If you’re coming to Tenerife and have one free day, this is the plan we give our guests. It’s the route that best sums up why this slice of the north is worth the trip: we start at 3,000 metres, drop to the Atlantic, and return to 760 metres for dinner.

It works any time of year.

5:30 am — Leaving before sunrise

Out of La Paredita with a flask of coffee and the jacket we leave in the wardrobe (yes, you’ll need it even in August). Drive to the Teide National Park entrance via TF-21: 50 minutes.

At that hour the road is yours, mountain goats cross unhurried, and the sky shifts from blue to something without a name.

6:30 am — Mirador de la Tarta or Roques de García

Two options for sunrise depending on the season:

• Mirador de la Tarta (TF-21, km 49): best in winter. Sunrise over the sea of clouds, with Teide turning pink behind you. The most photographed spot in the Canaries for a reason.
• Roques de García: if you fancy walking, a 3.6 km circular trail around the most iconic rock formations. Dawn breaks while you walk.

The real trick is not to stay. Once dawn has come and the buses start arriving, it’s not the same. Keep moving.

8:30 am — Coffee in Vilaflor

Coming down the TF-21, Vilaflor de Chasna is the last village before the park. At 1,400 m — the highest village in Spain. Stop for breakfast at any of the two cafés on the square. Order toast with Canarian tomato and palm oil.

10:00 am — Across the ridge to the north

Instead of dropping straight south, we cross over to the north via TF-38 and descend into the Orotava Valley. This road is one of the least-known scenic stretches on the island — pine forest, and depending on cloud cover, you’ll break out above the sea of clouds at some point.

11:30 am — Garachico, swim in the pools

Arrive Garachico. Park at the harbour and walk down to the El Caletón natural pools. They’re lava ponds left by the 1706 eruption — the same volcano that destroyed the town left it these crystal-clear saltwater pools.

• Towel, hat, sunscreen.
• If you have neoprene shoes, bring them (the rocks pinch).
• The central pool is the deepest and best for swimming.

1:30 pm — Lunch in Garachico

Two options depending on budget:

• El Caletón (next to the pools): catch of the day, outdoor terrace. Book ahead at weekends.
• Bar Ramón (Calle Esteban de Ponte): neighbourhood Canarian cooking, papas con mojo, grilled limpets. Half the price and all the flavour.

3:30 pm — The Millennial Dragon Tree (Garachico’s, not Icod’s)

Back towards La Paredita via TF-42 — you’ll pass right by the Millennial Dragon Tree of El Tanque. Don’t confuse it with Icod’s (more famous, more tourists, more expensive). Ours is mostly alone, no entrance fee, comparable age estimate.

It’s a natural stop on the way up from Garachico. Worth 10 minutes.

5:00 pm — Back at La Paredita

Arrive home. If you’ve chosen Casa Güimar or Casa Taoro, the Mount-Teide-facing terrace is exactly what closes the day: the volcano you topped this morning now visible from your kitchen in the yellow afternoon light.

What recent guests said after this route:

“We started up there with no one around. We ended on the sofa watching Teide with a glass of listán. The feeling is that you’ve circled the island in a single gesture. Worth three days anywhere else.”

— guest, May 2025

Return dinner

If it’s Friday, Saturday or Sunday, Pizzería La Albahaca 200 m from the houses — the best closing dinner. Monday to Thursday, cook at home with what you bought at Garachico’s fish market in the morning.

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This route needs time and a car. To have a place to come back to, book one of the four operational cottages directly with us.