine forest that surrounds the park below the caldera. It belongs to Hoteles Reverón, a family firm on the island dating from 1929. It is adults only, from age 14, and does not admit pets. It has 27 rooms, spa included in all rates and its own restaurant.
Vilaflor, the southern village 25 km from the park
Vilaflor is the southern village from which the TF-21 climbs to Las Cañadas, and the hotel calculates 25 km to the National Park. By that road you reach Boca Tauce, the Llano de Ucanca and the Roques de García without going via the north, and in the afternoon you can watch the sunset up there and come down to sleep. The hotel has no transfer: from the airport, according to the hotel itself, a taxi costs about €40.
Seven room types, with stairs or without
The 27 rooms are of seven types: standard double with mountain view, attic with garden view, superior double with mountain or garden view, junior suite, suite with hydromassage and suite with hydromassage and terrace. All face the pine forest, the garden or the mountains, and all have air conditioning, heating, free wifi, safe, coffee or tea maker, paid minibar and bathrobe.

Standard double: 35 m², bath and no balcony, on the east or west side; it keeps the building's original structure and is reached by stairs. From €118 a night on its website.
Superior double: 38 m², with sofa and balcony, facing east; from €138.
Suite with hydromassage and terrace: 50 m², up to three people, with a hydromassage bath and a terrace with an outdoor jacuzzi looking at the pines and the south of the island; from €135 on December dates.

The superiors and suites have a lift or are on the ground floor. Check-in from 14:00 and check-out until 12:00.
Spa and pool under the pines
The circuit begins in a relaxation room and continues through a Turkish bath, sauna, sanarium, pebble paths and jacuzzi, with a separate menu of massages and treatments. The pool has an indoor part and an outdoor part among Canary pines: in winter it is covered and heated, and in summer it is uncovered, with jets for neck and back. Access to the circuit is included in all rates, although prior booking may be required depending on occupancy.
La Vendimia and the Anconito garden
The La Vendimia restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner à la carte and at the table, with no buffet. The cooking starts from Canarian with international dishes, uses vegetables and herbs from its organic Anconito farm and wines from the Reverón organic winery, and has vegetarian and vegan options. The terrace looks out over the forest crown. On half board, drinks are paid separately. For dinner outside the hotel, the Eustaquio Restaurant is in the same village.
On foot from the door
The GR-131, the trail that crosses the island, passes practically by the door. The hotel also suggests a 6 km route to the Reverón winery, of moderate difficulty and a little under two hours, and longer ones through the Paisaje Lunar and Las Lajas. For bikes it has its own room.
### Servicios
- **TITSA bus 348, Puerto de la Cruz – Las Cañadas del Teide**: One departure a day, every day · Puerto de la Cruz 9:30, La Orotava 9:45 · Return from the Parador at 16:00

## As a family: A volcano you can see without walking much

With children, the Teide is enjoyed in short stops: the cable car, a little of the trail among the Roques and the viewpoints beside the road. What is not for them is the summit and Montaña Blanca.

### What works best
The cable car, from age 3; ages 3 to 13, €21.50 return

The Roques de García, 3.6 km in two hours, or just a stretch

The Llano de Ucanca viewpoint, beside the road

The El Portillo visitor centre and botanical garden

The Teide Observatory, from age 8 and free up to 16

### Sleeping
Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide, with a heated pool and superior rooms

### Eating
Parador restaurant, with Canarian dishes to share

Cable car base station cafe

### Bear in mind
The cable car does not admit under-3s or pushchairs

It is cold up top and the sun burns: coat, cap and sun cream

At La Rambleta there is only one hour; do not rush the children along the stony path

### Qué hacer as a family
- Teide cable car, from 2,356 to 3,555 m
- Roques de García trail
- La Fortaleza and Pico Viejo viewpoints, at La Rambleta
- Llano de Ucanca viewpoint and walk
- El Portillo Visitor Centre and botanical garden
- Stargazing with telescopes at the cable car base station
- Guided visit to the Teide Observatory, at Izaña
- Sunset at the Narices del Teide viewpoint

## With teenagers: The highest point in Spain, with a permit

For teenagers the Teide has a real challenge: stepping onto the crater at 3,718 m, sleeping in a mountain refuge or looking at the sky through a real telescope. All of it needs booking, so plan it with them.

### What works best
The climb to the crater on the Telesforo Bravo, with a permit; free for under-14s

Montaña Blanca and a night at Altavista, from age 14

Stargazing with telescopes, from age 8

The visit to the Teide Observatory, free from 8 to 16 years

### Sleeping
Altavista Refuge, from age 14; under-16s with an adult

Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide, to have the night close to the sky

### Eating
At the refuge there are no meals: prepare dinner together before going up

Parador restaurant on the way back

### Bear in mind
Summit permits come out on Mondays at 7:00, with 56 days' margin

Above 3,000 m the air is thin: climb slowly and drink water

### Qué hacer with teenagers
- Teide cable car, from 2,356 to 3,555 m
- Climbing the Teide peak on the Telesforo Bravo trail
- Roques de García trail
- Montaña Blanca and the Altavista Refuge, on foot to La Rambleta
- La Fortaleza and Pico Viejo viewpoints, at La Rambleta
- Stargazing with telescopes at the cable car base station
- Guided visit to the Teide Observatory, at Izaña

## Consejos

### Book the cable car with a time
Only the ascent has a fixed time. Arrive 20 minutes early or you lose your slot.

### Request the summit permit on Monday
Telesforo Bravo places are released on Mondays at 7:00, 56 days ahead.

### Take water, a jacket and sun cream up
There is no café up top and the weather changes in minutes.

### Start with the Roques early
With low light and fewer people at the La Ruleta viewpoint.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How long does it take from Santa Cruz to Teide?
About 50 minutes to El Portillo and an hour and ten to the cable car or the Parador, along the TF-24.

### How much does the Teide cable car cost?
€43 return for a non-resident adult and €21.50 for ages 3 to 13. Canary Islands residents pay €10.75.

### Can you climb to the peak without a permit?
No. Without a permit you reach La Rambleta, at 3,555 m, and the La Fortaleza and Pico Viejo viewpoints. The crater requires the Telesforo Bravo path permit.

### Can you go by guagua from Santa Cruz?
Yes: line 102 to Puerto de la Cruz and there the 348, which leaves at 9:30 and returns at 16:00 from the Parador.

### Is it cold up there?
Yes. La Rambleta is at 3,555 m and the temperature differs greatly from the coast, often with wind. Bring a jacket all year.

### Can you go with children?
Yes. The Roques de García take two hours without great difficulty and the cable car admits children from 3. The summit and Montaña Blanca are not for them.