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TenerifeTenerife · Hiking

Anaga and Masca hikes: walking Tenerife's two great massifs, with bookings and buses

Masca is a gorge regulated to the minute: booking, bus and boat all compulsory. Anaga is a laurel forest you reach on a local bus, almost always without a permit. Here's what you need to know about each.

Masca gorge
descent of about 5 km and 4 h; difficult
Masca price
€40.66 adult · €20.33 aged 8 to 17
Masca access
only on bus 355 from Santiago del Teide
Anaga
Biosphere Reserve; laurel forest with no permit at Cruz del Carmen
El Pijaral
free permit, at most 14 days ahead, no guided groups
Minimum age
8 in Masca

Updated 2 October 2026Facts checked against official sourcesContains affiliate links

Anaga & Masca
Tenerife Masca R07 · Photo: Marc Ryckaert · CC BY-SA 4.0

In October · Tenerife

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Anaga and Masca are the two big names in Tenerife hiking, and they work in opposite ways. The Masca gorge, in the Teno massif in the north-west, is walked downhill with a booking, at a fixed time, arriving on a specific bus and leaving by boat: if one piece fails, you don't get in. Anaga, on the north-eastern tip, is a massif of laurel forest with open-access trails from Cruz del Carmen, which you reach by bus from La Laguna, and just one forest that needs a permit.

If you don't want to wrestle with timetables, Anaga. If you're fit and book in good time, finishing the walk on a boat beneath the Masca cliffs is worth the effort.

Our pick

1

Masca, all sorted

Guide, boat back and transport in one package; the companies have reserved places in the gorge.

2

Guided Anaga hike on a budget

A guided walk in the Anaga Rural Park from €24, 3 to 6 hours.

3

Laurel forest in a small group

A circular route through the laurel forest with 12 people at most.

4

Cruz del Carmen with local produce

A half-day hike in the laurel forest with local food products.

Masca hike: booking, price and how it works

The official trail is the Camino del Barranco de Masca, in the Teno Rural Park (municipality of Buenavista del Norte). It's run by TRAGSA for the island council and can only be walked downhill: from the Masca visitor centre to the jetty, about 5 km and about 4 hours, difficult. There a boat picks you up and takes you to Los Gigantes. At the moment both the trail and the jetty are open; the status is published on Masca today.

Price: €40.66 per adult and €20.33 for ages 8 to 17 for non-residents. Canary Islands residents pay €7.49 (€3.75 for children) and Tenerife residents nothing. It includes timed entry, a helmet, wardens, rescue cover and accident insurance. It doesn't include bus 355 (€1.45), the boat or the bus back from Los Gigantes.

Quotas: entry every half hour from 08:30 to 13:00, 25 people per slot and 50 at 09:00. At the moment the calendar opens the descent from Wednesday to Saturday; check when you book. Places the companies don't sell are released three days before.

Getting there: only on TITSA bus 355 from Santiago del Teide, about 20 minutes. Anyone arriving by car, taxi or any other vehicle is turned away, and they check your bus ticket at the checkpoint. Leave your car in the cemetery car park in Santiago del Teide, a 10-minute walk from the stop.

How a day in Masca fits together

  1. Book the boat first (Discover Teno, Marítima Acantilados or Masca Express), leaving no more than 4 hours after your slot.
  2. Book your slot on the official Camino del Barranco de Masca website. The 09:00 slot has twice as many places.
  3. Park in Santiago del Teide and wait at the stop (code 4692) at least an hour before your slot: at 08:00 for the 09:00 one.
  4. Report to the checkpoint at the visitor centre 30 minutes early with ID, your entry ticket, your bus 355 ticket and your boat ticket. If one is missing, you don't get through; if you're late, you lose your ticket and your money.
  5. Walk down wearing your helmet, without leaving the path or going into the stream bed or the pools.
  6. From the jetty, boat to Los Gigantes and bus 462 or 325 back to Santiago del Teide.

Compulsory kit: closed walking shoes (no exceptions), at least 1.5 litres of water per person and a charged phone. Under-18s must be with their legal guardian and a signed authorisation. Cancellation: free up to 72 hours before, with a maximum of two changes; after that, no changes or refunds.

Masca without walking the gorge

The hamlet of Masca can be visited free and without booking along the TF-436, with very little parking; buses 355 and 365 stop in the village. On fire-alert days, the island council closes the road to hire cars and private cars from 09:00 to 16:00 and only small buses with a quota get in.

The coach tours leaving from Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos that combine Teide, Masca, Icod and Garachico stop in the village for 30 to 45 minutes; they don't walk the gorge. If it's the scenery rather than the walk that appeals, a boat from Los Gigantes shows you the cliffs of up to about 600 m and anchors in Masca bay when the sea allows. In the same Teno massif, Punta de Teno can only be reached on bus 369 from Buenavista (€1 each way): at the moment, cars, cyclists and walkers can't get through.

Anaga: what to see and the best hiking trails

Anaga takes up the north-eastern tip of the island, split between Santa Cruz, La Laguna and Tegueste. It has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 9 June 2015, covering almost 50,000 hectares including the sea. Its great draw is the laurel forest (laurisilva), a humid woodland of laurels, with trails running down from the ridge to the coast.

Cruz del Carmen, the way in with no permit

The Cruz del Carmen visitor centre (TF-12, km 22.5) is open every day from 09:30 to 16:00 (until 15:00 from July to September and over Christmas), is free and has a car park. From the door start the Sendero de los Sentidos (three short loops), the Bosque de los Enigmas and two trails down towards the coast: the PR-TF 10 to Punta del Hidalgo and the PR-TF 12 to Bajamar. It's the laurel forest the island council itself recommends to anyone who can't get a permit for El Pijaral.

El Pijaral, the "Enchanted Forest"

The La Ensillada – Cabezo del Tejo – La Ensillada trail is a loop of just over 6 km, of medium difficulty, inside the El Pijaral Integral Nature Reserve, starting from the La Ensillada car park (TF-123, km 4.9). The permit is free but compulsory for each person and you apply on the trail's page on Tenerife ON:

  • at most 14 days ahead; every Monday at 07:00 (Canary time, the same as UK time) another week opens;
  • a maximum of 5 people per booking, and daytime only;
  • bring it downloaded along with your ID: there's no signal at La Ensillada;
  • if you don't turn up and haven't cancelled, you can't book for three months.

Companies and commercial groups can't go in. When a tour promises the "Enchanted Forest", it walks other stretches of laurel forest, not El Pijaral. Anaga's other trail that needs a permit is La Asomada – Cruz de Afur.

Taganana, Almáciga and the coast

On the other side of the ridge, the road drops via El Bailadero to Taganana, Roque de las Bodegas and Almáciga, the villages on Anaga's north coast. Benijo beach was closed by municipal decree because of the unstable hillside, along with part of the PR-TF 6.2 trail to El Draguillo; before you go, check the Tenerife ON alerts to see whether it has reopened. For a swim, Las Teresitas, in San Andrés, is the calm beach in the area.

Getting to Anaga by bus and car

  • To Cruz del Carmen: buses 76 and 275 from La Laguna, "Cruz del Carmen" stop (2232).
  • To El Pijaral: bus 947 from Santa Cruz to La Ensillada (stop 1487). There are only 3 or 4 a day: on weekdays, the first useful one leaves at 15:00; at weekends, at 10:15, much better for doing the loop.
  • To Taganana and Almáciga: bus 946 from the Santa Cruz bus station (Intercambiador), 60 minutes and €1.25. On weekdays it leaves at 05:10, 05:50, 10:30, 13:10, 14:25, 17:15 and 19:35; the last one back from Almáciga is at 20:35.
  • By car: there's no ban on hire cars today, but the island council has announced barriers at the Cruz del Carmen car park, a paid shuttle (free for residents) from Las Canteras, in La Laguna, and advance booking for the Cruz del Carmen trails. Before you go, check the Tenerife ON alerts.
N ↑ Masca1Los Gigantes2Punta de Teno3Anaga · Cruz del Carmen4Taganana5Las Teresitas6La Laguna7Santa Cruz de Tenerife8
  1. 1Mascanature areaDirections ↗
  2. 2Los GigantesportDirections ↗
  3. 3Punta de Tenonature areaDirections ↗
  4. 4Anaga · Cruz del Carmennature areaDirections ↗
  5. 5TagananatownDirections ↗
  6. 6Las TeresitasbeachDirections ↗
  7. 7La LagunatownDirections ↗
  8. 8Santa Cruz de TenerifeportDirections ↗
Outlines: © OpenStreetMap contributors

Guided hike or on your own

On your ownOn a tour
Masca: price€40.66 + bus 355 (€1.45) + boat + bus backfrom €145 with guide, boat and transport
Masca: logisticsbook the boat and the slot, park in Santiago del Teide and be at the stop an hour earlyhotel pick-up; the company fits the times together and has its own quota
Anaga: El Pijaralfree permit, individuals onlynot allowed for companies
Anaga: pricebuses from €1.25; visitor centre freefrom €24 (3–6 h) to €139 for a full day
Anaga: what you gainfreedom over times and routea guide, an explanation of the forest and, sometimes, local produce

In Masca, a guide is worth it for the logistics of bus, slot and boat. In Anaga, going on your own is easy; a guide adds explanation, not access.

See all options on GetYourGuide →Prices checked on 2 October 2026

Safety and what to bring

  • Masca is difficult: a continuous descent, loose rock and the chance of having to walk back up if the jetty closes. Anyone who ignores the conditions may end up paying for their rescue.
  • Anaga is damp and changes fast: the La Laguna plateau has about 64 days of rain a year, against 15 in the south. Bring a warm layer and shoes with a proper sole, even if it's sunny on the coast.
  • Closures: with a fire, storm or bad-weather alert, the island council closes trails and protected areas across the island. Everything is published at tenerifeon.es/alertas.

More routes in hiking in the Canary Islands; the summit permits, in our Mount Teide guide; the rest of the island, in Tenerife; and another great laurel forest, Garajonay, on La Gomera.

Do you need to book the Masca hike?

Yes. You book a time slot on the official Camino del Barranco de Masca website and, separately, the boat back; without both and a bus 355 ticket, you won't get past the checkpoint.

How much does the Masca gorge hike cost?

€40.66 per non-resident adult and €20.33 for ages 8 to 17, plus bus 355 (€1.45), the boat to Los Gigantes and the bus back.

Can you hike up the Masca gorge?

No. Only the descent to the jetty and the boat out are allowed; you only walk up if the sea closes the jetty.

Do you need a permit to hike in Anaga?

Only for El Pijaral and La Asomada – Cruz de Afur. That permit is free, is booked on Tenerife ON at most 14 days ahead and isn't valid for company groups.

What can you see in Anaga in a day?

In the morning, the laurel forest at Cruz del Carmen, or El Pijaral with a permit; then down to Taganana and Almáciga, finishing at Las Teresitas beach.

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