Afur - Taganana - Afur Circular Trail

Hiking in Parco Rural Anaga on Tenerife🇮🇨🤩 I'll let the images tell the story - this circular walk from Afur to Taganana is without a doubt the most beautiful in Tenerife! Plenty of variety on the route, including cloud forests, beautiful valleys and as a highlight a beautiful route along the Atlantic Ocean with a view of Taganana😍 Highly recommended!

Quite a long tour through different vegetation zones. Very scenic. We couldn't swim in the sea, big stones and high waves.

A fantastic tour...incredibly beautiful views...but also quite strenuous! The kilometers and elevation gain feel more strenuous than at home 🤔

Before we start our journey home, we will take a fantastic tour from Taganana if the weather is good. The journey on the winding route into the 'Parque Rural Anaga' up from San Andrés takes around 30 minutes. We park the car in the free car park on the TF-134 at the entrance to the town. It is only a few hundred metres to the 'Iglesia Ntra. Sra. de las Nieves' and the district of Portugal. This is where the 'Camino de las Vueltas' begins, a serpentine path that was built at the beginning of the 16th century to transport sugar to La Laguna (Santa Cruz). Sugar cane cultivation was stopped as early as 1571; however, the path was used for another 400 years to transport goods - with pack animals or on shoulders. https://reservabiosfera.tenerife.es/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/PR-TF8_sendero_afur_taganana_EN.pdf https://www.webtenerife.com/que-hacer/naturaleza/senderismo/senderos/las-vueltas/ The climb of around 600 meters in altitude (200-800 m) initially leads through an open landscape, some of which is used for gardening. The sun is already high and a strenuous hike is imminent. At around 450 m altitude we enter the dense laurel forest and it becomes pleasantly cool. Here the serpentines begin, which run with a slight incline up to the ridge and end at Casas de las Cumbres near the TF-12 road. It is said that there are as many curves as there are days in the year. On the descent along the ridge to the pass at Las Piletas we have the best view to the north over Taganana and the Atlantic. The two rock formations 'Roque de las Animas' and 'Roque de Enmedio' dominate the front valley. In the south, the peak of the "white-clad" Teide peeks out from the clouds. On a side road and later the TF-136, we hurry down to the village of Afur in the barranco of the same name. In the 'Casa José Cañón' there are cool drinks - the old, friendly gentleman is behind the bar himself. A parking lot is used for the numerous hikers who want to walk down the gorge to the 'Playa del Tamadite' on the coast. The path through the gorge is a feast for the eyes. We have to cross the stream several times; after heavy rainfall, the tour is therefore not recommended. In bright sunshine, we wade through the stream with a strong current and get wet shoes 🤷🏼 When we reach the coast in the afternoon, we are alone. We only briefly enjoy the view of the surf, then we cross the stream again and climb up the path that leads us back to Taganana. A fantastic view along the coast rewards our efforts. The mood is somewhat dampened by the unexpected rain. But soon the clouds clear and we can enjoy the spectacular coast with deep crevices. Note: We walked the PR-TF 8 Afur - Taganana - Afur hiking trail, but with a tour route from Taganana. https://www.webtenerife.com/que-hacer/naturaleza/senderismo/senderos/afur_taganana_afur/

Tour is not suitable for beginners. Very difficult tour

We cannot say whether Komoot will ever correct its algorithm. According to the fitness watch, the tour was a whopping 19.2 km long and 1251 meters in elevation gain. Don't be fooled by the road to Afur: the hiking car park there is huge. The descent to Playa de Tamadite alone is worth it. A really adventurous route. The coastal path to Taganana beckons with constantly beautiful views. We are glad we chose this direction. The opposite direction offers - in our opinion - not so picturesque views. Tip: The descent to Taganana for a stop at Casa Picar was worth it. Super friendly and cozy. Perfect refreshment for the merciless climb (three hours to Casa Forestal) afterwards. Next time we would probably go via La Cumbrecilla, although the enchanted forest quickly made us forget the climb. You can find out more about Tenerife on our travel blog www.glückskinder.reisen

Those who leave late can first go to the beach and spend the night there with a tent. There is a spring of fresh water nearby, where you can also swim. The sea is not suitable for swimming because of the stones and the high waves. As a precaution, take something to clean the water with you. In Taganana you can replenish supplies or stop off. The last ascent goes through the laurel forest and is more pleasant than expected. The trees donate pleasant coolness and protection from rain. Sturdy shoes and a walking stick are advisable!

This last tour of our trip should now lead to the other end of the island in the Anaga Mountains. This would have given us an impression of all four cardinal points of the island. This part of the island is well developed with a freeway, so that we make good progress for the first 80km, until we have to crank our arms again for numerous switchbacks at the starting point. Luckily, a parking lot awaits us just before the village of La Cuestilla. The streets within the village elicited numerous cries of alarm from us. Just the thought of having to drive here by car made the hairs on the back of our necks stand up. We accidentally started against the originally planned direction and so a narrow path always led us along the coast. Breathtaking views in both directions and after every further curve we took at least one more picture full of delight. This trail seems to be well known and popular, so many people have come towards us, we haven't the whole holiday together. But it also combines spectacular views and exciting paths without being difficult. Had we walked in the opposite direction, the beach ahead might have offered a welcome refreshment. The strong waves didn't allow this anyway with these thick rocks. From now on the strenuous part began. A narrow path meanders steadily up the gorge. What a dream. During a tour we raved about the view, the view, the paths, the stream that constantly followed us. The water is dammed up at a rock incision that gives the impression of a wall cutting across the valley. As soon as I mention how much this invites you to bathe your feet, Lada is already on her way down. Numerous envious looks are thrown at us in the next half hour, after all we got hold of the best picnic spot in the valley. With refreshed feet we continue to Afur, a cluster of houses nestled in the steep cliffs, a church and indeed a school. From here the path through the laurel forest starts, which we yearn for every meter more, as the sun burns quite hard on our fur. It continues steeply uphill, after a serpentine with steps follows the view of the valley, serpentine with stairs and view, ... it goes on and on. Shade, sun, shade, sun. When we finally reach the laurel forest, we take a deep breath. It's so wonderfully cool and humid here. Now it doesn't bother us anymore that we still haven't reached the highest point. We now have this path all to ourselves and we wonder which variant all the other coastal hikers took. The forest is getting denser, the distance towers above us in size, then the valley opens up and we see our destination. It should still take numerous switchbacks until we actually arrive at the bottom. What a tour. At the end of the day we took a cross-section of three worlds with us.