La Caldera

La Caldera

Route: La Caldera

Area: Orotava Valley, Northern Tenerife

Date of walk: 6th February 2018

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 7.2 miles

Ascent: 1,700 feet

Weather: Mixture of sun, cloud, mist and rain

The Orotava Valley climbs up from the north coast of the island to meet the Mount Teide National Park. The upper parts of the valley contain numerous walking opportunities, and we chose to start today’s walk from the car park at La Caldera which is surrounded by a network of footpaths

We headed off along our chosen trail into the ancient forest which was looking magical in the misty conditions. The lack of sunshine turned out to be an advantage during this and the other woodland sections, but this became a disadvantage when we emerged from the woods into thick mist, with no views whatsoever. Added to this, it started raining and the camera had to be put away for a while

On one section of the walk we entertained a few doubts as to whether we were on course, as we followed a very vague and narrow path through scrubland – the path here will soon become impenetrable unless the way is cleared. The weather improved as we arrived at a viewpoint known as Mirador de Mataznos from where enjoyed a brief spectacular view along the northern coast before the clouds came in again, and this set the tone for the remainder of the walk – some sunny intervals with good views, some heavy rain, and plenty of mist

After walking through pleasant agricultural land we entered the forest once more to return to La Caldera

Despite the mixed weather we’d really enjoyed this walk and the forest sections were if anything enhanced by the misty and ethereal conditions

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