THE HIGHEST PEAK IN SPAIN: TEIDE

The highest peak in Spain (3,718 metres), declared a World Heritage Site by U

nesco, is an absolute must. Beautiful and grandiose, it will make you feel very small.

 

The Mt. Teide National Park has links wit

h different areas of the island with its four access roads:
To the North: TF-21 road from La Orotava to Las Cañadas (Port

illo de la Villa) (33 km.)
To the East: TF-24 road, which runs from La Laguna to El Portillo de la Villa (43 km)
To the South: TF-21 road from Vilaflor to Las Cañadas (Boca de Tauce) (16 km)
To the West: TF-38 road from Chio to Las Cañadas (Boca de Tauce) (30 km) .../
The following are the public bus routes (guaguas): Bus number 348 from Puerto de la Cruz and Bus number 342 from Playa de las Americas.
There are two 

Visitors´ Centres, which open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., offering detailed information on the most important aspects of the Park.
El Portillo de la Villa Visitors´ Centre, at km 32.1 on the TF-21 road.
Cañada Blanc a Visitors´ Centre (in a wing of the National Tourist "Parador" Hotel), at Km 46.5 on the TF-21 road.
Guided tours are available, but you need to book a place on one in the Park office, or ask for information in the Visitors´ Centres. There are some restricted zones, where public access and the number of visitors are regulated for conservation reasons, pursuant to Park´s Use and Management Master Plan. One of these restricted areas is La Rambleta - Pico del Teide; to climb to the summit, you have to apply personally for an access permit from the Park Management. You can walk up Montaña Blanca as far as La Rambleta, or you can take the cable car.
To stay overnight in the Park, you can stay in the:
National Tourism "Parador" Hotel Las Cañadas del Teide, at Km 46.5 on the TF-21 road.
Altavista Refuge, run by the Tenerife Cabildo (Island Government), situated at 3270 metres. The only access to the refuge is on foot.

VISITOR CENTERS

There are two Visitor Centres open daily (except 25 December and 1 January) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. El Portillo Visitor Centre exhibits the geological history of the Park and the relations and environment of the life forms that inhabit it. The Cañada Blanca Visitor Centre offers an exhibition on the interaction and mutual influence of man the Cañadas.

Here, they have recreated the interior of a volcanic pipe and it is also equipped with a range of interact ive elements, back-lit photographic panels, video room, bookshop and assembly hall, where a video is screened. The video gives us a fascinating insight into how the grand caldera was formed, with the Teide – Pico Viejo strato-volcano rising up from it. Entrance to the Visitor´s Centre, the garden next door and the guided tour are all free of charge.

Botanic Garden (annex):
This garden covers a 4 hectare plot next to the visitors´ Centre and it has been created to exhibit, interpret, research and reproduce the native flora of the supra and oro-Mediterranean bio-climatic layers of this territory, representing 75% of the National Park´s superior species. Some species, like the Teide Violet, cannot acclimatize in this area because they need a higher altitude.
The garden is sign-posted and it is endowed with laboratories with germination chambers and germoplasm bank. It focuses on a programme to recover endangered species. It is currently convalidated internationally with a view to providing support for recovering endangered plant species.

Cañada Blanca Visitors´ Centre (National Parador Hotel). The building is currently being renovated and is not open to visitors.
This centre is housed in a wing of the Las Cañadas National Tourist “Parador”, at Km 46.5 of the TF-21 road, and it opens everyday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m..
It provides information on man´s relations with this environment, the different uses this land has been put to, how these uses and customs have evolved over the centuries and the National Park´s archaeological heritage. The long list of researchers that have studied in this outstanding site since the 16th century merely corroborates the scientific interest that this area of Tenerife has always aroused throughout the world. Topographic maps and books on the subjects dealt with by the centre are for sale in the bookshop.

Guided tours:
The National Park´s Interpretation Service offers free guided tours twice a day and leaving from the Cañada Blanca Visitors´ Centre and from the Portillo Alto Park Office.
For those interested in a tour, you need to book in advance, calling the National Park office: Tel. 922 290 129 - 922 290 183 (Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m

.), or ask directly in the Visitors´ Centres. 

ALTAVISTA REFUGE

The Altavista refuge, situated at 3270 m, consists of two buildings and it is equipped with an infirmary, storehouse, showers, kitchen and three dormitories with a capacity for some 60 mountaineers. The original refuge was built in 1892 on the initiative of an English explorer living in Tenerife.


The Island Cabildo (Island Government) took over this facility in 1950 and refurbished it completely in 1997. The maximum stay is limited to ONE night .../ Users are provided with bed clothes on arrival and they can heat up liquid food in the kitchen. Reservations:
Company offices
C/ San Francisco, 5-4º
38001 - Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Tel. 922 010 440 ; Fax. 922 287 837
E-mail:teleferico@telefericoteide.com
Fee per adult: 20.00 euros.
Fee for members of a mountaineering federation and  with the Canary Goverment  card: 10.00 euros.
The climb starts at the base of Montaña Blanca, at an altitude of 2200 m. 

Important: People spending the night in the Altavista Refuge DO NOT have to apply for a permit to climb Pico del Teide if they set out on the final ascent to the crater early to see the sunrise. All they require is a copy of the application with a stamp confirming that they have spent the previous night in the Refuge. These people must have left the Telesforo Bravo trail by nine o´clock in the morning. Anyone wishing to use the aforementioned trail after 9 a.m. will need to apply for the permit described below: To climb up from La Rambleta or the Cable Car station (3550 m) to Pico de Teide (3718 m) along the Telesforo Bravo trail, you have to apply for a written permit beforehand in the National Park offices, which will be valid for ONE given date:
National Park Office
C/ Emilio Calzadilla, nº 5 - 4th floor
Tel. 922 290 129 - 922 290 183 ; Fax: 922 244 788
E-mail: teide@oapn.mma.es
Office hours: from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., from Monday to Friday (take a photocopy of your identity card or passport).
Access to the crater is not allowed under any circumstances. The other two paths leaving from La Rambleta to the Pico Viejo and La Fortaleza lookout spots, offering excellent views of Las Cañadas, the island and the other Canary Islands, can be used freely.  At day break, Teide projects its majestic silhouette over the Atlantic Ocean, a phenomenon that is known as "la Sombra del Teide", or the Shadow of Teide

NATIONAL PARK

A network of national parks in the Canary Islands attempts to conserve their most characteristic ecosystems. Hence, the Mt. Teide National Park, in the centre of the island of Tenerife, shelters the best examples of the supra-Mediterranean vegetation level. On the other hand, with an average altitude of over 2,000 metres, the Mt. Teide National Park offers one of the most spectacular examples of vulcanism in the world and represents the best example of alpine volcanic ecosystem in the Canary Islands.

From a geo-morphological point of view, the structure of the caldera and the Teide-Pico Viejo strato-volcano are among the most spectacular geological monuments in the world, apart from the wide variety of volcanic cones and domes, lava flows, tors and caves that form a range of colours and forms that increase the scientific and scenic interest of the area. With regard to the enormous biological wealth of the area, the outstanding flora includes a large percentage of endemic species and the invertebrate fauna a large number of exclusive species. This National Park, created in 1954 in recognition of its volcanic and biological singularity, is the largest and the oldest of the National Parks of  the Canary Islands, covering an area of 18,990 hectares, and the fifth largest of the thirteen National Parks in the network. Apart from its Peripheral Protection Zone, this natural area is surrounded by the Corona Forestal Nature Park, the largest protected natural area of the Canary Islands with 46,612.9 hectares. In 1989, it was awarded a class A European Diploma by the Council of Europe. This European Diploma wa

s extended in 1994 and in 1999. The Teide National Park Board and the Joint Canary Island National Parks Commission held several meeting in 2002 to have the Mt. Teide National Park declared a World Heritage Site. As a result of this initiative the Teide National Park was declared as World Heritage Site in summer 2007.

MT. TEIDE CABLE CAR

Cable car services up to La Rambleta run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., unless bad weather or high winds make the service impossible. Restrictive measures have currently been established, and access from the Terminal to the highest point of the summit is NOT allowed without a special permit. Access is open to La Fortaleza and Pico Viejo lookout spots.

In order to use the "Telesforo Bravo" trail from La Rambleta or Cable Car Terminal (3550 m) to the summit of Mt. Teide (3718 m), you first have to apply for a written permit in person in t

he National Park office. Said permit will be valid for ONE given date:
National Park Office
C/ Emilio Calzadilla, nº 5 - 4th floor
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Tel. 922 290129 - 922 290183
Fax: 922 244788
E-mail: teide.maot@gobiernodecanarias.org 
Open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., from Monday to Friday (you need a photocopy of your I.D. card or passport).
There is no access to the crater under any circum

stances. The other two trails that leave from La Rambleta - to the lookout spots of Pico Viejo and La Fortaleza - can be used freely. These offer excellent views of Las Cañadas, Tenerife and the other islands.
The cable car station has a bar and restaurant - buffet.

ASCENDING THE TEIDE

To climb to the summit of the Teide, the highest in Spain at a height of 3,718 metres, is a unique experience. The fact that part of the route can be done by cable car allows anyone, no matter what there physical condition is to make the ascent. The more adventurous can ascend on foot by the path that leaves from the area of Montaña Blanca, next to the road. 

This is the only route allowed and is quite demanding which takes almost six hours of walking

The cable car service, which runs every day if the weather conditions allow, reaches the area known as the Rambleta, at a height of 3,555 metres. The rest of the ascent, a little over 200 metres, must be made on foot. Access to the peak (along the Telesfero Bravo path) is restricted and you need to apply for a permit to reach the summit whether you are on foot or going by cable car.
Permits can be applied for in person, by post, fax or email to the Administration Office of the Teide National Park, located in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (permits cannot be granted in the park itself). The confirmation that you have been granted a permit is given by the staff in the office by telephone or email.
The permit, each one for a maximum of 10 people, is valid for a specific date and period of time, and obtaining it depends on the availability of places or on whether the Park Administration has decided to close the path or not. The permit allows you access to the Peak, provided you follow the path at all times, and under no circumstances are you allowed access to the crater for safety and conservation reasons.
If you do not have a permit you are allowed to go in the direction of the viewpoints the Fortaleza and the Pico Viejo using other paths that leave from the Rambleta. These offer excellent views, not only of the island, but also the other islands of the Canarian Archipelago. 
People who stay overnight in the Altavista Refuge do not need to apply for a permit to reach the peak, as a stamped copy of your application to stay overnight at the refuge is sufficient.

Other details: Permission to ascend to the summit of Teide

Oficina administrativa del Parque Nacional del Teide
C/ Emilio Calzadilla, nº 5 - 4ª planta
38002 Santa Cruz de Tenerife 
Opening hours: from 9 to 14.00 hours, from Monday to Friday.
Tel.: 922 290 129 - 922 290 183
Fax: 922 244 788
Email: teide.maot@gobiernodecanarias.org 

Time limits to apply for permits:  
By post a month and a half in advance.
By fax or email at last seven days in advance.
In person in the Park office there is no need to apply in advance . 
Documentation required: 
Photocopy of identity card or passport of the applicant and name and number of the identity card or passport of the people accompanying him/her. 

MARE NOSTRUM RESORT GOES WITH YOU TO THE TEIDE

Mare Nostrum Resort near El Teide TE

In our InfoCenter, we'll keep you any organized excursions to  Teide with bus coming from the door of Mare Nostrum Resort. They range from full day devoted to the Teide with lunch-included up endless combination: Teide and Puerto de la Cruz, Teide and Masca, Teide and trip to the island ... Even Teide at night, stopping for dinner and an observatory for stargazing. Without doubt, a very special excursion. In all of them is included transport to and from the door of our Resort and a guide that will explain every detail of the visit.

If you want more information about this excursion, contact with me: sharemnr@expogrupo.com (Nuria)

www.marenostrumresort.com

www.facebook.com/mare.nostrum.resort

www.ladyshelley.com

www.rockhistory.es

www.piramidearona.com

Information and pictures:

www.webtenerife.com