Mount Teide Tour without Cable Car

An excursion to Mount Teide where you’ll learn fascinating facts while having fun

Would you like to visit Mount Teide in comfort and enjoy every second, without having to worry about parking or driving? Would you like your excursion to be more sustainable, so you help to conserve Teide National Park and prevent the mass use of vehicles in a protected natural environment? Are you interested in learning about the geography, geology, and history of the park from an official guide?

Teide Tour without Cable Car is the perfect excursion for people who would love to find out about the most-visited national park in Europe and aren’t planning to use the cable car on their visit.

That’s right: get ready to see Mount Teide close-up, because one of the stops on the route is right at the base of the volcano, where you’ll find the Teide Cable Car Visitors’ Centre. But let’s take things one step at a time!

At the agreed time, the group transport will collect you from the nearest pick-up point to your accommodation in the area of the island you choose: north, south, or metropolitan zone of Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Candelaria.

An official guide will join you on the whole journey to Teide, where you’ll be immersed in everything related to the natural and cultural heritage of the National Park. Depending on your entrance route (which is determined by your pick-up zone), you’ll see changing plant life growing at different bioclimatic levels on the peak of Tenerife. It’s a landscape that never fails to impress!

As you leave the coast behind and ascend by road, you’ll head up into the mid-altitude zone. These lands are ideal for agriculture and European colonizers chose them to build the historic towns of Tenerife. The zone has an altitude of between 400 and 500 m above sea level, and is home to important towns including Arona, La Orotava, Santiago del Teide, etc. Each one has a rich cultural heritage that is well worth discovering.

If you head to Teide from the north, you may well find yourself in a deep fog once you are around 600 metres above sea level. This zone is directly impacted by the damp trade winds that blow from the north-east and produce a sea of clouds; forests spread a lush green across the landscape and you’ll want to wrap up in the cool air. As you ascend and pass the 1,000 metres altitude point, you continue to be surrounded by the damp and dense pine forest until you reach 2,000 metres. However, if you’re travelling from the south, a sea of clouds hardly forms and you’ll see pine trees from an altitude of 600 metres.

When you reach the high mountain zone, the puffy sea of clouds spreads out beneath your feet as if you were flying.

Broom, laburnum and many other native species can be found among the plant life at Las Cañadas. Here, the extreme climate, which varies wildly between summer and winter, and even between day and night, sets the pace of life. Shrubs spread across the slopes of the Las Cañadas cirque and Mount Teide itself. As you approach the peak, they slowly disappear... only the delicate Teide violet can withstand life on the volcano at an altitude of 3,000 metres.

During your journey on this excursion to Mount Teide, you’ll see the volcanoes that have shaped Tenerife, from the oldest ones to the youngest formations.

Your guide will share fascinating facts about how the island was formed and about Teide volcano, the highest in Spain and the third highest in the world from its base on the oceanbed.

You’ll make stops along the way where you’ll learn about the geography and geology of the Canary Islands archipelago. One stop is at the Roques de García where you’ll see the famous Roque Cinchado, a remarkable volcanic formation that once appeared on the back of the old 1,000 peseta bank note, together with an image of Mount Teide, a stratovolcano like Vesuvius.

Mount Teide formed gradually over time, each eruption making the volcanic structure grow larger. It has been slowly developing since it began as a small cone at the base of Las Cañadas around 150,000 years ago, growing over the years to stand 3,718 m tall after its last eruptions around 1,000 years ago. These last eruptions created the current shape of the peak and the black lava flows that wind down its slopes.

Thanks to the incredible volcanic landscape in the National Park, with its variety of lava and the remarkable volcanic formations you’ll see on your stops... you may well think you’re on Mars!

Make your visit to Mount Teide sustainable on this Teide Tour without Cable Car

Conserving the National Park is everyone’s responsibility, which is why Volcano Teide runs tours to this incredible place in the morning and afternoon, before, during and after sunset.

Contribute to the sustainability of Mount Teide by visiting the park with group transport on the daytime Teide Tour without Cable Car.

By choosing this type of visit, you’ll help to prevent overcrowding in the areas used for vehicle parking inside the National Park which, as a conservation measure, are small and unsuitable for expansion. You’ll also help to reduce air pollution by using group transport.

 What’s more, you won’t be parking in unauthorised zones, a practice that has extremely harmful consequences for conserving the diversity of this protected natural space.

Visit the “Science and Legend” exhibition by Teide Legend and discover the Legend of Guayota!

The Teide Tour without Cable Car includes free admission to the “Science and Legend” exhibition which you will find at the Teide Cable Car Visitors’ Centre, at the foot of the Teide stratovolcano.

Do you know the legend of Guayota, the demon who lives inside the volcano and whose fury was feared by the native Guanche people?

The Guanches had their own interpretation of the last great eruption of Mount Teide, which occurred around 1,000 years ago. They believed it was caused by a fight between mythological gods.

In the exhibition, Gods and humans tell their version of the various stages of the eruption that formed the pylon at the peak of Mount Teide, known as “el tapón del Teide” [the Teide cap]. In the Guanche version of events, good and evil fought in an epic battle. The exhibition also features a scientific explanation of the eruption to contrast with the mythological vision so you can compare both perspectives. They may appear to be total opposites, but they have a close connection.

The Visitors’ Centre also has an official souvenir shop with T-shirts, caps, mugs, keyrings, etc., that are inspired by characters from the Legend of Guayota, and a fantastic souvenir comic that tells the story in full colour. Children will love the kid-friendly version of the comic with stickers!

The journey ends with a break to take in the best views of Teide National Park from the highest café-restaurant in Spain. Dishes have the wonderful flavour of the Canary Islands so make sure to try something while you enjoy unforgettable views of the park. We support local produce which is why products on sale in our café-restaurant are made in the Canary Islands, like Teide beer.

Get ready to enjoy the Teide Tour without Cable Car excursion and spend a few magical hours in a protected natural space that looks like it’s from another world!