Pico del Teide – approach to Spain’s highest peak

What are some interesting things you can do on Christmas Eve? You can do the last minute shopping, clean up before dinner, wrap gifts or finally prepare the dishes. And you can also attempt to climb Spain’s highest peak :)

First thing in the morning, at the crack of dawn (or even long before it) we drove to the slopes of Teide, where the hiking trail to the summit began. Welcome to our coverage of this unusual Christmas Eve trip.

Table of contents

A few words about Teide

At 3,718 meters, Teide is Spain’s highest peak. It is a volcanic peak that was formed above the crater itself.

Interestingly, the volcano is considered active all the time, and the last recorded eruption took place less than 100 years ago. The peak reigns over Tenerife and can be seen from almost anywhere on the island, and is often visible from other islands, such as Gran Canaria.

Teide often assumes the so-called. hat – clouds accumulate over the very top to form just the characteristic hat, which is quite a common phenomenon.

While the weather in Tenerife is changeable and it can rain on one side of the island and be sunny on the other, the weather is generally nicer on the summit of Teide itself. The clouds are stopped by the hills, omitting, of course, the aforementioned hat.

However, this does not mean that you can go there in sandals, or the Polish custom in flip-flops ;) Despite the sunshine, high up there are even sub-zero temperatures and there is snow in places. You also have to watch out for the sun, which is treacherous high in the mountains. Over 3,000 m. Above sea level and at lower temperatures we perceive heat differently and can return from a trip with a good burn ;)

During our trip, the temperature ranged from 0 deg. C at the top after +28 deg. C already in the lower parts of the island.

Teide summit expedition

Our trip began with a 4 a.m. wake-up call, a quick breakfast, and around 5 we were on our way to the parking lot, from where the hiking trail begins.

We drove most of the way in darkness, and the only source of light was the moon. Once we arrived at the parking lot, it turned out that we were not the only ones who wanted to make the approach since dawn (in Wiligia!!!) and ran out of places for cars. We stood somewhere on the edge of some rocks where there was relatively flat terrain and reached the trail.

Generally, you should set out on the trail preferably before dawn. Earlier, several people told us that the route takes up to 6 h one way. It is also necessary to have a supply for the descent. Stock for the descent must always be taken, because sometimes, unfortunately, the queue (does not) work when the wind blows harder. You can also set out a day earlier and spend the night at a hostel along the way, but you must leave by 7 am.

You also have to watch out for the sun, which at such altitudes can give you a pretty good burn ;)

We at 6 a.m. were already on the trail, and admired the sunrise from the slopes of Teide.

Initially, the route is very straightforward – the road is wide, gravel and flat. However, it is necessary to have flashlights, as darkness surrounds you from all sides. Don’t count on cell phones, as these drain quite quickly with the flashlight on non-stop, and it’s probably better to save the battery for photos from above :)

So we walked along such a path for quite a long stretch, slightly climbing more meters up. As the approach began to get a little sharper, the sun began to illuminate our path. We could admire the sunrise over the Canary Islands from an altitude of about 2,500 meters above sea level (with Gran Canaria visible on the horizon).

The views are wonderful, just in time for a short break and breakfast :)

Walking up an increasingly steep path, we reached the Montana Blanca viewpoint overlooking Los Huevos del Teide, or freely translated, Teide eggs ;) These are egg-shaped lava stones scattered on the mountainside. Noteworthy is the contrast between the black stones and the light beige ground.

From about this point the road became increasingly difficult – the trail was narrower, steeper, impassable for cars. After 7 o’clock, we started passing tourists who were leaving the hostel and going down.

We arrived at the hostel before 10 am. It is not a typical shelter we know, for example, from the Polish Tatra Mountains. Locked with four padlocks, no store, pub, mulled wine or pork :) We also did not find a toilet (there probably was one, but it was locked somewhere). Here we took an extended meal break and could bask a bit in the sun.

From the hostel, it’s about a 40-minute walk to the train station. This was probably the hardest section – quite steep, over rocks and stones with a poorly marked trail. Special care had to be taken here, as there was snow and ice in places.

In addition, the higher you went, the more often there were glowing stones and you could smell sulfur in the air. But what beautiful views we had!

Below the summit, at about the same altitude as the cable car station, are two viewpoints, La Fortaleza and Pico Viejo. We especially recommend going to the latter, where, with good air clarity, you can see not only La Palma and La Gomera, but also El Hierro!

Teide cable car station and the ascent to the summit

From the cable car station there is a beautiful view of the entire crater – only here you can see how huge it is.

We saw that many of the people who get to the top by train go outside, take a few photos within 50 meters, and come back down. They are also unprepared for colder temperatures and mountain trails, so they get right back in line. We recommend you to dress warmly and comfortably and walk at least to the mentioned viewpoints :)

The cable car station is located at an altitude of 3,555 meters above sea level, and a special permit is needed to climb to the top of the peaks (3,718 meters above sea level) – you can apply online at this website. Unfortunately, this needs to be done well in advance and for a specific time frame.

We spent a lot of time here, enjoyed the view and couldn’t miss the jumping :)

We decided to return by train taking the opportunity that it was just working :) At the top there is no problem to buy a one-way ticket and you can pay by card. The descent itself is short and doesn’t provide much of a pleasant experience, when you are very compressed and feel only pressure changes in your ears.

At the bottom we only got tired – maybe it was the pressure changes, maybe the emotions subsided, but it was impossible without coffee :)

We still had a piece of paved road to take to the car, and although it was the easiest section on our entire route it probably took us the most time :)

Other attractions on Teide

Exhilarated, full of impressions and memories, we continued exploring the national park this time by car, stopping simply at the viewpoints. This is the second time we have gone to most of these places. You can read about our first visit to the area in this post.

This time it was supposed to be a nice end to the day before the festive Christmas Eve, but there was another surprise on the way, which we will write about in the next entry :)

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