Teide Volcano and Masca Loop

Volcanic altitude, pine forest and the tight western descent to Masca.

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Why this ride

Volcanic altitude, pine forest and the tight western descent to Masca. The road: TF-21, TF-24 and TF-436. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. La Laguna start

   La Laguna looks like a city that was planned on paper, because it was. Founded in the late fifteenth century after the Spanish conquest of Tenerife, it was laid out on a grid without fortifications and became a model for colonial towns in the Americas. UNESCO listed the old centre in 1999, and the pastel houses, wooden balconies and tiled patios make a pleasant half-hour on foot. The university here is among the oldest in the Canaries, and the student crowd keeps the cafes busy.

   The setting is the thing to understand. La Laguna sits about 550 metres above sea level on a fertile plain, in the trade-wind belt, so clouds roll over it on many days and the air is cooler and damper than on the south coast. Seen from the road, the whole Anaga massif rises behind it, covered in laurel forest that is a relic of subtropical woodland once spread around the Mediterranean. Locals will tell you the city has its own weather, and they are right. A rain jacket stays in the top box.

   The airport called Los Rodeos, now Tenerife North, lies in the municipality, and it is the site of the 1977 runway collision between two jumbo jets in fog, the worst accident in aviation history. Fog is the point worth remembering as a rider as well: when the cloud comes down on the plateau, visibility can fall quickly, so slow down and put your lights on.

   For riding, La Laguna is the start of two very different days. West and south, the TF-24 and the roads through the pine forest climb toward Mount Teide, at 3,715 metres the highest peak in Spain, with its landscapes of lava fields and pale volcanic scree. Northeast, the narrow roads into Anaga twist through villages and ridges with hairpins and blind corners. Surface quality is mostly good, but cloud, wet leaves and rock fall can interrupt the flow. Early morning is calm. Afternoon traffic around Santa Cruz is dense.

   Practically, with a population of over a hundred and fifty thousand, there is fuel everywhere, cafes in every square, and the sweet, strong barraquito coffee that is a Tenerife habit. The tram links to Santa Cruz, which makes a good spot to leave luggage or keep a bike overnight.

2. Vilaflor stop

   Vilaflor lies on the southern slope of Tenerife at about 1,400 metres, and it is generally described as the highest village in Spain. The air up here is cool and thin, and the landscape is a mix of terraced fields, almond and pear trees, and the dark, scented forest of Canary pine that cloaks the mountain above. Below, the land falls away in long folds to a sea that is often hidden by a layer of cloud. It is a small, whitewashed place of just under two thousand people, with a church, a plaza and a long reputation for garlic.

   The village is also associated with Saint Peter Claver, a Jesuit missionary born in Catalonia who spent his life working among enslaved Africans in Colombia, and who is said to have lived in Vilaflor early in his career. A statue stands in the square. Above the village, the road climbs into the Teide National Park, where the great volcano Mount Teide, at about 3,700 metres the highest peak in Spain, dominates a lunar landscape of lava fields, pumice and rock pinnacles. The Roques de García, a cluster of bizarre rock formations, stand beside the road and are a classic photo stop.

   The riding on the Teide road is superb. It climbs in long, graceful bends through the pine forest, past viewpoints over the clouds, and then emerges onto an open plateau, with the volcano's bulk filling the sky. Air thins, engine power drops, and the temperature can fall by fifteen degrees compared with the coast. In winter, snow can close the road, and fog and strong winds are common. In summer, the road is busy with tourist buses, so early morning is best.

   There are a couple of simple restaurants in the village, serving rabbit in salmorejo, goat stew and wrinkled potatoes with spicy mojo sauce.

   The sunsets above the clouds are extraordinary, and at night the sky is so clear that the national park is a recognised stargazing site.

3. Garachico stop

   Garachico looks like a peaceful seaside town, and it is, but it is also a place that was nearly erased. In 1706 a volcanic eruption sent lava down the slopes behind the town and into the sea, filling the harbour that had made Garachico one of the main ports on Tenerife. The ships that used to sail from here now belong to the history books, and the town's fortunes shifted. What remains is a handsome settlement of old houses, a small fortress by the water, and a sea-edge where black lava has been shaped into natural swimming pools that locals still use.

   You reach it by roads that come down from the highlands in curves and switchbacks, often with banana plantations and steep terraced farms on either side. About 6,000 people live in the municipality, which means fuel and food are not a problem, and the bigger centres of Icod de los Vinos and Los Silos are just a few kilometres away along the coast. Icod is famous for its enormous ancient dragon tree, which is worth a look if you have the time.

   The riding in this north-western corner of Tenerife is some of the best on the island. The road toward Masca and the interior twists through narrow valleys, with hairpins that need respect and passing places that need patience, because tour buses and rental cars share the width. Early morning is the answer, before the traffic builds and while the light picks out the ravines. Weather is changeable: the north side catches cloud, and you can ride from sun at the coast into mist in the pines above, so a light jacket in the bag is sensible.

   For something to eat, the seafront has a number of simple places serving fresh fish and the island's wrinkled potatoes with a red or green mojo sauce, and the local wines are worth trying in the evening. Park the bike near the old quarter, walk the cobbled streets under balconies, and look at the lava where the harbour used to be. It gives you a sense of scale that no viewpoint can.

4. Back to La Laguna finish

Where this sits

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