Climbing in Tenerife

Two weeks climbing in Tenerife. My thoughts.

Tenerife seems to be a very popular winter destination for my friends in Berlin, so I decided to see what it’s all about this winter. It is the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands located off the coast of West Africa. There are cheap direct flights from most major European cities including from Berlin. (I found a 5h direct flight from Berlin for 30 Euros!)

The island is only a tiny bit smaller than the size of Tokyo (2034 m2) and maybe a bit bigger than Berlin x2. I spent two weeks in January, mostly at the Base Camp in Arico (for climbing) and some hiking in the mountains in the north in Anaga.

On rest days, you can go down to the beach and relax, lots of parties and raves, acroyoga session, everyone playing music every night, a great sense of community. There’s also a lot to explore on the island with varied landscapes and climates.

Then there’s Mount Teide, a volcano in the middle of the island and the summit is the highest point in Spain at 3,715 m. The whole area looks like some place from a space movie. Maybe this is what being on Mars feels like. I don’t know.

One of the best sunsets I’d seen this year.

Overall, really cool winter destination. But I really need to learn to drive to make the most out of the experience. Also being able to speak Spanish would’ve been a plus.