Anaga Peninsula

The Anaga Peninsula in Tenerife's far northeast is a different world from the high volcanoes or the dry south. It is a maze of sharp ridges and gets a lot more rain, so is green, with lush and intriguing vegetation, much of which is unique to the Canary Islands - including the weirdly charming Dragon Tree, a survivor of great antiquity.

There is a multitude of excellent walks in the area, including a canal walk following levada-type watercourses, at times in sheer cliff faces; many fabulous ridge walks; and paths that parallel the sea, some dipping down to remote coves. These are well described in the Sunflower and Cicerone guides. The Cicerone has three walks that can be linked into a long trail.

We tackled the Hermitage Walk (our title), climbing an old track cut into the steep hillside above delightful Igueste, to an old semaphore on the promontory to the east, turning off it to climb to the hilltop with its atmospheric old hermitage and wonderful 360 degree views, including down to the delightful Playa de Antequera, to which the trail continues if you have time, and along the rugged coastline towards Santa Cruz.

The plant life is fantastic, really engrossing, and includes small Dragon Trees, aloes, prickly pears, euphorbias and many intriguing herbs and shrubs.

We were there on a day of showers, which made for beautiful high effects and patterns on the sea.

This walk is the first section of Cicerone no. 46 and Sunflower no. 20.

See our Tenerife page for general and practical information. https://wanderingon.com/exploring-the-anaga-mountains-tenerife/ also has good information.