Barranco de Masca Trail

I am a fan of nature, and every time I can, I escape to discover trails and walks that make me get involved in it. Therefore, if you are in Tenerife, you cannot miss the descent of the Barranco de Masca Trail (Masca ravine), which will open again in 2021, after being closed to the public for more than 3 years. In addition, it is in the Teno Rural Park, which is at number 2 of the most visited places in Tenerife and one of the most popular places from Canary Islands.

Something remarkable about this opening of the ravine route is that a permit will be needed, since the capacity is limited to 25 people a day.

Where is El Barranco de Masca?

El Barranco de Masca is in the town of Masca, which is located in the northwest of Tenerife and belongs to the municipality of Buenavista del Norte. The small village has around 80 houses and a hundred inhabitants who originally made their living from agriculture. Thanks to tourism, most of them now run country houses, local restaurants, bars, and craft shops.

Masca is located 650 meters above sea level and impresses with a unique environment. Rocky ravines emerge from the edges of roads and houses which, mixed with colorful plants, provide excellent photo opportunities.

Access to El Barranco de Masca

The Barranco de Masca hiking route begins just to the left of the ridge that runs through the center of the town of Masca.

Something very important with the new opening of the Barranco de Masca, is that it will be open for groups of 25 people every 30 minutes, which will be accessible only on weekends and holidays.

The opening hours of the Barranco will be different, depending on whether it is winter time, opening between 8 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, and in summer it opens from 8 in the morning to 6 in the afternoon.

How to get to Masca by car

In principle, with the new opening of the Masca ravine path, the accesses to the town of Masca will be closed, so it can only be accessed by bus (guagua). As happens to access the tip of Teno.

Likewise, there is only one road that goes to the small town of Masca, which goes from Santiago del Teide or from Buenavista. The road is TF-436.

If you take the option of going from Santiago del Teide and the road is open, the journey is 5kms, the time it takes to travel them may depend on how many viewpoints on the Masca road you stop, to take photos, since it is a a place that will cry out for it.

How to get to Masca by Bus (Guagua)

There are two ways to get to the town of Masca by bus or bus.

Departure from Buenavista to the town of Masca: You have to take the guagua (bus) 355. In principle today, it leaves 4 times from the bus station of Buenavista (the Baja Island): 9:45, 12:00, 15 : 45 and 17:55. Another option: Bus 365 that leaves from Buenavista to Masca twice: 6:20, 2:20 and returns to Buenavista from Masca at 6:50 and 2:50 p.m.
Departure from Santiago del Teide to the Masca village by bus: There are also 4 departures and their schedules are: 11:00, 13:10, 17:05 and at 19:10.

Since there may be a change in the schedules of the guaguas (buses), you can enter Titsa’s official website and look for the bus number, depending on where you want to take it, and confirm the schedule.

Barranco de Masca trail

The Barranco de Masca trailhas a fairly high level of demand, because now it is not only downhill, with the new regulations, you will have to go down and then go up the entire ravine to the Masca hamlet.

Previously, there was the possibility of being able to get to Masca beach and take a boat that would take you to the port and town of Los Gigantes. To this day, that port does not have the required license to be able to take hikers who go down to Masca beach. (If there is an update, please, leave it in comments, to update it).

Distance to the Masca Canyon Trail

The route has a total of 10 kilometers between round trip. The estimate of the accumulated unevenness is 1500 meters (750 meters down and 750 meters up).

How long to do the Camino del Barranco

The time it takes to walk the Masca ravine will depend, as always, on the person and their walking pace, but the estimate of the descent to Masca beach is 2 hours and 30 minutes.

You must remember that now it is mandatory to go back up to the farmhouse, so the climb can take 3 hours and 30 minutes.

The total of the trail is approximately between 5 and 6 hours in total.

Barranco de Masca opening, Tenerife

After 3 years of not being able to do the Masca trail, on March 27, 2021, they will reopen it, after a renovation to make it safer, for anyone who wants to do the Masca ravine route and enjoy this incredible place natural in the park of Teno.

Where to request permission for the Barranco de Masca Trail

One of the requirements to be able to do the Masca trail from now on is to have to request a permit, in this way access to the route is controlled and limited.

Another factor that must be taken into account is that it can only be done on weekends, so it is better to plan in advance and ask for permission to do the Masca ravine.

You can request permission for this trail on the official website www.caminobarrancodemasca.com

Barranco de Masca Trail Wikiloc

If you use the Wikiloc application, here is the route so you can use the Masca Canyon route in Wikiloc and guide you.

equipment for Barranco de Masca Trail

Mandatory equipment:

Because now you have to make reservations and it has been made safer, it has also been imposed that there is mandatory equipment to do the Barranco de Masca trail.

Mountain boots or hiking shoes. (Like this boots)
Protective helmet (The trail staff will lend it to you, but you can buy yours here, for hygiene purposes).
Water for the road. (See Camelbak)
Battery-charged mobile. (See powerbank).
Necessary medication of the person.
Hiking clothing. (See pants)

Recommended Equipment:

Sun hat.crema
Sunscreen.
Sunglasses.
Walking sticks
Food for the road.
Garbage bag.

Video of the presentation of the reopening of the Barranco

Here I present a video of the presentation of the reopening of the ravine, which you can see the improvements they have made in the descent.

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