Revisiting the Barranco de Erques walk, with a shorter version

The path descending the opposite side of the Barranco near the start (and end) of the walk

I wrote a blog about this walk earlier this year, on 15th February, entitled ‘The Barranco de Erques, Vera de Erques and Tejina’.  However, one friend who did not go on that walk wanted to do it too, so we chose to do it on 30th July. Normally we would not have walked it in the summer, due to lack of shade, but this was a cloudy day. It was, however, quite humid and warm, so the climbing was a little sticky, and we decided to do a shorter version, missing out the Camino Montiel and Las Fuentes, and heading down from Vera de Erques to complete a shorter circle.

The Sea Rosemary (Campylanthus salsaloides) was still in flower

Consequently, when we reached the main square of Vera de Erques, near the church, we turned left and took the next left off that road to descend a road that wandered around various attractive houses and gardens and join the main road lower down, where we crossed it, going slightly to the right to take a path descending from the bend. The path follows the southern edge of a barranco till it reaches a small group of houses, and a narrow tarmac road which we continued on for a few yards before taking a sharp right turn to descend into the barranco on the path again. This part passes numerous animal pens for dogs, chickens, rabbits and even a small black pig, before crossing the streamed and ascending the opposite side.

Madama (Allagopappus dichotomous) still in flower beneath a rock overhang beside the path ascending out of the Barranco de Erques

 

 

 

The path then crossed a concrete driveway and continued along a house wall before turning downhill again. Lower down the path turned right to cross another barranco, but this time we went straight on to join a track passing some buildings. The track joined the main road going up to Vera de Erques again, and we went right on it to a hundred metres or so, turned right onto the road to Tejina, and then turned left off that road about 100m further on.

The path, Camino La Morra, heading back towards the Barranco de Erques, with water pipes.

 

 

 

Within a few metres we turned onto a dirt track going straight ahead, instead of following the tarmac road to the right, slightly lower than the track.  We were now back on the route returning to the Barranco de Erques crossing which we started at.

Lesser white bugloss (Echium aculeatum) was still in flower in a damp spot along the Camino la Morra

This shorter version of the walk was only 8.72km as opposed to 12.03km for the longer version. It took us 4.25 hours at a slower pace due to the warmth and humidity.

 

 

The Camino La Morra ascending to the village of Vera de Erques along the edge of the Barranco de Erques

(Update 2.3.2015) A GPS track of this shortened walk is now available on Wikiloc:

 

http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=8983364

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some fine bunches of ripening grapes hanging over a wall in the village of Vera de Erques

The red, 3-cornered seed heads of the Canary spurge (Euphorbia canariensis)

Cardo de Cristo, or Willow-leaved carline thistle (Carlina salicifolia)

Two dramatic crossings of the Barranco de Erques, Guia de Isora

A view towards Mt Tejina and Las Fuentes, and the mountains of Teno from the path up to the Pajar de la Coruna

Today, usually a walking day, it is raining light intermittent but sometimes heavy rain, somewhat like a wet summer day in England. So I decided not to go walking, but to go for a swim in the local indoor swimming pool, and then catch up on another blog I have not had time to do recently.

A cairn on the path from Pajar de la Coruna to the Barranco de Erques showing the shrubs burnt in the 2012 fire, and the explosion of undergrowth

 

 

 

 

 

 

This walk was done a week ago, on 5th April, 2014. It starts in Vera de Erques, Guia de Isora, by the school as did my blog of March 24th, 2013, going up the same path to the old farmhouse at Pajar de la Coruna, but turning right there instead of left as we did then.

Tree sow-thistle (Sonchus canariensis). This was by the path and one of the few bigger plants in the area

 

 

The path from Pajar de la Coruna towards the Barranco de Erques is somewhat overgrown now, mainly with soft growth such as the local marguerite. The wildfire of 2012 burnt all the shrubs from this area and now the ground flora is regenerating but there are as yet no big shrubs, apart from a few larger Tree sow-thistles (Sonchus canariensis).

Entering the Barranco de Juan Viña with a Tree sow-thistle on the left

 

 

 

Because of the fire devastation, the path was not much walked for the last 18 months and for this reason it is hard to see. It crosses a number of minor valleys before it reaches the major barranco of Erques. With a GPS you will be able to follow the path with confidence but without one you will have to look hard for the cairns and path edging stones to find the path – see the link to a downloadable GPS track below.

Bladder campion (Silene vulgaris) is a common plant in the damper cooler areas of Tenerife

 

 

The place where the path crosses the Barranco de Erques, which incidentally is called the Barranco Ucasme there, is just above a junction of two barrancos, the first one we crossed being the Barranco de Juan Viña. At the junction the two watercourses enter a narrow gorge and then emerge lower down at an impressive cliff called Tonásaro. We had a fine view of this half-way down the path on the other side of the barranco.

 

The Cuevas de Pi which were formerly inhabited by goat herdsmen.

 

 

 

 

 

At the side of the path descending into the Barranco de Juan Viña is a cliff, at the base of which are a number of caves which were inhabited in the past by herdsmen who looked after goat herds in this area. The caves are called the Cuevas de Pi. The path ascends the other side and turns a corner into the next barranco, with another cliff to the left of the path. At the base of the cliffs a profusion of plants were growing including a lot of the Tenerife vipers bugloss (Echium virescens). Unfortunately in the second barranco the cliffs have had rock falls and in places it is hard to get around the fallen rocks. In one place the path is blocked also by a large shrub with a trunk like a tree which appears to have fallen from the cliff after dying in the fire. We had to divert down the steep slope to find a way around this as it was impossible to move it.

The cliff with the obstructions on the path below it, viewed from the watercourse of the barranco

The path then descends to the watercourse not far below a sharp drop in levels where an impressive waterfall must flow in storms. Then a gentle slope takes one out of the barranco. The north-facing slopes on the way up are covered with lots of flowers, especially the delightful Palomera (Pericallis lanata), and its relative, Cineraria (Pericallis echinata).

Palomera (Pericallis lanata) on a north-facing cliff of the barranco

Tenerife vipers bugloss (Echium virescens) a Tenerife endemic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of the barranco the path meets a track, where we turned left for a few yards before turning sharp right onto a footpath again. This led alongside fields, and it can be seen that there are a number of fields in this area, many of them still cultivated. There are no houses, apart from a ramshackle wooden one which is probably just used as an occasional dwelling. This area is known as El Cedro, and is quite a surprise when you come upon it so far from other cultivated land.

Looking back into the barranco as the path approaches El Cedro

After a while the path does a 90 degree turn to the right to join another track, but here we made the mistake of turning left, which made it difficult to find the path down. We should have continued straight on, on the track. The track turns to the left after a while and then to the right and soon after that the path we were looking for goes off to the left, marked by a cairn.

A view of the cliff called Tonásaro, from the other side of the barranco

 

 

 

 

 

Once found that path is very easy to follow down the ridge, as it has cairns and edge stones all the way. It approaches an area with pine trees, where the main path goes left to cross a barranco and then joins a major access track which will take you down to the village of Tijoco Alto. However, if you go that way you will miss the impressive view of the cliff Tonásaro, and views into the beautiful Barranco de Erques. So instead of turning left, we went right, past the pine tree, on a minor path marked by cairns.

At times the path on the descent comes close to the edge of the Barranco de Erques. Here with a Purple spurge (Euphorbia atropurpurea) on the edge

The path is narrow and rough, but a lot easier to follow than when we first walked it a few years ago. Remember to look to your right to see the impressive cliff Tonásaro, and you can divert to a rocky knoll to get a better view of it. Otherwise just carry on down the ridge, and when the path gets near the edge of the barranco, as it does a few times, take the opportunity to look up and down to appreciate its beauty.

The path descending into the Barranco de Erques for the return crossing back to Vera de Erques

 

 

 

 

 

When the path joins a track going downhill, start looking very soon for cairns for a path going right, which will take you back to the Erques barranco for the crossing back to Vera de Erques. This is another beautiful crossing, but the descent has a lot of loose stones in places so it needs careful attention to walk down it safely.

Ratonera (Forsskaoleo angustifolia) is another canary endemic plant

The path out of the barranco is more gentle with lovely views along it. Near the top is an abundance of a fairly unremarkable plant which is very common in Tenerife, and is another Canary endemic, Ratonera (Forsskaoleo angustifolia)

Emerging from the barranco the path joins a track, go left downhill for about 30 metres and then turn right onto a footpath which then descends to an asphalt minor road and follow that to the right to return to the village of Vera de Erques.

The walk was 11.5 km / 7.2 miles with 718m / 2357 ft of ascent and descent. It took a small group of us 5.5 hours to complete. The GPS track can be found at the following link:

http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=6547484

The Barranco de Erques, Vera de Erques and Tejina

A view of the Barranco de Erques near the start of the walk

The Barranco de Erques is the border between the municipalities of Guia de Isora and Adeje on the west of Tenerife. The whole of its length is in protected areas, most of it in the  Protected landscape of the Barranco de Erques (Paisaje protegido del Barranco de Erques). It is a very scenic barranco, but also interesting botanically, especially where an old pathway crosses it just above the bridge for the main road from Adeje to Guia de Isora (TF-82).

Canary Lavender (Lavendula canariensis) beside the path as it crosses the barranco

We did this walk to use two traditional paths on the inventory by the Ayuntamiento of Guia de Isora (Town council) which I had never walked. I knew one, the Camino La Morra, went alongside the Barranco de Erques for part of its trajectory, and was interested to see what it was like.

The pink flowers of the Sea rosemary (Campylanthes salsaloides) in front of the bright green of the Bitter spurge (Euphorbia lamarckii) in flower.

We parked beside the TF-82 on the Adeje side of the bridge and walked down to the bridge.  Behind the crash barrier a path leads to the right and up some rudimentary stone steps up a slope to join the old path disrupted by the building of the TF-82 road. The path leads along the Adeje edge of the barranco, and uphill a little before beginning the descent into the barranco on a well-cobbled path.  There are a lot of Euphorbias here, but, unusually, there are three species together, which normally grow in different habitats. There is the species that is common in coastal areas, the Sweet spurge (Euphorbia balsamifera), the Bitter spurge (Euphorbia lamarckii) common in mid altitudes, and the Purple spurge (Euphorbia atropurpurea) which normally grows only higher up the mountains. The altitude here is around 450m above sea level, so I suppose it is a mixing point.

Purple spurge, (Euphorbia atropurpurea) a canary endemic which grows normally at higher altitudes around 800-1200m

The path climbing the opposite side of the barranco was, in places, badly eroded and somewhat overgrown so needed some care, but at the top we reached a reasonably clear, though rough, path going straight up to the right.  We walked up this path for about 500m and I noticed a clump of Canary mignonette (Reseda scoparia). This is again a plant of coastal areas but it seemed quite at home here. We were approaching a dip in the path to cross a minor barranco when we reached the junction to the right for the start of the Camino La Morra which would take us back to the edge of the Barranco de Erques and then along its edge for a while on the way to Vera de Erques.

Canary mignonette (Reseda scoparia) beside the path

Vera de Erques is quite a substantial community with its own primary school, church and cultural centre. It is surrounded by good farmland, and at this time of year many blossoming almond trees. We arrived on the main street opposite the cultural centre, and turned left downhill till we reached a bend where the next footpath leaves.  There is a signboard describing the Camino de Montiel at the start, which is a track at first, but after about 10 metres it is important to look for the footpath going down, concreted at first as it also allows access to a small allotment. Before you reach the allotment the main path goes right and from then on it is very easy to follow.

The start of the Camino la Morra. It is a little hard to see.

The Camino de Montiel passes a house of the same name on its way to Las Fuentes, a small village which is reached only by a dirt track, but which used to be a very important area for growing cereals for Guia de Isora. These days the houses are largely uninhabited, although some are used at weekends and in the summer by the families that own them. Many of the fields are still cultivated by the families, and once every 5 years the village has a fiesta in March when all the families gather up there for a weekend. I have never seen so many people up there as I did when the last fiesta happened in 2010.

A view of the Barranco de Erques from the Camino la Morra

We did not go right up to Las Fuentes this time, but joined the track where the footpath comes close to it, and walked down the track to Tejina de Guia. There we went left along the road for a short distance, crossing the beautiful Barranco Cuéscara, and then turning right off the road to rejoin a path for a while. That path ended on the road from TF-82 and Vera de Erques which we had to walk along for about 500m before reaching a path again leaving on a bend. This path took us back to the junction with the Camino la Morra where we had turned earlier and we followed the same route back down to and across the Barranco de Erques, taking more time to enjoy the flowers as we crossed it back to the cars. There were lots of Sea Rosemary (Campylanthus salsaloides) plants with their pink flowers. There are also some fine clumps of Cardón, or Canary spurge, (Euphorbia canariensis) on the barranco sides. Also in this area, though not in flower at this time of year (April/May would be the time for them) are some uncommon shrubs of the Canary endemic Shrubby Bindweed (Convolvulus scoparius).

Canary sage (Salvia canariensis) by the road as we approached Barranco Cuescara in Tejina

The walk was 12.06 km /7.5ml long, involved 651m of ascent and descent, and took us 4hrs 25mins. A GPS track of the walk can be seen, and downloaded from, this site:

http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=6125439

The old washing places, or lavanderos, near the Casa Montiel, which lends its name to the footpath. There is also an old wine press in a cave behind and below these.

Canary spurge, or Cardon, (Euphorbia canariensis) on the side of the Barranco de Erques