The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago located just off the southern coast of Morocco. For most of the Europeans the Islands are a traditional beach vacation destination, and that is exactly what I thought of the place. Until I got into mountain biking a few years ago and saw a video about riding in Tenerife. This winter I decided to visit the Canaries with my friends, Juho Pusa and Janne Tikka. We chose the island of Tenerife, the largest island of the archipelago, for our destination. It also has the highest point of elevation of Spain, the World Heritage site of El Teide, which is the third largest volcano in the world from its base (3,718 metres). The uneven and steep nature of the island and the variety of its climates has resulted in a diversity of landscapes and geological formations. Desert like areas with rocky terrain and drought-resistant flora exist in the south, while the northern part of the forest has valleys and forests with subtropical vegetation and climate. The island is known internationally as the 'Island of Eternal Spring' and it enjoys a warm climate year-round with an average of 18–20 °C in the winter and 24–26 °C in the summer. As we were mainly after sunshine and dusty trails we decided to book our accommodation from the south side of the island. The island has overall high levels of sunshine throughout the year, but the south has on average more than the north side.
There are a number of companies that offer guide services for mountain biking on the island. On the South side, there is Lavarax and on the north side there is MTB-Active. For our guide we selected Lavatrax, which operates mainly in the south of the island. Lavatrax is run by Darran, who moved to the island from England nine years ago and has been running a guide service for the same period. Darran really was an easygoing fellow who had great knowledge of the terrain and could show trails for all skill levels. On the South side the trails are mainly rocky, loose and dusty while on the north side the trails are more humid and loamy. We visited the trails on the north side on one day and got the impression that the trails there are a bit more technical than on the south. Since the majority of the locals live in the north side of the island, the trails there were more built for mountain biking as the trails on the south side were more natural old walking routes and hiking trails.
With the huge amount of tourism on the island there is no shortage of accommodation.There are numerous many small villages up on the mountain sideThis is what we came for, sunshine and dusty trails.South Side is rocky and dry.
Drifting on a volcanic ash. Basic stuff.Juho Pusa making the most of the fireroads. The Island has a lot of history as the earliest known human settlement on the islands dated to around 200 BC.Juho Pusa following the trails all the way down to the coast.
Darran from Lavatrax.com Juho Pusa climbing up the the road to the trailhead on the north side of the island. With surroundings like this even the climbs are enjoyable.
I would suggest everyone ride trails both on the south and on the north side of the island. Juho Pusa enjoying the features on the Northern Trails. Ralf from MTB-active.com showed us the trails of the north - here he is riding a trail called "Holy Trail". If you want to ride on the northern side and find the best stuff you should contact MTB-active.com.The north side did not let us down. We got all muddy and wet in the deep forest while enjoying world class trails .Juno Pusa eyeing the highest peak of the island, El Teide. It is prohibited to ride there and also a large part of its surrounding area as they belong to the Parque Nacional del Teide, Natural Park, in which the mountain biking is prohibited. Biking in the parks hiking trails is not allowed either. If you are coming to the island and plan to go biking without a guide, you should definitely find out first where you can and where you can't ride.
Natural beauty and the diversity on the terrain really makes this place unique.
There are turns where you don´t want to wash out.This could be the perfect ending for all the riding days. Swimming on the ocean and enjoying a couple of cold beers on the beach.I think that Tenerife truly is a great destination for mountain biking. The terrain and trails are extremely varied, as during one week of riding you can ride in both subtropical forest and near desert-like environment.
MENTIONS: @JaakkoPosti @Lavatrax
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mmmmmmmmmm Jeronimo
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