Rock Climbing in Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and it also offers the most extensive and best rock climbing, sport climbing and bouldering of the area. The dormant volcanic mountain of Mount Teide (3,718m high) dominates the rugged landscape of Tenerife. This volcano produced a reddish volcanic ignibrite rock that is common throughout all the climbing areas on the island. This rock is peppered with many pockets and the occasional cracks, providing mainly crimpy technical routes. Whilst the majority of the climbing on Tenerife is sport climbing there are many lines and sections of crags that are also Trad climbing routes. So do bring your Trad rack to enjoy the full Tenerife rock climbing experience.
| No | Crag | Type of Climbing | No of routes | Up to F6a | F6a+ F6c+ | F7a to F7c+ | F8a and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fasnia | Sport | 67 | 13 | 35 | 12 | 7 |
| 2 | La Galeria | Sport | 56 | 1 | 10 | 37 | 8 |
| 3 | Tamadaya | Sport & Trad | 60 | 42 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Planeta Zarza | Sport | 46 | 9 | 25 | 12 | 0 |
| 5 | Arico | Sport & Bouldering | 260 | 53 | 104 | 85 | 18 |
| 6 | Los Naranjos | Sport | 36 | 8 | 17 | 8 | 3 |
| 7 | La Fuente | Sport & Trad | 39 | 7 | 22 | 9 | 1 |
| 8 | Fantasma | Sport | 68 | 22 | 34 | 8 | 4 |
| 9 | El Hoyo | Sport | 53 | 12 | 26 | 4 | 11 |
| 10 | El Rio | Sport | 140 | 17 | 52 | 49 | 22 |
| 11 | Zona Zero | Sport | 45 | 2 | 21 | 17 | 5 |
| 12 | Las Barbas de San Pedro | Sport & Trad | 43 | 13 | 27 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | Las Vegas | Sport & Trad | 74 | 15 | 37 | 8 | 14 |
| 14 | Las Palomas | Sport | 37 | 5 | 24 | 5 | 3 |
| 15 | La Martela | Sport & Trad | 29 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | Guaria | Sport & Trad | 129 | 15 | 40 | 45 | 29 |
| 17 | La Canada del Capricho | Sport & Bouldering | 158 | 42 | 64 | 33 | 19 |
| 18 | Tabares | Sport & Trad | 31 | N/N | N/N | N/N | N/N |
| 19 | Tejina | Sport | 50 | N/N | N/N | N/N | N/N |
| 20 | Santa Ursula | Sport | 33 | N/N | N/N | N/N | N/N |
| 21 | Martianez | Sport | 32 | N/N | N/N | N/N | N/N |
| 22 | San Marcos | Sport & Bouldering | 47 | N/N | N/N | N/N | N/N |
Map of the rock climbing areas in Tenerife
The above information (areas 1 to 17) has been extracted from the Tenerife Rock Climbing Guidebook that describes over 1,300 routes and can be bought from our shop.
Arico is the centre of rock climbing in Tenerife, as it is by far the largest climbing area. Arico crag has over 250 single pitch sport climbing routes, across a wide range of grades. The climbing is on both sides of a valley and therefore offers either sun or shade throughout the day. Arico is also one of the most popular bouldering areas in Tenerife, along with nearby Arico Nuevo and El Poris.
There are also many other crags near the villages of Arico and Chimiche such El Rio, Tamadaya, Fantasma and El Hoyo that all offer mainly excellent single pitch sport routes. In particularly El Rio is popular with more than 100 routes across all grades, dominated by technical and long routes (over 30m).
La Canada del Capricho (also known as Las Canadas) is situated at 2,000m in the beautiful landscape of Mount Teide National Park. This was the first rock climbing area to be developed in Tenerife and the altitude makes its climate similar to that of high mountain areas. The majority of the routes are sport routes with the occasional Trad line. The area is a series of outcrops with many towers and faces offering powerful overhangs and delicate slabs, where you can find sun or shade throughout the day. It is also one of the best locations on Tenerife for bouldering with problems across a wide range of grades all over the area.
Guaria (Guía de Isora) is in the west of the island and is the tallest crag on Tenerife with a number of multi-pitch routes. It has over 100 routes and due its height Guaria has the highest concentration of Trad routes on Tenerife, though some of the sport routes are up to 35m long and require plenty of stamina. The crag is south facing and hence is warm – perfect for those sunny November days.
I didn’t know that.
- You can hire a bouldering mat at Tenerife Outdoor, Tenerife’s largest climbing shop, located in Arico. The shop offers all the usual climbing equipment for sale and offers competitive rates for hiring bouldering mats, ideal for keeping the weight down when flying and hence the cost.
- Gone on holiday with your family and don’t have a climbing partner? Then head for Arico where there are always climbers, especially at weekends, who will be happy for you to join in with. Just pack your harness and boots.
- The Tenerife Climbing House offers great accommodation for climbers, run by climbers, located in Arico. They also run a climbing school where you can hire a guide.
- The Tenerife Rock Climbing Guidebook describes the sport climbing at 17 areas in Tenerife, including Arico, El Rio, La Canada del Capricho and Guaria, It covers over 1,300 routes across a wide range of grades.
Walking on Tenerife
There is a great range of walking and hiking opportunities on Tenerife to suit walkers of all abilities. There is a rich diversity of scenery and landscape that is ultimately dominated by the dormant volcano of Mount Teide at 3,718m high. Hence the range of walking and hiking is huge with the main highlights being:
- The centre of the island is a high altitude plateau at around 2,000m high, known as Las Canadas and is a National Park. This rugged “lunar” landscape has a whole network of paths, including routes up to the top of Mount Teide
- The north-east offers wild beauty, tiny hamlets, soaring peaks and plunging gorges, mainly covered by forests.
- In the North there are walks through pine forests and along forest tracks and walking trails, with fine views in clear weather.
- In the south there are forest walks, mountains, gorges, small villages, and untouched wild countryside.
- The west offers mountain routes and rugged country walks.
The Tenerife Hiker’s Map shows a great number of hiking trails on Tenerife.