ℹ️ Practical Information
🗺️ Getting there and parking: The lower cable car station is located at an altitude of 2,356 metres. There is a free car park beside the station.
🅿️ Parking: There are around 220 spaces. For most of the year, the car park is open from 8:00 to 18:00, although opening hours are extended during the summer and at certain other times – for example, from 1 July to 30 September 2026 it is open until 19:40. During busy periods, finding a free space can be difficult.
📍 GPS: 28.25480, -16.62584
🕘 Cable car operating hours:
For most of the year, the cable car operates from 9:00 to 17:00, but it runs for longer during periods of increased demand. From 1 July to 30 September 2026, it operates until 18:40, with the last ascent at 17:40. Exact operating hours vary depending on the date.
🚠 Cable car tickets:
Tickets are purchased online for a specific date and ascent time. The cable car takes you from 2,356 metres to La Rambleta, at an altitude of around 3,555 metres. A cable car ticket does not include permission to climb to the summit.
👉 Cable car tickets: Volcano Teide – official ticket website
💶 Cable car prices in 2026: Adults:
from €42. Children aged 3–13: from €21.
Prices may vary depending on the date and type of ticket selected, so it is worth checking the current options before your visit.
👨👩👧 With children:
Children under the age of 3 are not allowed to use the cable car because of the altitude. Climbing to the summit itself is considerably more demanding – the cable car operator does not recommend it for children under 6. For older children, suitable footwear, clothing that protects against both cold and sun, water and a relaxed pace are particularly important.
🥾 Climbing to the summit:
To walk the final section from La Rambleta to Pico del Teide via Trail No. 10, Telesforo Bravo, you need a separate permit. The number of places is limited, so it is worth checking availability well in advance.
👉 Summit permit: Tenerife ON – PNT 10 Telesforo Bravo
⏱️ How much time should you allow?
If you only want to take the cable car up and explore the area around La Rambleta, allow around an hour for your time at the top. If you have a permit to climb to the summit, you will need longer for the ascent, a rest and the return to the cable car. You should also allow time for the drive through Teide National Park and stops at viewpoints. It is best to set aside at least half a day for the entire trip.
🎒 What to bring:
Even if it is hot beside the ocean, conditions above 3,500 metres can be completely different. Bring warmer clothing, sturdy footwear, a hat, sunglasses, high-factor sunscreen, water and something to eat. In winter, be prepared for snow, ice and slippery ground.
⚠️ Weather:
Cable car operations and access to the trails depend on weather conditions. Strong winds, snow or ice may result in closures – even if you already have a ticket or permit. Always check the latest updates before setting off.
💙 Zwiedzo-Maniacy Tip:
Do not plan your Teide visit too tightly. Even if you have a cable car reservation and a summit permit, the weather can disrupt your plans. If reaching the summit is particularly important to you, it is best not to leave Teide until the last day of your stay on Tenerife.
🔺 Why Is Teide’s Shadow Triangular?
At sunrise and sunset, Teide can cast an enormous, almost perfectly triangular shadow across the sky and the Atlantic. You might think that it simply reflects the shape of the volcano. But it is not quite that simple.
When the Sun is very low on the horizon, the mountain’s shadow becomes extremely long. Its more distant part disappears beyond the curvature of the Earth, while perspective makes the two edges of the shadow appear to converge at a single point. As a result, we see a dark triangle even though the mountain itself is not perfectly symmetrical.
The same phenomenon can be observed from other high mountains, but on Teide it is particularly spectacular – the summit rises high and relatively isolated above the surrounding landscape and ocean.
💡 Did You Know?
Teide’s shadow can stretch for dozens of kilometres. It is best seen shortly after sunrise or just before sunset, when the Sun’s rays are almost horizontal.
👀 Look at Teide Again
Now look at Teide once more. It is no longer simply the highest mountain in Spain and one of the symbols of Tenerife.
Around it, you can see the remains of much older volcanoes; on its slopes, solidified lava flows from different eruptions; and high above the clouds, plants that have adapted to life in intense sunshine, frost and with almost no water. Pico Viejo is no longer just another mountain in the background, while the smell of sulphur near the crater is a reminder that volcanic activity continues beneath the surface.
And this is when Teide becomes most fascinating. Not when we simply look at it, but when we begin to understand what we are looking at.
🌋 Pico Viejo – the Neighbour That Is Easy to Miss
Teide attracts all the attention, which makes it easy to overlook its mighty neighbour. Pico Viejo rises to 3,135 metres, and its summit is crowned by an enormous crater around 800 metres in diameter. It is the second-highest volcano on Tenerife and part of the same volcanic complex as Teide.
Pico Viejo lies on the western slope of Teide, and from higher up you can clearly see its broad, multicoloured crater. It is worth looking out for – only then does it become clear that Teide is not an isolated cone, but part of a much larger volcanic structure.
It is on the slopes of Pico Viejo that you will find Narices del Teide – the “Nostrils of Teide”. In 1798, fissures opened here and lava erupted for around three months. This was the most recent historical eruption within the boundaries of today’s Teide National Park.
👀 Look out for this: when looking west from the higher slopes of Teide, search for a huge, almost circular crater. That is Pico Viejo. If you do not know what to look for, it is very easy to mistake it for just another part of the mountain landscape.
☁️ Why Do the Clouds Stay Beneath Your Feet?
This is one of the most extraordinary sights on Teide: blue sky overhead and, far below, a white sea of clouds stretching into the distance. It is no coincidence – this phenomenon occurs very frequently on Tenerife.
Moist trade winds from the Atlantic reach the island and rise along its slopes. As the air rises, it cools, water vapour condenses and clouds form. Higher up, however, there is a layer of warmer, drier air that acts a little like an invisible lid, preventing the clouds from rising any further.
This is why the clouds often remain at an altitude of around 800–1,500 metres, while Teide rises more than two kilometres above them. As you drive into the mountains, you may first find yourself surrounded by mist and then, moments later, emerge above it into full sunshine.
🥾 The Final Metres of Teide
From the upper cable car station to the summit, there are only around 160 metres of elevation gain. On a map, it does not look like much. In reality, however, you are already more than 3,500 metres above sea level, and the lower oxygen levels quickly make themselves felt.
Trail No. 10, Telesforo Bravo, leads to the summit and ends at the crater of Pico del Teide. The route is not long, but you really do feel the effort during the climb. To us, it seemed as though the trail was at least three times longer than it actually was. Even so, it is worth it. The views begin to change as you climb, and the landscape is completely different from that around the upper cable car station. And from the summit – simply breathtaking.
💙 Zwiedzo-Maniacy Tip:
Do not be fooled by the short distance. This is not a walk for summer sandals or flip-flops. You will need sturdy, stable footwear, and in winter you should also be prepared for slippery ground. At this altitude, the sun can be very strong while at the same time it can be genuinely cold, so bring a hat and suitable clothing. It is also worth carrying water and something to eat.
👨👩👧 With children:
Preparation is particularly important. Good footwear, warmer clothing, sun protection, water and a snack are essential. Remember, too, that you are high in the mountains – if something goes wrong, you cannot assume that help will arrive immediately.
👃 Why Does It Smell of Sulphur at the Summit?
At the very top of Teide, you may notice a distinctive smell reminiscent of rotten eggs. It comes from cracks in the rocks that release hot volcanic gases – fumaroles.
Water beneath the surface of the mountain is heated by hot rocks and turns into steam. Along with it, gases containing sulphur compounds rise towards the surface. Yellowish deposits can also be seen around some of the cracks – minerals left behind where the hot gases escape.
Temperatures at some fumaroles in the crater area can exceed 80°C. This is one of the most tangible signs that Teide is not simply a dead mountain. Although its last eruption took place long ago, heat still remains inside the volcano and gases continue to find their way to the surface.
👀 Look out for this: when you reach the crater, do not focus only on the panorama. Look for pale and yellowish deposits around cracks in the rocks. This is where you can best see that Teide is still “breathing”.
❄️ Snow on the Island of Eternal Spring
Tenerife is associated with sunshine and mild temperatures throughout the year, but high on Teide the conditions are completely different. In winter, temperatures at the summit regularly fall below freezing, and snow is nothing unusual.
Why is the difference so great? The summit of Teide stands 3,715 metres above sea level. Temperature decreases with altitude, and when cool, moist air reaches the Canary Islands in winter, rain turns to snow high in the mountains. At the same time, temperatures on the coast may be well into the teens or even above 20°C.
A snow-covered Teide and palm trees beside the ocean are therefore not a weather paradox. They may be only a few dozen kilometres apart, but they are separated by almost four kilometres in altitude.
💙 Zwiedzo-Maniacy Tip: During one of our winter visits, we had a permit to climb to the summit of Teide. The cable car was running, so we reached the upper station without any problems. What awaited us there was a completely different landscape from the one down by the ocean – after the paths had been cleared, walls of snow remained along their edges, in places reaching around 1.5 metres in height. But we did not reach the summit. Because of the snow, the trail was closed, and having a permit made no difference.
We finally succeeded during our next visit to Tenerife. This time, we took the cable car up, walked the final section and stood on the summit of Teide.
🚠 The Cable Car Does Not Take You to the Summit
The Teide cable car covers an impressive difference in altitude – from the lower station at 2,356 metres to La Rambleta at 3,555 metres. But this is not yet the summit. Pico del Teide stands at 3,718 metres, more than 160 metres higher.
It is from La Rambleta that the final section to the summit begins – Trail No. 10, Telesforo Bravo. It is short, but at this altitude even a relatively small climb can feel demanding. There is less oxygen in the air, and the body feels the effort much more quickly.
This is why visitors go their separate ways at the upper station. Some remain around La Rambleta and follow the available panoramic trails, while others continue towards the crater and the highest point in Spain.
🥾 A cable car ticket does not allow you to climb to the summit. Access via the Telesforo Bravo Trail is regulated and requires a separate permit. I will explain the current booking rules below, in the Practical Information section.
🌸 How Do Plants Survive at Such High Altitudes?
Above 2,000 metres, plants have to cope with intense sunshine, drought, strong winds, freezing nights and, in winter, snow. This is why many of them grow close to the ground, form compact clumps or have small, hairy leaves that help reduce water loss.
One of the most distinctive is 🌺 red tajinaste (Echium wildpretii). For much of the year it looks fairly inconspicuous, but in late spring it produces an enormous red flower spike that can reach 2–3 metres in height. In the wild, it is found mainly on Tenerife, particularly in the Las Cañadas area.
Even higher up, you can find the 💜 Teide violet (Viola cheiranthifolia) – one of the highest-growing flowering plants in Spain. It can be found at altitudes above 3,000 metres, almost at the summit of Teide. Its small size helps it survive strong winds and low temperatures.
Another characteristic plant is 🌿 retama del Teide, or Teide broom, which forms pale, rounded bushes. Its tiny leaves are quickly shed, helping the plant reduce water loss, while its green stems take over the process of photosynthesis.
🌸 The best time to see Teide’s high-altitude plants is in late spring. For a brief period, the harsh brown-and-black volcanic landscape fills with white, yellow and purple, and above all with the intense red of flowering tajinaste.
🪨 Why Are the Rocks So Many Different Colours?
Black lava fields, brown slopes, red rocks, and yellowish or almost white patches of ground – the landscape around Teide can look like a palette of colours. These colours are not accidental. They depend on the composition of the rock, the temperature and type of eruption, as well as how long the lava has been exposed to air and weather.
The youngest solidified lava flows are usually very dark – black or charcoal grey. Over time, iron-rich minerals in the rocks react with oxygen. The rock begins to take on shades of red and brown in a process similar to the rusting of metal.
Lighter cream, yellowish or grey rocks may have a different chemical composition or may have formed from material ejected during explosive eruptions. This is why, while standing in one place, you can sometimes see rocks side by side that were formed at different times and during completely different volcanic events.
👀 Look beneath your feet: colour may be the first clue that rocks lying next to each other were not formed at the same time. The landscape of Teide is like a record of successive eruptions – you just need to learn how to read it.
📏 How Was Teide Measured Without GPS?
For centuries, no one knew exactly how high Teide was. Various methods were used to measure it, producing widely differing results. In 1724, the French scholar Louis Feuillée calculated the volcano’s height at more than 4,300 metres. Other 18th-century measurements suggested even more than 5,000 metres.
The breakthrough came in 1776. The French mathematician and navigator Jean-Charles de Borda used triangulation. Instead of measuring the mountain directly from its base to its summit, he accurately determined distances between points in the La Orotava area, measured the angles at which the summit could be seen and then calculated its height using geometry.
He arrived at a figure of around 3,715 metres. Today, the height of Teide is given as 3,715–3,718 metres, depending on the measurement method and source. Considering that Borda was working in the 18th century without modern technology, his result was remarkably accurate.
💡 Did You Know?
Borda was not measuring Teide purely out of scientific curiosity. Knowing the mountain’s precise height helped sailors determine the position of their ships and create more accurate maps of the Canary Islands. Visible from far out at sea, Teide was a natural landmark in the Atlantic.
🌿 The Higher You Go, the More the World Changes
The journey up Teide feels like travelling through several different worlds. Within just a few dozen kilometres, you can leave palm trees and banana plantations behind, drive through green forests, find yourself surrounded by clouds and, moments later, emerge above them into a dry, almost desert-like landscape.
The main reasons are altitude and the moisture-laden trade winds arriving from the Atlantic. When the air reaches the slopes of Tenerife, it rises and cools. Clouds form and often remain at altitudes of around 600–1,500 metres. Thanks to them, the northern slopes of the island are much wetter and greener.
Higher up, everything changes. Above the cloud layer, the air becomes dry, the sun is extremely intense and the difference between daytime and night-time temperatures can be considerable. The forest gradually disappears, and above around 2,000 metres the harsh landscape of Las Cañadas begins – with low shrubs, rocks and vast fields of solidified lava.
👀 Look out for this: as you travel towards Teide, do not watch only the volcano. The changing vegetation outside the window reveals how, during a single journey, you pass through Tenerife’s successive climate zones.
👹 Echeyde – the Mountain the Guanches Feared
Before Europeans arrived on Tenerife, the island was inhabited by the Guanches – its indigenous people. Teide was not simply a mountain to them. They called it Echeyde and associated it with the dwelling place of Guayota – an evil and dangerous force. Early chroniclers even recorded that the Guanches regarded Echeyde as something resembling hell.
According to a well-known legend today, Guayota kidnapped Magec – the Sun – and hid it inside Echeyde. The world was plunged into darkness, so the Guanches appealed for help to the supreme deity, Achamán. He defeated Guayota, freed the Sun and imprisoned the evil spirit inside the volcano.
It is not difficult to understand why such beliefs developed here. Smoke, fire, falling rocks, earthquakes and flowing lava must have been terrifying to people who did not understand what caused volcanic eruptions.
Interestingly, the connection between the Guanches and Teide is confirmed not only by historical accounts. In Las Cañadas, archaeologists have found pottery vessels, stone tools and other objects hidden in crevices in the rocks. Some of these deposits have been interpreted as offerings intended to provide protection from dangerous volcanic phenomena.
🧭 Who Was the First Person to Reach the Summit of Teide?
We do not know. Long before European travellers began recording their expeditions, the Guanches were already familiar with the area around Teide. In summer, they brought their animals to the high-altitude pastures of Las Cañadas. Archaeological finds confirm their presence in this part of the island. However, no record has survived that would tell us whether they also climbed to the summit itself.
Later, Europeans began climbing Teide. They were driven by more than curiosity. Sulphur was collected from the higher parts of the mountain, while snow and ice were also gathered in winter. The old route via Montaña Blanca was used for centuries by early explorers and by people working on the slopes of the volcano.
So rather than having one “conqueror of Teide”, we have a long history of people climbing ever higher for very different reasons – as shepherds, sulphur collectors, travellers and, later, scientists. History simply did not record the first person to stand on the summit itself.
🌋 How Was Teide Formed?
Teide was not created by a single enormous eruption. It formed gradually, as lava, ash and fragments of rock erupted from successive vents. Layer after layer accumulated, and over thousands of years the volcano grew higher and higher. This is how Teide–Pico Viejo was formed – a twin volcanic complex that today dominates the centre of Tenerife.
Interestingly, Teide did not always look the way it does today. Its summit was once lower and more rounded. Only later eruptions created the highest part of the mountain – the pale cone crowned by a crater around 80 metres in diameter. The black streams of solidified lava visible high on its slopes are traces of one of the youngest stages in its formation.
This is why Teide can be read almost like a volcanic chronicle. Its cones, fields of solidified lava and rocks of different colours were not formed at the same time – they are traces of successive events that, step by step, created the mountain we see today.
🔥 Is Teide Still an Active Volcano?
Yes. Teide is not an extinct volcano. Seismic activity is still recorded beneath Tenerife, and earthquakes, ground deformation and the composition of volcanic gases are continuously monitored in the Teide–Pico Viejo area.
The most recent eruption within the boundaries of today’s Teide National Park occurred in 1798. It was not the crater at the summit of Teide that erupted, however – lava emerged from vents on the slopes of Pico Viejo, now known as Narices del Teide. The eruption lasted for around three months.
The volcano still reminds us of its presence today. In 2026, the IGN repeatedly recorded small earthquakes and short periods of increased seismic activity beneath Tenerife, particularly west of Las Cañadas. This did not, however, mean that an eruption was approaching. Following an increase in activity in June 2026, scientists emphasised that the phenomena observed did not increase the likelihood of an eruption in the short or medium term.
Teide is therefore an active volcano – but also one of the most closely monitored. A network of more than 100 instruments and monitoring stations across Tenerife allows scientists to track even very small changes taking place beneath the island.
💥 What Was Here Before Teide?
Before Teide began to dominate Tenerife’s skyline, other enormous volcanoes had been growing in the centre of the island for millions of years. Successive eruptions deposited layer upon layer of lava and rock, creating a huge volcanic massif known today as Las Cañadas. At one point, it may have reached a height similar to that of present-day Teide.
But this ancient volcanic world did not survive intact. Parts of it collapsed, while enormous masses of rock slid towards the ocean. What remained was a vast depression surrounded by steep walls – the Las Cañadas caldera, around 16 kilometres in diameter.
It was within this enormous depression that Teide later began to grow. This is why, when travelling through Teide National Park today, we are not looking at just one volcano. We are also seeing the remains of a much older landscape that existed here before it.
🏔️ Teide Grows Inside a Giant
As you travel towards Teide, at some point you enter a vast depression surrounded by rocky walls. This is the Las Cañadas caldera – a remnant of the turbulent history of the ancient volcanoes that existed here before Teide.
Its most distinctive feature is the long caldera wall stretching along the southern and eastern sides. In places, it rises hundreds of metres above the caldera floor. Here you can see successive layers of rock formed during ancient eruptions – almost like a slice through a volcano, revealing part of its history.
Later, the new Teide–Pico Viejo volcanic complex grew in the middle of this enormous depression. This is why Teide looks so extraordinary: its mighty cone does not rise from an ordinary plain, but from within a much older volcanic world.
👀 Look around: when you are in Teide National Park, do not focus only on the summit. The rocky wall surrounding part of the plain is one of the clearest traces of what existed here before Teide was formed.
Teide – the Volcano That Helps You Understand Tenerife
Teide can be seen from many places across Tenerife. It rises above the island, sometimes surrounded by clouds and covered with snow in winter. You can take the cable car almost to the summit and stand at an altitude of 3,715 metres. But this time, we do not simply want to conquer Teide. We want to understand it.
Where did this enormous volcano come from? What was here before it? Why is the landscape around it so extraordinary, and why does the summit smell of sulphur? We will travel back millions of years and discover what we are actually looking at when we stand at the foot of Teide.
🌋 Did Teide Create Tenerife?
No. Although today it is difficult to imagine Tenerife without the enormous volcano at its centre, Teide appeared much later than the oldest parts of the island.
The story began around 12 million years ago, when successive underwater eruptions built volcanoes that eventually emerged above the surface of the Atlantic. Three ancient volcanic areas were formed – where today we find the Anaga Peninsula in the north-east, the Teno Massif in the west and the area around Roque del Conde in the south. Scientists believe that initially they may even have formed three separate islands.
Later eruptions gradually filled the spaces between them and built up the central part of the landmass. This is how Tenerife as we know it today began to take shape. Only later did another chapter begin at its centre – one that would eventually lead to the formation of Teide.
So Teide did not create Tenerife. It grew on an island that had already experienced millions of years of turbulent geological history.