I was especially excited about the Trekking Teide excursion, and it definitely lived up to my high expectations! While I enjoy almost all travel destinations including beautiful beaches and exploring cities, there is something extra special about getting back to nature. I really cherish the times when I can escape all this and enjoy the simple beauty of the natural world, because in much of our lives we are surrounded by crowds, noise, buildings and technology. This is something I recommend everyone should experience from time to time.
Our trip had once again been organised with the wonderful travel company Travel Tenerife, who earlier in the week had already taken us on a spellbinding stargazing experience on their ‘Teide by Night’ excursion. This time it was Andrew’s turn to prove his expertise, and his wife and colleague Paulina accompanied us and helped guide us. John, Dennis and I were picked up promptly at 7:30am from Pearly Grey Timeshare Resort, and we drove up to Teide National Park, stopping on the way for breakfast in a bar with an incredible view across to La Gomera.
I was once again struck by how incredible Tenerife is, during our drive up to Teide National Park. For a relatively small island, it is incredible how much variety of landscape exists. It is an island of huge contrasts with warm sandy beaches, pine tree forests, a massive lunar like volcanic crater, and of course snow tipped Mount Teide, the highest peak in Spain, with its 3,718 metre summit.
At our destination we were provided with Nordic walking sticks, a thermal sweater, comfortable heavy duty hiking shoes (of which there are all sizes), and a backpack with apple and large bottle of water. Travel Tenerife really had thought of everything. It was an absolutely beautiful day with barely any wind and a perfect blue sky. Our hike was set to take 3-4 hours along a 11km route and we were all excited to get going.
Before setting off we did some stretching exercises, and were shown how to correctly use the Nordic walking sticks to get maximum benefit from them. This is probably something I wouldn’t have thought of doing. I would have just headed off trekking and then been sore for the rest of the day. We stretched our arms, legs, and got the blood pumping by jogging and jumping around, with these simple yet very effective exercise. Luckily no one was watching!
We set off and were led along a circular pathway that eventually would lead back in a large loop to our starting point. Along the way Andrew took a number of photos which are then posted to Travel Tenerife’s Facebook page, and of course John, Dennis and I took many photos and videos too. I had to keep catching up the group, as the landscape was so amazing I felt like stopping every five minutes to snap shots.
Andrew and Paulina both proved extremely knowledgeable about the national park, Mount Teide, and Tenerife in general. They are both originally from Poland but speak excellent English and know a huge number of facts about their new home. Along the way we learned about the unique geology, history, fauna and flora of Teide. It really is a fascinating place!
At one point we stopped at some abandoned buildings which Andrew explained were built at one point as a kind of healing centre for those with tuberculosis. This is because the air in the national park is so clear and fresh and so ideal for those with lung problems. This place provided an interesting stopping point for a breather and refreshments.
Later on in the walk we stopped for some lunch as we neared the point where you can catch the cable car to the top of Mount Teide. We were provided with delicious pasta with a homemade pesto sauce. This is included as part of the price of the Trek, and is gluten free and suitable for vegetarians. On a long walk like this, this tasty pasta was the perfect food for energy.
After this we climbed up a hill which had some awesome views up to Mount Teide, and then descended back down on the home stretch of our trek which lasted about another hour. Along the final part of our journey there were far more plants. There were bushes, flowers, bees and lizards and a real abundance of life and colour. It seemed like a totally different country but this was all within the same walk.
Almost four hours later we reached the mini-bus, handed back our hiking shoes, and walking sticks, and sat back down ready for the drive back. After the tranquil Trekking Teide excursion I felt really calm and relaxed. We stopped off to see the largest Pine tree in Tenerife which has the affectionate nickname of Pino Gordo (fat pine). This name is very fitting as this tree is absolutely huge! It is definitely one of the biggest trees I’ve ever seen in my life.
I would 100% recommend booking an excursion with Travel Tenerife which is a small team owned by Aleksandra, with Andrew, Paulina and Charles making up the rest of the team. You can book the Trekking Teide excursion directly from the Pearly Grey Resort reception team.
