28.31° N · 16.84° W · Teno and Masca
Five kilometres of descent from the hamlet of Masca to the beach, about four hours, with booking and a helmet. You do not climb back: you leave by boat to Los Gigantes. To reach the start you must take bus 355 in Santiago del Teide.
Part of Teno and Masca
Who offers it
Independent companies: you book with them, on their terms. Prices are as they publish them and may change.
Step by step
From the Santiago del Teide cemetery stop to Masca, about 20 minutes.
At the Visitor Centre: ID card, ticket, bus ticket and helmet.
About 5 km of trail to the inlet, with rocky sections and narrow passages.
Pick-up at the inlet and a trip beneath the cliffs to the port.
The Masca ravine trail goes down from the hamlet, in the heart of the Teno Rural Park, to a cove on the Atlantic. It is managed by the Cabildo de Tenerife: you enter with a booking, at a set time, with a lent helmet and in one direction only, downwards. At the bottom a boat picks you up and takes you to Los Gigantes.
It is a cleft with vertical walls that narrows as you descend: about 5 km from the 750 m of the hamlet down to sea level, among volcanic rocks, palm trees and sections where the riverbed barely lets two people through. The Cabildo rates it high difficulty: there is uneven ground, rock steps, slippery passages and some short climbs. Allow about four hours to go down.
On the official Masca Gorge Trail website, from €40.66 per person. It includes the slot with date and time, the loan of the helmet, staff assistance and accident insurance. Tenerife residents and Canary Islands mountaineering or caving federation members do not pay: they pay the ticket and it is refunded at the checkpoint after checking residence or licence. The bus, the boat and the return from Los Gigantes to Santiago del Teide are not included.
The descent slots run from 8:30 to 13:00, every half hour, with 25 places per slot and 50 in the 9:00 one. The trail is open from 8:30 to 18:00.
By car you cannot reach the starting point. Park in Santiago del Teide, in the cemetery car park, walk about 10 minutes to TITSA stop 4692 and take line 355 to Masca, about 20 minutes. It has been compulsory since December 2025: you must be at the stop an hour before your slot and show your ticket at the checkpoint. At the Masca Visitor Centre you report 30 minutes before the time. From Santa Cruz it is about 70 km to Santiago del Teide, a little over an hour via the TF-1 or by the north.
At the bottom the beach is closed to the public and there is no way out along the coast: you leave by boat from the Masca inlet to the port of Los Gigantes, a trip of 20 to 30 minutes in front of the cliffs. The ticket is bought separately from one of the collaborating shipping companies, such as Marítima Acantilados with its Masca Water Taxi, and no later than four hours after your slot. If the sea closes the jetty, you have to walk back up the ravine to the Visitor Centre and take the 355 there. From Los Gigantes to Santiago del Teide you return on TITSA lines 462 or 325.
Who it's for
You are fit, have mountain footwear and want to spend half a day inside a ravine.
You are going with children under 8, with a dog or with ordinary trainers: you will not be let through the checkpoint.
What to bring
Map
What you have around the starting point.
More to do
Itineraries
Tips
It has the most places and leaves you margin for the boat.
That way you know you have a place back.
The bus leaves from there and the return from Los Gigantes ends there.
Questions
Yes, on the Cabildo's official website, with date and time. Without a booking you cannot enter.
From €40.66 per person, plus the bus and the boat. Tenerife residents do not pay the ticket.
No. TITSA line 355 from Santiago del Teide is compulsory to reach the start.
The Cabildo sets it up as one-way only, downwards, with a boat exit.
From age 8. Under-18s go with their guardian or with an adult authorised in writing.
No, except assistance dogs, which are declared when booking.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/canary-islands/teno-and-masca/things-to-do/masca-gorge-trail
