Tenerife, Canary Islands · Spain
Teide Caldera Traverse
TF-21Vilaflor to El Portillo
The most spectacular road in the Canaries, climbing from the Canary Islands' highest village through ancient pine forest into the lunar lava fields of Teide National Park, Mount Teide towering overhead across the caldera at over 2,000 m.
From Vilaflor the TF-21 climbs through dense Canarian pine in a cascade of hairpins; at Boca Tauce it enters the caldera of an ancient supervolcano, crossing mile after mile of rust-red lava with Teide’s 3,715 m cone dominating. The cable-car station at 2,356 m is the high point before the road sweeps east past Roques de García to the El Portillo rim, a full crossing of one of Europe’s most dramatic volcanic landscapes.
The finest drive in the Canaries, climbing from the Canaries' highest village into the lunar lava fields of a slumbering giant, Mount Teide’s cone filling the sky across the caldera floor.
Why we picked it
Scenery
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Teide Caldera Traverse on the map19.6 mi · point to point
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Character
The highest road in Spain, by our count in the catalogue.
Corners
busiest around mile 18Elevation
under 4%4–8%over 8%1,449.2 – 2,528.4 mFrom the road
Points of interest3 stops
- El RetamarViewpoint7.9 mi in
- Mirador de Boca TauceViewpoint9.9 mi in
- El TeideViewpoint16 mi in
Hazards
- Ice and snow in winter
- Hundreds of tight curves
- Altitude exposure
- Sudden cloud cover
Sources
“It's an absolutely beautiful road, with many different turns and twists, almost without traffic.”
Verified route: mapped from real road geometry and fact-checked by a human editor. How roads get checked
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