Teno Alto (Teno Alto Path)

 Municipality: Buenavista del Norte
Aproximate Time: 5 Hours
Minimum Height: 984m
Maximum Height: 508 m
Distance (Km):10,4

 

Area Information

It is a rural space, which together with Macizo de Anaga (Anaga's Clump), both are the only rural spaces of the island. This type of cataloguing owes to that in this zone where coexists agricultural activity with places of special natural and ecological interest. This type of protection wants to protect this human activity and the ecology of the zone.

Path and the end Masca´s street

El parque Rural de Teno (Teno's rural park) is distributed between  the municipalities of Buenavista, LosSilos, El Tanque and Santiago del Teide, though the majority of the surface and the population who resides are in the municipality of  Buenavista. This population is distributed between the hamlets of  El Palmar, Las Portelas, Teno Alto, Los Carrizales and Masca.

The principal activity in the zone continues to be the agriculture, though nowadays service is realized of joint form by the sector, due to the facth that the visitor's appearance that consume and buy the products of the zone. As for the hamlets, we continue being Canary houses, though modern housings have proliferated in the last years.

The vegetation that one finds in the different zone according to the altitude, being in the high zone the forest of laurisilva. As for the fauna, we find diverse endemic species, since they are la paloma de la laurisilva (dove), el águila pescadora ( fish eagle), lagarto gigante de teno (giant lizard of teno), etc. On having been numerous ravines and abrupt cliffs exist.

Description of the Path

 

The drop of the Path

To initiate the path, the point of item is the visitors' center of Teno's Rural Park, in the village of El Palmar, the place where it is possible to buy local products on the market of the farmer. In the zone it is possible to accede with public transport, bus line 366 (from Buenavista to El Palmar) and line 355 (from Buenavista through Masca)  and own cars. 

On having initiated the way, we have to walk a few meters from this village. After  a few meters from the point of beginning we find  the first curve where it is a track the right hand, of cement. Here the ascension of the path is begun, where the first section passes on cement, then to continue in a way covered by vegetation. In the same way, we must take the first crossing to the right, being on a curve. Following the ascension, we take for the first door that we find, put to prevent the traffic of vehicles. On having come at a height of the house, we find a sign of a path, only one in all this tour. Finally, after crossing the hillside, we come to the viewing-point. A point in which some hamlets and La Gomera are spied, and also the way begin to come to the village of Teno Alto.

Overlooking La Gomera

This part of the tour is put up signs, and we put to circulate across these hillsides. This zone is depopulated of vegetation, though we can find some redoubts that cover the walker. The path is flat, though we meet some earring. On having finished this section, we go past  for a redoubt of laurisilva.

Coming to the proximities of the village, it is started observing the signposting  that  takes us up to Teno's hamlet. Once at this location, the famous cheeses of the zone can be tasted, and see some houses of traditional typology, with some of construction more modern.

To finish we take the path that goes towards El Palmar. In this path, we find thick vegetation and alternation of earrings and descents.A point of reference are the towers of light, a point for which the way that stays is in continuous decrease, just walking very close to the Street. The way is paved, being difficult his decrease in rainy days, due to the smooth thing that the rocks are.

Path

Finishing this section, we find a recreational area  and come right to the point of its initiates, the same road that comes to the visitors' center.

It is necessary to bear in mind, that the path is put up signs in the zone previous and later to the village of Teno Alto. We have done three paths in one, since it was a good option to create it of circular form.

The paths put up signs by that we pass are those who give of the viewing-point Teno Alto and the one that goes down the village of El Palmar. The first section, it is not put up signs as the others, having special precaution at the moment of walking in the last part of the same one.  The greater part of the tour must be done in a single line for the reduction of the same one.

El Palmar