The big one I meant
You’re looking for routes to enjoy the gorgeous, volcanic island of Tenerife by road bike? Here we go then. As the title says you’ll be “avoiding the hill”, aka that huge volcano in the center of this island. But don’t be fooled, just because you wont be riding all the way up to 2300 meters above sea level you’ll be doing quite some climbing, including steep ramps.
Buenvista del Norte to Masca
I’ve set the starting point of this loop to Buenvista del Norte, but due to the fact that it’s a loop you can join the route anywhere. From Buenvista del Norte were going to start climbing on a beautiful tarmac road, passing by El Palmar touching the outskirts of Teno park.
Masca to Santiago del Teide
Reaching the entrance to Masca valley you are being greeted by breathtaking views overlooking harsh rock faces and the sea at the horizon. Apart from that you should be aware that this particular road, that leads to Santiago del Teide is quite the tourist attraction and with it being narrow you’ll always encounter rental car drivers that aren’t used to these conditions. Nontheless this could be a reason to slow down and let those overwhelming views sink in. Or maybe you want to stop for coffee, as Masca would certainly be inviting to do so.
Erejos, La Montañeta, San Marcos Beach, Grachico
Yet another spot to have break is Santiago del Teide, where you’ll most likely see quite a few other cyclists and unfortunately there might also be some traffic on the way to Erejos until you reach a more quite road. Erejos is basically in the heart of the Teno mountains, which are covered by laurel trees and from there you’ll continue towards La Montañeta getting a first impression of the massive Corona Forestal, with it’s gorgeous pine trees. This part of the route is mainly downhill until you’re at the beach of San Marcos, which is another perfect location to have a break, enjoy a coffee or have a bite. From here we’re going to set off for the last part of our endavour, making us climb another 500 meters to then descend on TF-421, which in my opinion is just one perfect road althought the surface is in rough conditions every once in a while.
Stats / Difficulty
Distance: 70km
Elevation gain: ~2’400m
Duration: 4 – 5h
Endurance level: Medium
Map
GPX Download
Download GPX – Avoiding the HillYou can import the .gpx file into any one of your prefered apps such as Strava, Komoot, Garmin Connect, … and change the route from there if you’d for example like to start from another location.