PNT 04 Siete Cañadas Trail

PNT 04 Siete Cañadas is a 16.6 km (10.3 mile) one-way traverse from El Portillo Visitor Centre to the Parador de Turismo. It follows a continuous dirt track across the open highland basins at the foot of Teide’s caldera wall, along part of the old Camino Real de Chasna. Allow about four and a half hours for the walk itself. It climbs about 412 m and descends about 319 m, but stays above 2,000 m; this is a long high-altitude outing rather than a steep summit climb.

You end far from where you start, so plan a return before setting off. Parking is listed at both El Portillo and the Parador, and TITSA buses 342 and 348 serve stops at both ends; check their timetable before relying on the bus. The track begins across TF-21 from the visitor centre, so cross the main road carefully. No reservation is normally required for this route.

The route passes Cañada de Diego Hernández, Las Pilas, La Angostura, La Grieta, Montón de Trigo, La Mareta and, near the end, El Capricho before reaching the Parador. “Cañada” here means one of the broad plains or depressions in the caldera. Small rises and dips link them; the path is not especially steep, and dark-green PNT 04 waymarkers identify the route. Keep to the marked track where it meets paths used by bicycles, horses or vehicles.

Near Diego Hernández, dark basalt lava bands contrast with paler yellow deposits formed from acidic magma during powerful eruptions. The caldera wall and views back toward Teide recur along this long traverse, so the walk’s reward is the changing volcanic landscape rather than a single summit viewpoint. At Cañada del Capricho, look for the yellow rock towers of Piedras Amarillas with Guajara rising behind them; that layered view makes a distinctive photo stop.

Siete Cañadas follows part of the Camino Real de Chasna, a north-to-south crossing used before the Spanish conquest. The historic track connected communities on opposite sides of the island through the highlands; the modern route still makes that long crossing legible on foot. Remains of old shepherd shelters can also be seen along the way.

The high-altitude flora includes endemic buglosses. Blue spicy bugloss can flower in June, while red bugloss sends up stems as tall as two metres. The walk finishes beside Cañada Blanca and the Parador, where the small chapel of Nuestra Señora de las Nieves dates to 1954. El Portillo’s four-hectare botanical garden is a separate nearby stop if you want to learn more about native plants.

There is no shade or potable water along the route, and no food stop was confirmed on the walk. Carry enough water and food for the full distance. The trail’s guidance also flags loose rocks and uneven ground, and asks walkers to watch for bicycles, horses and motor traffic on shared sections.