Anaga Rural Park

The Anaga massif is the oldest part of Tenerife, formed around seven to nine million years ago, and its steep ridges trap the moisture carried by the trade winds, producing near-permanent cloud on the north side and supporting laurisilva, a subtropical laurel forest that covered much of southern Europe and North Africa before the ice ages and now survives only on Macaronesian islands. It was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2015. The forest is dense, mossy and dripping, with a network of old paths connecting hamlets that were reachable only on foot until recently, including Chamorga, Taganana and the Roque Bermejo coast. Beaches at Benijo and Almaciga sit below the ridge on a wild north coast.

What you actually see

• The laurisilva - relict laurel cloud forest surviving from before the ice ages.
• The old paths - a network of routes linking formerly roadless hamlets.
• The Benijo coast - black sand and sea stacks below the northern ridge.
• The cloud sea - trade wind cloud sitting on the ridge most days.

When to go

Year-round; the north side is cloudy and damp in every season, which is the point but limits views. Winter and spring are greenest. Some trails require a free permit with daily caps in busy periods.

Honest expectations

Roads through Anaga are extremely narrow and winding, with hairpins and passing places, and journeys take far longer than distances suggest. Cloud sits on the ridge most days. Parking at trailheads is minimal.

Nearby

La Laguna and Santa Cruz lie southwest; the Benijo and Taganana beaches are below the ridge.