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Rural Parks

Parque Rural de Teno

Description

Teno Rural Park is located in north-west Tenerife, in one of the first parts of the island to emerge from the sea, containing materials that are between 6 and 7 million years old. 

Erosion has shaped the landscape over the ages, carving out deep ravines that run through these lands from summit to coast. The views from the heads of the ravines are breathtaking.

  • #Teno
  • #Flora
  • #Fauna
  • #Dykes
  • #Geology
  • #Endemisms

Recommended time to visit: Spring and Autumn.

Geology

On the northern edge of the park rise ancient sea cliffs that have been cut off from the sea by successive eruptions, which in turn created the coastal plains known today as Isla Baja. You can view this landscape from the limits of the Rural Park, where the towns of Garachico, Los Silos and Buenavista are located. 

This northern flank, constantly exposed to the trade winds, is home to one of the largest swathes of monteverde forest in the Canary Islands, Monte del Agua y Pasos, covering an area of more than 600 hectares.

Here you can also find the last pockets of the best preserved thermophilic woodland on the island, dominated by palm trees and dragon trees.

On the southern slopes the climate is sunnier and drier, resulting in a landscape dominated by retama (Retama rhodorhizoides) and tabaiba (Euphorbia balsamifera, Euphorbia lamarckii), with the remains of old terraces, rocky outcrops and ravines carved by water. The complex and extensive network of volcanic dykes exposed on these slopes helps us to better understand how the Canary Islands were formed. 

The south-west limit of the park is marked by the Los Gigantes Cliffs, an emblem of the park and of Tenerife as a whole.

Some of the villages were cut off from the rest of the island until well into the 1970s, when roads finally reached the remotest outposts. As a result, traditional architecture, livestock and agricultural practices and many cultural traditions have survived largely unchanged to the present day.

Parque Rural de Teno

Flora and fauna

The isolation of Teno, together with the wide range of conditions found in this mountainous massif, have made it a refuge for biodiversity, home to populations of endangered species and unique plants and animals found only in the park.

These cliffs are also the habitat of the last remaining populations of the Tenerife speckled lizard, a species that can reach a length of up to 50 centimetres and that has been saved from extinction by its isolation. 

Other highlights of the fauna of Teno are the laurel pigeon and Bolle’s pigeon, endemic Canary Island species that inhabit the monteverde ecosystem, and which you can see feeding in the thermophilic woodland. Also of special importance are the colonies of Scopoli’s shearwater and other seabirds, with thousands of pairs breeding every year on the cliffs.

Pardela cenicienta
Pardela cenicienta

Interesting routes

PR TF 51.1 Los Carrizales

PR TF 51.1 Los Carrizales

  • Erjos - Las Portelas

    PR TF 52 Erjos - Las Portelas

  • Monte del Agua Ramal Las Huertas

    PR TF 52.1 Monte del Agua via Las Huertas

  • Monte del Agua Ramal Las Lagunetas

    PR TF 52.2 Monte del Agua via Las Lagunetas

  • Cuevas Negras Desvío Tierra del Trigo

    PR TF 53.1 Cuevas Negras Tierra del Trigo spur trail

  • Las Moradas

    PR TF 54 Las Moradas

  • Talavera

    PR TF 55 Talavera

  • El Palmar - Casas de La Cumbre

    PR TF 56 El Palmar - Casas de La Cumbre

  • Callejón de Teno

    PR TF 57 Callejón de Teno

  • Camino del Risco

    PR TF 58 Camino del Risco

  • PR TF 59 Las Portelas - Masca

    PR TF 59 Las Portelas - Masca

  • Accesible Monte del Agua

    Monte del Agua Accessible Trail

  • SA PRT 02 Sendero accesible Finca los Pedregales

    Finca los Pedregales Accessible Trail

  • SIA PRT 02 Itinerario autoguiado Finca los Pedregales

    Finca los Pedregales Self-Guided Trail (Route 2)

  • Autoguiado Teno Alto

    Teno Alto Self-Guided Trail

  • San José de Los Llanos - Punta de Teno

    PR TF 51 San José de Los Llanos - Punta de Teno

  • Cuevas Negras

    PR TF 53 Cuevas Negras

  • Technical information sheet

    Surface area

    8063.6 ha (3.9% of the island).

    Species of interest

    Tabaiba dulce (Euphorbia balsamifera), tabaibaamarga (Euphorbia lamarckii), cardón or Canary Island spurge (Euphorbia canariensis), tabaibamejorera (Euphorbia atropurpurea), sabina (Juniperus turbinatassp. canariensis), Canary Island date palm, bicácaro or Canary Island bellflower (Canarinacanariensis), Canary Islands dragon tree (Dracaena draco), laurel (Laurus novocanariensis), acebiño (Ilex canariensis), osprey, Tenerife speckled lizard, Scopoli’s shearwater, raven, laurel pigeon, Bolle’s pigeon.

    Ecosystems

    Laurel forest, fayal-brezal (Morella-Erica heath), thermophilic forest, coastal cliffs, cardonal-tabaibal (Euphorbia), riparian ecosystems in ravine beds.

    Places of interest

    Teno Lighthouse, Teno Alto, Masca, Monte del Agua, El Palmar Valley.

    Access and permits

    Access to La Punta de Teno is regulated, and you can only reach it by bus from Buenavista.

    The Barranco de Masca hiking trail is also regulated and visitor numbers are limited. To walk this route, you must first make a reservation.

    Regulations

    To consult permits for use and updated regulations for this Protected Natural Area, visit the official website of the Government of the Canary Islands.

    Parque Rural de Teno

    Municipalities

    • Buenavista del Norte
    • El Tanque
    • Los Silos
    • Santiago del Teide

    Places of interest

    These are some of the points of interest you can find along this route.

    Pino_Cercado_Las_Mulas
    Monumental tree

    Cercado de las Mulas Pine

    With a hollow 230 centimetres high, 100 centimetres wide and 80 centimetres deep at 80...

    Charcas_Erjos
    Ravine

    Charcas de Erjos

    These ponds are formed by rainwater collecting in pits that were dug to mine aggregates at the...

    Unique building

    Las Portelas Church

    This beautiful traditional chapel stands in the square of this neighbourhood of Buenavista.

    ...
    Iglesia_Consolacion_Palmar
    Unique building

    Church of Nuestra Señora de la Consolación

    Chapel built at the end of the 17th century on the lands of the Conde del Palmar.

    ...
    Pino_Loro
    Monumental tree

    Loro Pine

    Its name comes from a laurel that grows on one of its forking trunks. Bramble, hare’s-foot fern...

    Homenaje a las Libreas
    Gebäude

    Sculpture paying tribute to the Baile de las Libreas

    A bronze sculpture by the artist Eladio de la Cruz that pays tribute to the Baile de las Libreas,...

    Horno de Azabuche
    Oven

    Horno de Azabuche

    Traditional kiln in a good state of preservation.

    ...
    Paisaje_Lunar_Teno_Alto
    Rock

    Teno Alto Lunar Landscape

    Expanse of rock formations created by solidifying lava and subsequent erosion, reminiscent of the...

    Pico_Baracan
    Rock

    Pico Baracán

    Peak located 1,000 metres above sea level, separating El Palmar valley and the ravine known as...

    Talavera
    Hamlet

    Talavera

    Ruins of an old hamlet, typical of rural society in the north of Tenerife. With a markedly...

    Barracno_Cuevas_Negras
    Ravine

    Barranco Cuevas Negras / Barranco del Agua

    Ravine that links the town of Los Silos with Monte del Agua, home to the abandoned hamlet of...

    Caserio_Las_Moradas
    Hamlet

    Caserío de Las Moradas

    Abandoned hamlet that bears witness to how the settlers survived after the conquest by exploiting...