Difficult: easy

Fitness: easy

Fear of heights: easy

Surefootedness: middle

Distance: 13,56 km

Duration: 3:20 h

Heights: 308

Start/End:

Portillo Alto

GPS-Track

Hike 74: Fortaleza/Montana Negra

One of the most beautiful places in the Canadas is Fortaleza. The hiking trails are well signposted and easy. Besides the standard route from El Portillo, you can also walk from Portillo Alto. In addition, I have included a loop around the Montana Negra, which can of course be omitted. We park the car at Portillo Alto and walk the Sendero 24 in a gentle descent and ascent.

 

The path merges seamlessly with Sendero 1. After 3 km there is a crossroads. We continue straight on here and already have the Fortaleza in view on the right. At the Fortaleza there is an ascent path up to the Cruz de Fregel, a small chapel. You can take a break on the sandy plain in front of the huge rock. We continue to the end of the rock fortress and take Sendero 33 on the left.

 

The ground becomes somewhat uneven. Orientation also becomes more difficult. You should keep a closer eye on your GPS right at the beginning. I strayed slightly from the path and had to find my way again over scree. I corrected this in the GPS track. The circumnavigation of Montana Negra is easy and the ground becomes sandy and flat again. Between Teide and Montana Negra, the path leads to a crossroads. Here we take a hard left. A beautiful path now leads us down to Sendero 1, where we take the same path again to Portillo Alto.

 

I didn't start the hike until the afternoon because the access road to Teide was closed due to ice. As a result, there were already trade wind clouds in the Canadas. You walk through the clouds and they constantly pass in front of Teide and Fortaleza. On the way back, Fortaleza is in the evening sun and the sun is setting behind Teide. It's a wonderful sight. It was also the first time in all these years that I saw a group of mouflons passing through the Canadas.

 

A detailed description of the route and the GPS track can be found in the Hiking Guide Tenerife.

 

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