Masca Gorge

Masca is a scatter of houses on a knife-edge ridge in the Teno massif, reachable by a road of extreme hairpins, and until the road arrived in the 1970s it was among the most isolated settlements in the Canaries. Below it, the Barranco de Masca cuts down about six hundred metres to a small black beach on the Atlantic, and the descent through it, past walls that narrow to a few metres and volcanic rock in bands of colour, has long been one of the best-known walks on the island. After rockfall deaths the gorge was closed in 2018 and reopened in 2021 under strict control: numbers are capped, booking is compulsory, helmets are issued and a boat or the same route back is required.

What you actually see

• The ridge hamlet - houses on a knife-edge with gorges on both sides.
• The gorge descent - six hundred metres down between narrowing walls.
• The black beach - a small volcanic shore at the gorge mouth.
• The hairpin road - an extreme route in from the Teno plateau.

When to go

October to May for cooler walking; the gorge closes in rain and heat warnings. Booking is compulsory and opens in advance with a daily cap. The village itself can be visited without booking.

Honest expectations

The gorge cannot be entered without an advance booking, and walk-up attempts are refused. Helmets are compulsory after fatal rockfalls. The boat pick-up must be arranged and is cancelled in swell, leaving the climb back out. The access road is genuinely difficult to drive.

Nearby

The Teno massif and Punta de Teno lie north; Los Gigantes cliffs are south along the coast.