An easy linear walk to El Portillo in the Teide National Park

The start of the path at the Minas de San Jose

This walk is a good one to do at this time of year, when the flowers are out in the National Park.  This year, however, due to a largely dry winter, there is not a profusion of flower as in some years, but there is still a lot to see, mostly endemic species that you will not see elsewhere in the world.  It is on good surfaces, mainly downhill or level, so is quite easy walking. It is a linear walk, so requires two vehicles, one at each end. The length is 11.2 km and descent of about 300m/985ft, and ascent of about 150m.  It took us 3 hours.  Some of the descent, which is near the beginning, is fairly steep, but all our group managed it well, as the path was in good condition and easy to follow.

Canary endemic Flixweed (Descourainia bourgeauana)

The walk starts at the Minas de San Jose, and area of white pumice between the Teide cable car and El Portillo, on the main road.  There is a parking area there, on both sides of the road, and the path starts on the south side. There is a sign describing the initial path, which is called Las Valles (the valleys), and is national park path no 30. The path is clearly delineated with two rows of stones.

Tenerife endemic, the pink-flowered Shrubby scabious (Pterocephalus lasiospermus) next to Canary endemic, Teide sticky broom (with yellow flowers) (Adenocarpus viscous)

The Minas de San Jose is an area where the blue viper’s bugloss (tajinaste azul in Spanish) (Echium auberianum) grows and I have seen it there in the past, so I was hopeful we would see some.  However, it is a very rare Tenerife endemic, and this year is more difficult to see than usual, so I only saw on the walk one specimen in flower, and that was very stunted, not a good 60cm/2ft high spike.  However, when I got into the car and began the drive home from the Minas de San Jose I saw a delightful specimen by the side of the road.  Unfortunately I could not stop to take a photo of it. So if you want to see one this year, park your car in the parking area and walk a short way down the road in the direction of the Teide cable car and you will see one on the north side.  Be careful of the road, though, it is narrow, and cars do come past quite fast.

A stunted specimen of the rare Tenerife endemic, Dwarf Teide bugloss or tajinaste azul (Echium auberianum)

At first the path wanders through a pleasant valley with flowers and rocks either side.  Many of the rocks in this area have shiny black stripes in them, which is obsidian or volcanic glass. You pass two trees which look like Christmas trees (Norway spruce), but I don’t believe they are.  The foliage looks very like the cedro, the high mountain form of Juniper (Juniperus cedrus) which is a Macronesian (Atlantic Island) endemic, but the shape is far from typical.

A view of the caldera wall, with Teide white broom (Spartocytisus supranubius) in the foreground

Then the path turns back towards the road and meets a T-junction where you turn right, continuing downhill.  Shortly the steep part of the descent begins, but take time to stop and look at the views of the caldera wall ahead, as well as the rocks and plants.  In addition to the white-flowered Teide broom or Retama (Spartocytisus supranubius)with its heady scent, there were the yellow flowers of Flixweed (Descurainia bourgeauana) and Teide sticky broom (Adenocarpus viscosus),  pink flowers of the Shrubby scabious (Pterocephalus lasiospermus) and the odd purple Teide catmint (Nepeta teydea).

Mountain wall lettuce (Tolpis webbii) in clumps on the rocks.

Gradually the path becomes less steep and finally is on the level on a good pumice surface, approaching the caldera wall we first saw at the top of the descent, where we joined a wider track.

A view to Mt Teide as we got near to El Portillo

The track is known as the Pista Siete Cañadas.  It runs along the base of the caldera wall (mostly) all the way from El Portillo to near the Parador.  We turned left to go to El Portillo and followed it for the rest of the walk, enjoying the changing views of Mt Teide as we walked. On this stretch we saw two more Canary endemic species with yellow flowers, the Mountain wall lettuce (Tolpis webbii), and the Canary fennel (Ferula linkii). We also saw a few of the large and impressive red Teide bugloss (Echium wildpretii), but they were high up a rocky slope to our right, and we had to wait till we got to El Portillo to see them nearby.

Canary endemic Teide vipers bugloss (Echium wildpretii), near El Portillo

A walk from El Portillo to La Fortaleza in the Teide National Park at flowering time

Left to right: Flixweed (Descourainia bourgaeana), Canary wallflower (Erysimum scoparium) and Teide vipers bugloss (Echium wildpretii), near the visitor centre at El Portillo

The scree slope beneath the cliffs of La Fortaleza is full of flowering plants, including the Teide vipers bugloss (Echium wildpretii) and Flixweed (Descourainia bourgaeana)

A group of mouflon, an introduced species of wild sheep, which are very shy and rarely seen. This was the first time I had seen them.

Again I do not have time to write a full walk description, although there is one in my book – Walk 32.  It is a straightforward easy to walk route from El Portillo visitor centre.

I am just putting up pictures of the flowers in the area as they are at their best at this time of year.

A cedro tree (Juniperus cedrus), the high mountain juniper endemic to macronesia (Atlantic islands), with the colourful scree behind it.

The very rare Tenerife endemic Cistus (Cistus osbeckifolia) on La Fortaleza

Shrubby scabious (Pterocephalus lasiospermus)

Teide marguerite (Argyranthemum teneriffae)

A view of Teide with Flixweed (Descourainia bourgaeana) in the foreground

A long-distance project – 4th stage of the Tenerife GR-131

Setting off from El Portillo with Mt Teide in the distance

The view to Mt Teide from the track about 30 mins from the start

We actually did this stage of the GR-131 in February, but for various reasons I did not get around to blogging it at the time. For this stage we did not have to hire a bus for the group, as we could use the public buses, and private cars. We decided to drive up to the Parador hotel in Las Cañadas, and take the bus to El Portillo to start the walk. There is only one bus a day which leaves the Parador at around 11.00, so we could not start the walk very early.

The signage for the GR-131 in the Teide National Park was completely lacking when I was investigating the route for this project.  The red and white signage stopped at El Portillo and gave no indication of the onward section.  We had to ask a Park Ranger for directions as we were not sure if the route went along the top of the Caldera wall, or along the bottom.  The park ranger told us it went along the bottom, using National Park paths 4 and then NP path 5 to get up the caldera wall to the Degollada de Guajara.  However, by the time we walked this section there was limited red/white signage to indicate the ongoing route.

A Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor koenigi) on a dead bush of Mt Teide broom

From the junction at El Portillo where the bus stop is, a path goes down behind a noticeboard onto a path which continues below the road, but roughly parallel with it, till it joins a track which leaves the road opposite the National Park Visitor Centre.  This is NP path 4, and is a track all the way to the road beyond the Parador.  So we turned left on the track and started our walk along it along the base of the caldera wall.

Cedros up the caldera wall, (Juniperus cedrus), the high mountain species of juniper endemic to the Macronesian islands

I am not a great fan of walking on tracks in Tenerife, as sometimes they are very rough underfoot, and often boring as they wind their way through countryside a footpath would go straight through.  However, this track was mostly very easy to walk on, and it certainly wasn’t boring.  The scenery unfolded new vistas with each step, with the views to Mt Teide changing from the north side to the south eastern, and the caldera wall providing a continuously changing panorama of rock types and colours.  Not to mention the lava mounded up in some parts of Las Cañadas to the right of the track.

The track approaching the area with the shepherds’ huts and the Teide Viper’s Bugloss. Note the beautiful cloud formations

About half-way along the track I enjoyed watching a pair of Great Grey Shrikes darting around among the Mt Teide broom (Spartocytisus supranubius) plants.  They are fairly common in the National Park and have a habit of returning to a prominent place such as the top of a bush, or rock, to look for prey.  They then dart out to catch things and return to their perch.  This makes it easier for an amateur like me to get a photo, even if a bit fuzzy due to the distance!

 

A bit further on there is an open level area below a pinnacle on the caldera wall with a scree slope beneath.  At the foot of the scree slope are the remains of stone buildings where in the past shepherds sheltered in their summer stays in Las Cañadas.  And up the scree slope in February the skeletons of the previous summer’s blooms of Teide Viper’s Bugloss (Echium wildpretii) were visible.  Clearly this area is much favoured by this iconic Canary endemic plant with flower spikes up to 3m high in May/June. 

Teide Viper’s Bugloss (Echium wildpretii) photographed near El Portillo in June of a previous year

 

Continuing on the track we came to the path junction with NP path 5 going left up the caldera wall.  We did not take it this time, that will be done on the next stage of the GR-131.  This time we continued along the track till the NP path 4 turned right towards the Parador.

 

The walk was 16.7km/10.4miles long, with 255m/837ft of ascent, mostly gentle climbs.  It took me nearly 4 hours, though several of our fast walkers were considerably quicker.  This was, of course, on a cool day with some snow lying under bushes, so in warmer conditions it could well take longer.  In May and June, of course, the walk would be brightened by the floral displays from the local very specialised flora, but I was amazed how colourful and interesting it was even without the flowers.

A long-distance project – 3rd stage of the Tenerife GR131

The GR131 path near the beginning of this section

Violet seen on a field bank near Cruz de Dornajito

Last Wednesday the group did the third stage of the GR131, from La Caldera, near Aguamansa, to El Portillo in the Teide National Park. Despite the recent variable weather, we had a very good day. As the bus took us to the north of the island to start the stage, we looked up to Teide, to blue sky and not a cloud in sight. We did see a few clouds later in the day, but they did not spoil our enjoyment of the views.

Setting off from La Caldera at about 10.30, the path immediately plunged downhill through woods composed mainly of Tree heaths (Erica arborea), with a few Canary hollies (Ilex canariensis) and Faya (Myrica faya) amongst them.   The stones beneath were thick with moss.  Shortly we came to the road, with a tunnel underneath for us to cross it, and then we continued downwards through more woods.  All the group had concentrated their minds on the 1000m of climbing we had to do that day, and had forgotten that I had said we went downhill first!  After a while, the downhill slope became more gentle, but still with little ups and downs, and still in the woods, now with other species like the Canary ivy (Hedera canariensis) and Canary guelder rose (Viburnum rigidum).

Flowers of the Canary strawberry tree (Arbutus canariensis)

We crossed a narrow tarmac country road, with the first view down to the coast, and immediately the path descended into a small open space with picnic tables, the Cruz de Dornajito.  Crossing this to exit on the other side we saw a wooden staircase leading down to a small cross with some flowers around it.  A signboard explained that this was the site of a spring.  Continuing on the path we came to an open area with fields of potatoes, and further views to the coast and the steep side of the Orotava valley.  Here I snatched a photo of a violet on a field bank.  I think it was Viola odorata, though I did not have time to examine it or smell it as my group was already breaking away from me in their eagerness to get the climb over.  After traversing this area with gentle climbing, the steep climbing section began.

The berries of the Faya (Myrica faya)

The initial steep climb was on a rough stony surface, passing through an area of Faya (Myrica faya), with some Canary strawberry trees (Arbutus canariensis) among them.  Many of the Faya had berries on them (they are dioecious, that is the male and female flowers are on separate trees), and the Canary strawberry trees or, to use their local name, madroños, were in flower.  I saw a local native bumble bee (Bombus canariensis), with a silver bottom, visiting the flowers but was unable to get a photo.

A dry stream bed provides an open area in the pine forest

Above this area we passed through an area of low shrubs, then the path turned to the right and passed a bench beside the path, opposite which was a Canary willow tree (Salix canariensis).  Soon after this we passed into fairly open pine forest with exposed rocks beneath, and the occasional Tree heath too.   Under the pine trees we decided we were about half-way and would stop for lunch.

After lunch, the climb continued through pine trees, crossing the occasional track, all well signposted.  Occasionally we crossed an open barranco where the break in the pines allowed some other low-growing species to grow, including Shrubby scabious (Pterocephalus lasiospermus) and Sticky broom (Adenocarpus foliosus), but none were in flower.  After another stop with the whole group gathering, the front runners decided they were not stopping any more for us laggards behind, so I stopped trying to keep up, and four of us at the back took rests when we felt we needed them, and I started taking photos again.

A view to the Alto de Guamasa volcano

We had had a spell in the pine forest with cloud above us, but it had not bothered us as we had no views anyway, but as we got higher the blue skies, and then the sunshine, returned, which cheered us up.  We crossed the main road again through a tunnel underneath, and noticed that planted around the exit were Mountain shrubby plantain (Plantago webbii), although not in flower at this time of year.  From here on up the path goes to the right of a deep ravine, Barranco Guamasa, but following the red/white trail of the GR131 does not allow many views into the barranco, so one friend and I decided to try the other paths that go nearer to the edge.  We certainly got more chances to see the views, and the paths were still good underfoot, so we enjoyed the alternative.  We rejoined the GR131 path, and then went left for another deviation higher up, rejoining the GR131 again later.

Finally we started to get glimpses of the Alto de Guamasa, the volcano of the same name, sitting on the other side of the barranco.  This is only a short distance from El Portillo so we knew there wasn’t much further to walk then.  Coming out of the pine trees the path zig-zags up the slope at the head of the barranco to join the road at the junction of El Portillo.

The route was 14.5km long and took me 4.5hrs with 1077m of climbing.  Our faster walkers did it in 4hrs.