Masca Gorge hike

The Masca Gorge trail is a roughly 5 km one-way descent from the hamlet of Masca, at about 750 m, down to sea level in the Teno Rural Park in north-west Tenerife. The official trail website rates it high difficulty and estimates about 4 hours to descend. The trail is open as of 28 October 2026, but you cannot simply turn up: access is booked by time slot, you must arrive on a compulsory shuttle bus, and you must hold a boat ticket for the way out.

Is the Masca trail open, and how do you book it?

Yes. The official site, caminobarrancodemasca.com (run by the public company TRAGSA for the Cabildo de Tenerife), showed the trail, checkpoints and Masca jetty as open on 28 October 2026 and publishes a daily "Masca today" status page. You book a dated time slot there; the trail ticket was listed from €40.66 when checked in October 2026. Tenerife residents and members of a Canary Islands mountaineering or caving federation are admitted free, with a refund processed after verification at the checkpoint. Bookings can be changed or cancelled free of charge if the trail is closed for weather.

How do you get to the start?

Since December 2025 you must travel from Santiago del Teide on TITSA bus line 355 (about 20 minutes); hikers arriving in a private vehicle are not admitted, and you must show the bus ticket at the checkpoint. The site asks you to be at stop 4692 at least 1 hour before your slot and at the access control in the Masca Visitors' Centre 30 minutes before. Miss that and you lose your place without refund during the current pilot scheme.

How do you get out at the bottom?

You must buy a boat ticket from Masca Bay to the port of destination before starting; without it you are not allowed on the trail, and it must be for no more than 4 hours after your descent slot. The boat lands in Los Gigantes, below the Los Gigantes cliffs. From there, TITSA lines 462 and 325 run back to Santiago del Teide. If sea conditions close the boats, you walk back up to Masca — so you need the fitness for both directions.

What equipment is compulsory?

Staff refuse entry to anyone without:

• Closed mountain-hiking boots or trekking shoes with lugs — no trainers or sandals.
• At least 1.5 litres of water per person (there is none on the trail), plus food.
• ID matching the ticket, the trail ticket, the boat ticket and the shuttle ticket.
• A charged mobile phone. A helmet is lent at the start and returned at the end; accident insurance is included.

Why is it so strictly controlled?

The official site states that in recent years more rescues have been carried out here than anywhere else in the Canary Islands. The ground is uneven, with steps, slopes and drops. Along the way, emergency signs carry a locator number to give when calling 112. Rules also forbid bathing in pools, drones, dogs (except assistance dogs), camping and fires, and Masca Beach itself is closed to the public by a 2010 resolution of Buenavista del Norte council.

When is the best time to go?

Choose a morning slot to descend before the midday heat in the lower gorge, and check the "Masca today" page and the weather forecast the day before. Heavy rain can close the trail at short notice. If the gorge is full or closed, the Teno Rural Park has other signposted paths; the Anaga Rural Park in the north-east offers similar laurel-and-ravine walking without a boat transfer.