The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Day Hikes on Tenerife and Gran Canaria

Rather than spend another couple of months on Lanzarote this past winter, I changed my plans and chose instead to revisit two other Canary Islands that I had only cursorily explored, in the case of Gran Canary, more than 37 years ago! Two center-based group hiking weeks in November fit the bill perfectly, before heading to Southeast Asia and Australia for the winter. As a geography refresher, below is a map of the Canary Islands, located a bit more than 100 kilometers off the coast of Morocco. (Nevertheless, I needed to fly via London Gatwick to get from Marrakech to Tenerife!)

The Canary Islands, a province of Spain
(File:Canarias-rotulado.png. (2025, November 19). Wikimedia Commons.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Canarias-rotulado.png&oldid=1118429016.)

Tenerife

With a land area of about 2000 km2 and a population of nearly 1 million, Tenerife is the largest and most-populous island of the Canary Islands. Visitors are concentrated around its southern towns and beaches, yet just a few kilometers away are some amazing mountain hiking trails. I had only once briefly visited the island, completing two iconic walks following a week in February 2020 hiking on the nearby Island of La Gomera, the subject of a previous blog post. For this trip, I went with a new (to me – it was founded in 1913!) company, HF Holidays. We were based for the first three nights in Santiago del Tiede in the southwest, and for the final four nights in La Laguna in the north of Tenerife.

Santiago del Tiede to San Jose de Los Llanos

16 km with 600 m elevation gain

Prickly pear covered with cochineal, a scale insect used to make the natural dye carmine
Our guide, Guillermo, explaining the life cycle of the endemic biennial Mount Teide bugloss (Echium wildpretii). Earlier in the year this stalk featured bright red flowers.
Landscape with Canarian pine (Pinus canariensis)
Volcanic landscape with pines and Mt Tiede, back right. This was the first of two hikes in Mt Tiede National Park.
A volcanic hill with scattered pines

Erjoz to Cruz de Hilda

9 km with 300 m elevation gain

Banana passionfruit (Passiflora mollissima)
A bold Blue Spotted lizard eyeing my picnic lunch
Our path was along this high ridge in the Macizo de Teno
Vista towards the island of La Palma
Masca village, at 650 m elevation, where we chilled at the end of our hike that day.

Mirador de Samara to Boca Tauce

13 km with 600 m elevation gain

View of the island of La Gomera in “two halves” due to low clouds
Euphorbia with Mt Tiede in the distance. At 3715m, Tiede is the highest mountain in Spain.
Sunset from my hotel room in La Laguna

The astute reader will note that I have only included three hikes from my walking week, rather than the expected five. For at least the third time this past year, plantar fasciitis caused a curtailment of my hiking plans. Fortunately, after several days rest, I suffered no lingering affects and was able to hike the following week on Gran Canaria.

Gran Canaria

As alluded to in my introductory paragraph, I had only once been to Gran Canaria, for a two week spring break back in my late 20’s. Apart from three days bombing around the island in a jeep, my past explorations had been confined to the the pool and beach scenes around the southern fleshpot of Maspalomas. Hence, nearly four decades on, the hiking was all new to me! A 40 minute flight from Tenerife took me to Gran Canaria. Our first lodging with Explore Worldwide was in the lovely town of Agüimes, where I had an extra day to see the sights.

Church of San Sebastian seen from the Plaza del Rosario
Well-behaved youth in the Plaza del Rosario
Courtyard of the local history museum in Agüimes. Our group also spent time in a natural and human history museum during our hike in Guayedeque Canyon. Both museums were fascinating.

Guayedeque Canyon circular from Agüimes

13 km with 500 m elevation gain

Guayedeque Canyon view with aqueduct. As on Tenerife, water is truly life in this arid climate.
Tree houseleek (Aeonium arboreum). Though far larger than the alpine Cobweb houseleek I have featured in past Italy posts, there is nonetheless a clear resemblance.
Cliff-side houses in a rugged landscape
Canary Tree Mallow (Malva acerifolia)
A former cave dwelling. Many limestone caves in this rugged landscape were once inhabited; some still are.
Lunch view from the plateau. The canyon is on the left here, with Agüimes in the right background.

On the Road, part 1

The dramatic bus transfer across the island to our next hike and second lodging was definitely photo-worthy.

Mountain vista
Caldera de los Marteles, near a high vehicular pass
Tree of baroda (Kleinia neriifolia) with Roque Nublo background

Degollada* del Aserrador to La Culata via Roque Nublo

8 km with 400 m elevation gain

Reflections in a lagoon near the start of our traverse. It was a very hazy day, likely due to sand being blown across from the Sahara
Hikers on the basal plateau of Roque Nublo
A hungry lunch companion
My lunch view
The other side of Roque Nublo during our long descent

* Degollada, a Spanish word for “pass,” also means beheaded

Degollada La Aldea to Mogan via Veneguera

12 km with 350 m elevation gain

Landscape with villages in the haze
Our guide, Brian, with a VERY STRANGE creation

On the Road, part 2

After an off day which I used to walk around town and chill by our pool, the following day we headed back across the island to our first hotel, far closer to the airport.

Rugged landscape view back across the mountains. The road is cut into the side of the mountain on the left.
Dramatic Roque Nublo vista from a beautiful but touristy mountain town where we stopped to pick up items for a picnic lunch

Pico de las Nieves to Cruz Grande

8 km with 100 m elevation gain

Forest descent from the Pico de las Nieves, at 1949m the highest point on Gran Canaria.
Still a long way down. With my knees bothering me a bit, along with some others I took a bus ride down the last few km to the town.

I did miss the final hike as I rescheduled my flight to leave earlier back to the UK to give me more time to prepare for my long winter trip.

Completely unrelated to hiking, below is one final photo, taken at Las Palmas airport while waiting for my flight back to Tenerife:

Three Condors of the Day, with apologies to Sydney Pollack and Robert Redford

I am currently at my Airbnb outside of Perth, Western Australia, hiking and planning my 2026 travels. Here is the current list, some items of which are fixed and others still in flux:

  • Feb 10 – March 7: Peninsular Malaysia and Northern Borneo (Sabah)
  • March 7 – 15: Bali, Indonesia
  • March 15 – 23: Hastings, UK
  • March 24 – Apr 29: St. George, Utah
  • April 30 – May 7: Hastings, UK
  • May 7 – July 10: Four weeks each in Arco (Trentino), and Aosta, Italy, with 1 week in Tuscany in between
  • Jul 10 – 17: Hastings, UK
  • July 17 – Aug 1: Madagascar
  • Aug 1 – Sept 3: Hastings and Cornwall/Devon UK (Southwest Coast Path)
  • Sep 3 – Oct 22: Mainly South Africa and Namibia, with short visits to Victoria Falls and a layover in Addis Ababa possible
  • Oct 23 – 31: Hastings, UK
  • Winter 2026-7: My plans are being developed over the next few months

By the way, I am no longer updating the Calendar Tab on this blog site as the amount of effort is simply more than I want to put into it.

The Vagabond Hiker

Return to Lanzarote

First, I apologize for leading my loyal readers to believe that my next post would be on trekking in Oman. However, on reviewing my photos from 6 weeks this past January and February wintering on Lanzarote in the Islas Canarias, it became apparent that some were not all that bad. Furthermore, unlike my two previous Lanzarote posts, in December 2018 and 2019, I was able to spot (and identify) a number of plants and wildflowers, a couple of which are endemic to the Canary Islands. Enjoy!

From my base in Puerto del Carmen (PDC) to Puerto Calero and onward to Playa Quemada there is a fantastic coastal path that I walked numerous times. Here is a view of the promenade in PDC, with cat
Puerto Calero from the coastal path. A great hike and very convenient, considering that for most of the time I did not have a car.
View along the coastal path near Playa Quemada. Can you spot the two fishers?
Low tide along the coastal path adds a spot of color
Puerto Calero harbor. Every time I walked by here, the sailing boats reminded me of my dad.
With a rental car, I did a loop hike up Hacha Grande from the inland village of Femes. Here is a view up the Hacha Grande ascent route. Despite the ominous appearance, the rains stayed mostly at sea this day.
Echium pitardii on Hacha Grande. I’m aware of no common name for this plant in the borage family, endemic to the Canary Islands.
Tree of Baroda (Kleinia neriifolia), also endemic to the Canary Islands
In contrast, this erect prickly pear (Opuntia stricta) is considered an invasive in much of the world, including here. Fortunately, they’re not about to take over Lanzarote. The irrigation hose is not watering the cactus, however!
Hacha Grande summit vista northwest. Clouds add tremendously to landscape photos!
Hacha Grande summit vista towards Playa Blanca, on the southern tip of the island.
Along the Ruta Litoral in Parque Timanfaya on the west coast, another day hike facilitated by a rental car
A Balsam spurge (Euphorbia balsamifera) along the Ruta Litoral. Not much has established itself since the multitude of eruptions in the 1730’s covered this part of the island with lava.
A natural arch along the Ruta Litoral in Parque Timanfaya
Monte de la Pena de Santa Catalina summit view north. A great exercise hike, but I took only a handful of photos that day.
One of the most popular hikes, even during the week, is Caldera Blanca. I did a loop hike that started at this trailhead. Note the Unimog 500 Overlander expedition vehicle. There is an interesting article in Motortrend on a Unimog camper conversion for any gearheads reading this post.
Caldera Blanca summit loop hike trailhead landscape with scoria. Though admittedly redundant with the prior photo, I do like the strong horizontals here. One is advised to stay on the paths in this terrain!
Wavy heliotrope (Heliotropium ramosissimum)
A more robust Echium pitardii, flowering on Caldera Blanca
Caldera Blanca summit pano
False sow-thistle (Reichardia tingitana)
Bladder dock (Rumex vesicarius)

And finally, a couple of photos from my balcony. . .

A Eurasian collared dove. She visited me on my balcony most afternoons, once even deciding to briefly enter my apartment. To me she looks virtually identical to an African collared dove (seen occasionally on Lanzarote), but can easily be distinguished by her voice.
Balcony sunset view, enhanced further with a sundowner in hand!

I promise that my Oman Trekking post is in the not-too-distant future.

The Vagabond Hiker

Traverse of the Picos de Europa

Last month I joined a KE Adventures guided group on a one-week hut-based traverse of the Picos de Europa, the highest and most dramatic mountain range of the Cantabrian mountain chain in northern Spain. For those who wish more detail about the Picos as well as its national park, I recommend this website.

This trek has been on my bucket list since before 2020, when it was cancelled due to Covid. Starting above the hamlet of Soto de Cangas, where we spent the prior night, the trek in general went from west to east. The first 3 days we traversed the Macizo Occidental (western massif) and the final three the Macizo Central. (The lower, eastern massif lacks much infrastructure and only occasionally sees overnight visitors). Our fun group of 7 clients and guide, Bruno, hiked almost 55 miles with more than 20,000 ft total elevation gain across some of the most rugged limestone peaks in the world. Enjoy the photos!

Map of the mountain ranges of Spain. The Picos de Europa are the highest portion of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain
Day 1. Landscape with huts above the Lakes of Covadonga, where we began our 6-day, generally west-to-east trek
European monkshood (Aconitum variegatum)
Large-flowered selfheal (Prunella grandiflora). While September is certainly not the best time to see wildflowers in the Picos, there were several species still in bloom.
Asturian Mountain cow. We saw numerous herds of this local bovine.
Heather, our guide, Bruno, and the Vegarredonda Refugio, our first night’s lodging on trek
Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) with griffon vultures soaring overhead. We saw so many chamois that, sadly, the novelty wore off.
A small limestone cave. Some of the deepest caves in the world are found in the Picos de Europa.
Either a vulnurable Iberian rock lizard (Iberolacerta monticola) or a common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis). Where their ranges overlap, the former is found at higher elevations. After looking at dozens of photos of each, showing widely-varying coloration, I’m still not sure which species this fellow is.
Eroded limestone rock formations, known as lapiaces. The Picos are almost entirely limestone.
An Asturian calf joined our group for a short while
View northwest from the Mirador de Ordiales
Some of our group at the Mirador de Ordiales
Climbing up to Pico Cotalba
Our group on the summit of Pico Cotalba. Bruno graciously shared many of the photos he took during the trek.
A chamois herd on Pico Cotalba
Day 2. Our group in front of an outbuilding of the Refugio Vegarredonda, where we slept the first night.
With Oliver and Peter, walking by a chilled sheep dog
Merendera, an autumn crocus (Colchicum montanum)
Bruno and a misty landscape
Our group descending to the Covadonga Lakes in the mist
Our group at Lago de la Ercina. Due to the geology, very few lakes exist in the Picos.
Another photo of some of the many Asturian cows (and a few bulls) we saw
An orograph at Cabeza la Forma pass, showing many of the nearby mountains, none of which was visible in the fog.
View of the Cabezo Llerosos group with cows
Day 3. The splendidly isolated Refugio Ario, where we stayed the previous night, seen in the morning light
Resting with Oliver and Peter (lower left) on the long descent to the Cares Gorge
Rebecca, seen here descending to the gorge, with a goat in the foreground
The Cares Gorge and path hewn out of the mountain. Although undoubtedly the most popular day hike in the Picos, the gorge didn’t seem overly crowded to me.
The Cares gorge with a tunnel and bridge
Bruno admiring the Cares Gorge
A portion of the Cares Gorge hydro plant
A goat in the Cares Gorge
Fringed pink (Dianthus hyssopifolius)
Now heading north after a rest stop at Cain at the head of the Cares Gorge. From here it is less than an hour to Poncebos, where we enjoyed a hotel for the night.
Goat and limestone formation

Day 4. This day we climbed from our hotel in Poncebos to the Refugio de Urriellu. More than 6000 ft vertical gain. In the rain. I took zero pictures. Bruno’s camera malfunctioned in the wet conditions. Therefore, no photos from that day are extant. I am also trying to erase it from my memory, but without much success.

Day 5. Morning landscape leaving Refugio Urriello. The weather steadily improved this day.
Some peaks of the Macizo Central
Some of our group descending near Tesorero and Peñas Urrielles
Mountain vista with El Naranjo de Bulnes (Picu Urriellu in Asturian) on the right
The Vagabond Hiker on the summit of Torre de los Horcados Rojos
A raven also summited
The unlikely Cabaña Verónica, a high mountain refuge. This building is an anti-aircraft battery, taken from the aircraft carrier USS Palau.
A view from Cabaña Verónica, above the clouds
Peter descending towards Hotel Aliva. Located at the end of a jeep track, Avila is somewhere between a refugio and a hotel.
Day 6. View from the Hotel Avila towards the Royal Chalet
Yet another goat.
The Teleférico Fuente Dé top station. According to Rick Steves, this cable car is the longest single-span aerial lift of Europe, with cable length of 1450 m (4757 ft)
Descent view from Pico Valdecoro to Espinama, where our final night’s lodging awaited us.
A magnificent Oak on the descent to Espinama

Following this wonderful trek in Spain, my intention was to complete another hut-to-hut trek in the Julian Alps of Slovenia, and then spend a week in the Portuguese Azores hiking around its main island from my AirBnb base. Alas, neither trip panned out the way I planned. As the scenery was spectacular, in a post next month I’ll share a few photos from some short walks I did in Slovenia.

Rather than bewail the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, however, I am now planning my 2.5-month winter trip to Rajasthan (India), Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, and Oman on the Arabian peninsula. The Rajasthan trip has large cultural and wildlife components as well as several day walks. Mountainous northern Oman has some amazing trekking, and my KE Adventures trip in late February encompasses many of the highlights. Lanzarote has long been one of my favorite winter destinations, and the subject of not one, but two blog posts from 2018 and 2019. I’ll probably take a break from blogging for those six weeks. . .

The Vagabond Hiker

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