El Teide (Puerto de la Cruz)

Start Town	Altitude	Elevation Gain	Length	Gradient	Difficulty	Rating
Puerto de la Cruz	2,325m	2,315m	46.7 km	5.0%	1,356	****

Climb Description

El Teide is the most iconic climb in Tenerife and one of the most famous in Spain. It is the highest mountain in all of Spain at over 3,700m and, although the road does not go that high, it is understandably popular with cyclists. The stunning views and consistent gradients make it a thoroughly enjoyable experience, whilst also racking up a huge amount of elevation gain.

The climb from Puerto de la Cruz is a classic ascent and one of the most scenic, with some excellent views of the coast. However, it is slightly spoilt by the high volume of traffic in the first few kilometres - it is not a bad idea to start the climb in La Orotava if you can and avoid the busier lower slopes.

The profile above begins in the heart of Puerto de la Cruz and follows the TF-31 to the south, heading inland. After crossing the TF-5 motorway it joins with the TF-21 and follows this through La Orotava and all the way to the top of the climb in the Teide National Park. There are fantastic views and great scenery throughout much of the climb and La Orotava is also a fairly pleasant town to stop for a coffee.

In terms of difficulty, this is the steepest side of Teide on average, but it's not too different to all the other sides. The gradients are consistent and hover around 5-6%, allowing you to settle into a nice rhythm and admire the unique volcanic landscapes of the National Park.

Due to Tenerife's sub-tropical climate, El Teide is open throughout the year. This makes it one of very few places in Europe where you can ride climbs that rival the great Alpine ascents throughout winter.

Roads & Traffic

The road is generally in good condition throughout the climb.

The first part of the climb, between Puerto de la Cruz and La Orotava can carry a lot of traffic. It is quite a wide road, but it is not very enjoyable to ride.

From La Orotava the amount of traffic reduces considerably but there are still some cars (mostly tourist traffic) making the long drive to the top!

Alternative Routes

Teide can be climbed from several other sides. All of which are fairly similar in terms of difficutly; the main differences are in the traffic and the scenery on the lower part of the climb.

El Teide - Los Gigantes

El Teide - El Médano

El Teide - Playa de San Juan

El Teide - Santa Cruz

Nearby Climbs

Erjos Garachico

Mirador de Masca

Pico del Ingles - La Laguna

Teno Alto

Taganana

Cycling Holidays

The climb to El Teide is one of the highlights of our Best of Tenerife cycling holiday. We climb it from Los Gigantes, with the option to either start right on the coast, or a bit higher up in the village of Santiago del Teide.

In the links below you can find out more about this tour and other similar holidays that we are currently running in the mountains.