Parking
Reach the La Catedral start on foot from La Ruleta via PNT 03; there is no separate vehicle access at the PNT 26 start. The far end is Mirador de Ucanca at TF-21 km 48.8, where parking is very limited and there are no nearby services.
Overview
About PNT 26 Ucanca Trail
Why go
- An easy, low-grade route across a broad volcanic plain.
- La Catedral and the caldera views make the short walk distinctive.
Heads up
- Point-to-point unless you retrace your steps or arrange a pickup.
- Very limited parking and no services at the TF-21 end.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Teide map
Full mapElevation2,012–2,029 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Teide alerts
- CautionActive wildfire risk and preventive measuresTenerife ON currently lists wildfire risk and preventive wildfire measures; check the live restrictions before visiting Teide National Park.Official details
- CautionNo smoking in Teide National ParkSmoking is prohibited throughout Teide National Park as a preventive measure against forest fires.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Teide Tour Guide
Your drive to PNT 26 Ucanca Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Teide National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Roques de García and La Ruleta0:00 / 0:36
“Roques de García is coming up, with volcanic towers standing against Teide. Keep this one on your shortlist, even for a short stop: the platforms at La Ruleta give you the view without doing the full hike.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Teide Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Cañada Blanca and the Parador
- Los Azulejos: The Colored Rocks
- Llano de Ucanca and La Catedral
- The Tajinaste’s One Big Bloom
- 39 audio storiesacross Teide’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Short-finned Pilot Whale, Tenerife Lizard, West Canary Skink, and 10 more
- Works offlinemaps, 62 trails, 49 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking PNT 26 Ucanca Trail
A short crossing, not a loopPNT 26 Ucanca is a gentle point-to-point walk across the Llano de Ucanca, from the foot of La…
PNT 26 Ucanca is a gentle point-to-point walk across the Llano de Ucanca, from the foot of La Catedral on PNT 03 to Mirador de Ucanca beside TF-21. The official line is 1.79 km one way; allow 45 minutes to an hour for the walk. It’s an easy way to get out onto the caldera floor without taking on a climb: the route gains only about 20 m. If your car is at La Ruleta, returning the same way makes it about 3.6 km in all.
Plan the two endsReach the La Catedral start on foot from La Ruleta by following PNT 03; PNT 26 doesn’t begin at…
Reach the La Catedral start on foot from La Ruleta by following PNT 03; PNT 26 doesn’t begin at a separate vehicle access. The far end is Mirador de Ucanca at TF-21 km 48.8. There’s very limited parking there and no nearby services. If you don’t want to walk back, arrange your pickup before setting out.
Across the plainThe route crosses the broad, open plain on flat, comfortable terrain.
The route crosses the broad, open plain on flat, comfortable terrain. Dark green waymarkers carry the PNT code. The views open across Teide, Pico Viejo and the rugged Cumbres de Ucanca, with La Catedral behind you and the coloured rocks of Los Azulejos in view. This is a short, low-difficulty walk for seeing the caldera from its floor, not a summit hike.
The volcanic landmarksLa Catedral is a volcanic plug whose shape resembles a great cathedral; it makes a striking…
La Catedral is a volcanic plug whose shape resembles a great cathedral; it makes a striking marker at the start. Los Azulejos is a set of hydrothermal colour patterns in the rock, a different kind of detail from the dark lava and pale open plain around it. From the La Ruleta viewpoint, include La Catedral and a stretch of the plain together to show both the starting landmark and the landscape this trail crosses.
The route is classified as inaccessible to people with reduced mobility, despite its low grade.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Teide
15 sightingsShort-finned Pilot WhaleMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
829 sightingsTenerife LizardMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
11 sightingsWest Canary SkinkMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
98 sightingsTenerife Blue ChaffinchMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
45 sightingsKestrelMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
10 sightingsBarbary PartridgeMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Teide. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
