Degollada de Ucanca

Approach

The Trailhead is located near the Parador hotel in the Cañadas del Teide. It can be reached by car from virtually all sides of the Island. From the south there is a road from the airport via Villaflor to the Cañadas, from the West you must head for Chio either from Playa de las Americas or from Santiago del Teide. The northern road starts from Puerto de la Cruz and the eastern ascent starts from the capital Santa Cruz del Tenerife and crosses the mountain range Cumbre Dorsal.

Alternatively you can take the bus either from Playa de las Americas (Line 342) or from Puerto de la Cruz (Line 348). Both buses depart at about 9:00 a.m., the return buses go around 4:00 p.m.

Route Description

Altitude gain: 750m
Duration: 3h
Difficulty: Hike
Trailhead: Parking lot south of the Parador Hotel

This route is the more exciting of the two normal routes since it runs along an exposed but rather wide ledge in the north face of the mountain. At the top of the route you need to scramble for a few meters to get to the wide summit.

From Parador hotel head back to the main road TF21 and go southward for some 100m. There turn into a gravel road which is blocked some 500m further on. There the ascent route to Degollada de Ucanca starts on the right hand side and winds steeply upwards to the pass.

From degollada de Ucanca head east to an intersection where you take the left hand trail which leads dirctly through the Guajara north face. It climbs a comfortably exposed wide ledge and offers great views of Teide and the Cañadas. At the end of the ledge, right near to the top you need to scramble a bit to reach the summit plain of Guajara.

Together with the route throug Degollade de Guajara this trail can be used to do a 6h roundtrip.

Essential Gear

Just hiking gear and a lot of water, especially in summer. Don't forget sunscreen and -glasses. The occasional cap/hat might come in useful.

Images

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