Second
only in
popularity
on the
island
to the
Parque
Nacional
del
Teide,
the
village
of
MASCA
, in an
impressively
isolated
and
picturesque
gorge,
is
generally
considered
Tenerife's
prettiest
village.
And
outside
the
hours of
11am and
5pm,
when
streams
of
crowds
and tour
buses
beset
the
village,
it's
hard to
argue
with
this
opinion
- the
village's
pretty
old
stone
houses
looking
out
across
palm-trees
and
improbably
steep
ravine
walls
towards
the
Atlantic
Ocean.
So, if
you're
happy to
arrive
in the
village
early,
and are
fit and
energetic
enough
for the
hike
down the
incredible,
narrow
gorge to
the sea,
then
visiting
the
valley
is
likely
to be
among
your
most
memorable
experiences
on
Tenerife.
Considering
it was
only
connected
by road
to the
outside
world in
1991,
and is a
good
three-hour
hike
from the
coast,
it's
hard to
imagine
quite
what
inspired
the
village
of Masca
in the
first
place.
However,
fertile
valley
soils
spawned
a
relatively
large
six-hundred
strong
community
here at
one
point.
Now the
population
hovers
around
one
hundred,
with
many of
the old
stone
houses
of the
village
lying
vacant
and most
of the
villagers
remaining
here
only to
service
tourist
needs.
For
the
hardy,
the
six-hour
return
hike
down the
impressive
steep-sided
Barranco
de
Masca,
from the
village
to the
sea, is
a must.
The path
down the
gorge is
straightforward
to
follow -
it
starts
just
left of
the
ridge
that
runs
through
the
centre
of the
town -
and,
despite
requiring
the use
of hands
for
support
in a
couple
of
places
and
often
being
steep
and full
of loose
rock, is
easy
enough
for
relatively
experienced
hikers.
Along
the
walk,
the
sides of
the
ravine
climb as
high as
600m
above
the sea,
and at
its
narrowest
the
gorge is
only 20m
wide.
These
narrow
sections
are the
most
memorable
since
they're
filled
with
bizarre,
swirling
rock
formations
and
curious
endemic
vegetation.
After
around
two
hours of
hiking
down the
gorge,
the
noise of
waves
breaks
into the
still,
humid
air
which
soon
gives
way to a
sea
breeze.
The path
terminates
at a
pretty
little
beach -
a great
place to
relax,
but the
sea
currents
here are
usually
too
strong
to allow
for safe
swimming.
