Anaga vs Teide: Which Tenerife Hike Should You Choose?

I Did Both: Where They Really Differ

I've guided over 400 hikes on Tenerife in the past 10 years. I've watched the sun rise from the summit of Teide at 3,715m and I've been swallowed by the laurel fog in Anaga more times than I can count. People ask me which is better, and the honest answer is: it depends entirely on what you want to feel.

Teide is about altitude, exposure, and the drama of a volcanic situation that looks like another planet. Anaga is about immersion, humidity, and the quiet of an ancient forest that has been growing since before humans arrived on these shores. Both are Tenerife's great outdoors. Both will give you a day you won't forget. But they are not the same experienc.

I wrote this comparison because the marketing treats them as interchangeable. They are not. One is a high-altitude challenge that demands permits and planning. The other is a green tunnel that requires a headlamp and offline maps. I want you to choose the right one for your trip, not the one that shows up first on Googl.

Hiking in Tenerife's Great Outdoors: The Experience

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I booked the Hiking in Tenerife's Great Outdoors to test what a typical visitor gets. The day started at 08:30 in a minibus from Costa Adeje. Our guide, a local named Carlos, drove us up through Vilaflor (the highest village in Spain at 1,400m) and into the pine forest belt. The air changed: cooler, drier, smelling of resin. We stopped at a trailhead near the Roques de García and walked through volcanic terrain for about 2 hours. The ground was black and red gravel, the sky a deep blue. We saw a Barbary ground squirrel and a kestrel hunting. Carlos pointed out the different lava flows and explained which ones were from the 1798 eruption and which were older.

After lunch (a packed bocadillo with cheese and tomato, which was fine), we drove down the southern slope into scrubland. The second hike was shorter, about 90 minutes, through a dry riverbed with Canarian pines and prickly pear cactus. It was a solid day of hiking, about 7 hours total with breaks. The group was 8 people, all reasonably fit. The elevation gain on the morning hike was around 450m, and it was noticeable in the dry air. I drank 1.5 liters of water and could have used mor.

Who this is NOT for: beginners who have not done a 450m+ climb before. People with knee issues (the descent on volcanic gravel is slippery). Anyone who wants a relaxing day, this is a physical outing.

Why Anaga Nearly Won Me Over

I've been hiking Anaga since I was a kid growing up in La Laguna. My grandfather used to take me on the Benijo trail before it had a name on any map. The laurel forest is something else entirely. You walk into it and the temperature drops 5 degrees. The light filters through the canopy in green shafts. The ground is mossy and damp underfoot. It smells of wet earth and rotting leaves. It is the opposite of Teide in every way.

The day I tested the Anaga side for this comparison, I started at the Cruz del Carmen visitor center at 08:00. I took the PR-TF 6 loop down toward Benijo beach. The descent is steep, 950m of elevation loss over 15km. My knees felt it by the 10th kilometer. But the views when you break out of the forest and see the Atlantic from 600m up are worth every step. The fog rolled in at 1,100m on the way back up, and I spent 40 minutes backtracking after taking a wrong fork. My phone GPS was useless (the tunnel network kills it dead), and I was glad I had downloaded offline maps on Maps.me. I finished the loop in 6 hours, including a 20-minute stop for water and a banana at the beach.

I have guided this trail for clients more than 50 times. I now run it with a Garmin inReach and 3 backup trail markers photographed on my phone. The fog changes the situation completely, what looks like a clear path at 09:00 can become a dead end by 14:00.

Who this is NOT for: anyone with bad knees or ankles (the descent is punishing). People who dislike humidity or dampness. Anyone who needs phone signal or reliable GPS, you will have neither in the ravines.

Hiking in Tenerife's Great Outdoors: The Experience

The tour I took was a good sampler. It covered three different ecosystems in one day, which is exactly what the description promises. The guide was knowledgeable and the group size was small. But I would not recommend it for anyone who wants a detailed look into a single situation. You get a taste of Teide's volcanic zone, a bit of pine forest, and a stretch of scrubland. It is a cross-section, not a full immersion.

If you only have one day on Tenerife and you want to say you've seen the variety of the island's landscapes, this tour works. But if you have two or three days, I would tell you to spend one full day on Teide (either the summit or the Roques de García loop) and one full day in Anaga (the Benijo-Faro loop). That gives you a proper experience of both worlds.

I booked the Hiking in Tenerife's Great Outdoors a few months later to see if the experience was consistent, and it was. The guide was different (a woman named Elena, also excellent), and the route varied slightly depending on weather and group fitness. The constant is the variety, you will not spend more than 2 hours in any one landscap.

Who this is NOT for: serious hikers who want a challenging single trail. People who dislike being in a group of strangers. Anyone who wants to summit Teide, this tour does not go to the summit.

The Moment I Made My Decision:

It was February 2021. I was at the Teide cable car base station with 4 clients who had flown from the UK specifically for the mountain. Wind was gusting at 95km/h. Cable car closed. They were crushed. I pulled up the weather map on my phone. Anaga was clear, the north coast cloud layer was sitting at 900m. We drove 50 minutes east, parked at Cruz del Carmen, and hiked the Bosque de Los Enigmas trail through laurel forest dripping with lichen. By 13:00 we were eating papas arrugadas with mojo at a guachinche in Tegueste that was not on any map.

At the table, one of the clients said: "This is better than Teide would have been." I did not agree, but I understood what he meant. The laurel forest in fog is more atmospheric than Teide in clear weather. It feels ancient and secret. Teide feels exposed and epic. They are different emotions.

That day confirmed something I had been telling clients for years: Teide is a 50/50 proposition in winter. Always have an Anaga backup. Now I brief every winter client with the same line: "Teide is Plan A, but Plan B is genuinely as good."

If I had to choose one hike to do on Tenerife for the rest of my life, I would choose Anaga. But if I had to choose one hike to show someone what Tenerife is, I would choose Teide. The answer depends on whether you want a personal experience or a representative on.

What I Wish I'd Known Before I Went

• Start early for both. The Masca sunrise I saw in October 2019 was the best light I have ever seen on this island. I parked at 06:45, one of 3 cars. By 07:15 I was on the upper trail, above the hamlet, watching the sun hit the Teno ridge while the valley floor was still in purple shadow. A pair of ravens circled the thermals 50m below me. Complete silence except for their wings. Masca's magic window is 07:00-09:00. After that it is buses, selfie sticks, and the guy selling aloe vera at the viewpoint. This is true of almost every major Tenerife attraction: the experience quality is directly proportional to how early you are willing to wake up.
• Download offline maps for Anaga. I learned this the hard way in November 2018. The fog rolled in at 1,100m, my phone GPS showed me floating 400m off the coast (tunnel interference), and I spent 40 minutes backtracking through chest-high ferns. I had done that route before and still took the wrong fork. Download Maps.me or Google Maps offline before you go. The tunnel network kills GPS dead.
• Check the Teide webcam before driving up. It is visible at volcanoteide.com. If the summit is in cloud, the cable car experience is wasted money. Go another day or pivot to Anaga.
• Book the summit permit 2-3 months ahead. The German couple I met at the upper station in August 2020 had paid €120 each for a "summit tour" that only went to La Rambleta (3,555m, not the summit). The actual summit requires a free permit and a licensed guide. If the tour does not explicitly say "Telesforo Bravo trail" and "maximum 3,715m", you are not summiting.
• Carry 2 liters of water minimum on Teide. The air is dry (15-25% humidity at 3,000m+) and you dehydrate fast without noticing because it is cool. I see tourists with a 500ml bottle on the cable car all the time. That is not enough.
• Bring a headlamp for Anaga. The laurel forest canopy blocks 80% of ambient light. Even on a 4-hour hike starting at 09:00, unexpected delays (wrong turn, slower pace) can push you into dusk. Two of my 15+ Benijo loops ended with a headlamp.
• The best pre-hike breakfast near Teide is Café Melita in Vilaflor. It opens at 07:30. Their barraquito (layered coffee with condensed milk, Licor 43, and lemon peel) is the best on the island. Order one before you drive up.
• Guachinches are the best food experience on Tenerife. In March 2023, a local guide told me "turn left at the abandoned greenhouse, then look for the green door." No sign, no Google Maps pin. Behind the door: a concrete patio with 6 plastic tables, a charcoal grill, and a man in his 70s decanting young red Listán Negro from an unlabeled bottle. The wine was €2 a glass. The conejo en salmorejo was €7. It was the best meal I have eaten on Tenerife, and I have eaten everywhere. Ask a local where to go. Offer to buy them a coffee. The intel is worth the effort.