Masca gorge hike: booking, rules, bus 355 and the boat out

Hiking down the Masca gorge today requires four things bought or sorted before you leave your hotel: a named booking on the official website of the Camino del Barranco de Masca, a ticket for guagua (bus) 355 from Santiago del Teide, a ticket for the boat that takes you from the cove to Los Gigantes, and the compulsory kit, including hiking boots and a helmet. Without any one of them you will not get through the checkpoint. In return, you cover about 5 kilometres between rock walls, from the hamlet to the sea, in about four hours.

Current rules for the Masca gorge

The Cabildo de Tenerife (the island government) manages the trail with regulated access. Rules in force as of October 2026:

• Compulsory named booking: only on the trail's official website (caminobarrancodemasca.com). You are given a date and a time slot; on the day you show an ID document, children included.
• Descent only: the route runs from the hamlet to the coast and the exit is by boat. You may not climb back up with a descent ticket, unless the landing stage closes because of sea conditions.
• Time slots: descent sessions between 8:30 and 13:00, with 25 places every half hour (the 9:00 slot has 50). The trail is open from 8:30 to 18:00.
• Days: as of October 2026, the booking calendar opens from Wednesday to Saturday. The days change with the season; check them in the official calendar.
• Minimum age: 8. Under-18s must go with their legal guardian or with an adult carrying the signed authorisation provided on the website itself.
• Access: only on TITSA line 355 from Santiago del Teide. You cannot reach the start in a private vehicle.
• Checkpoint: report to the Masca Visitor Centre at least 30 minutes before your slot. Anyone who arrives late loses access and the money paid.
• Prohibited: leaving the waymarked route, swimming in the stream bed or the pools, camping, lighting fires or smoking, flying drones and bringing dogs (except assistance dogs, with prior notice). Masca beach is closed to the public.

Price as of October 2026

The official shop advertises the descent from €40.66 for non-residents, taxes (IGIC) included. Other figures are in circulation: when the Cabildo introduced the fee in July 2024, the general rate was €28 plus IGIC (the Canary Islands tax, equivalent to VAT), and many guides still quote it; others mention about €40 with the bus included, which is not the case if you go independently. The valid reference is the official purchase page.

• Free: Tenerife residents and members of a Canary Islands mountaineering or caving federation. They pay when booking and the refund is processed at the access checkpoint on presenting proof.
• Special rate: residents of the other Canary Islands, under-18s and federation members from elsewhere; the amount is shown at checkout.
• What is included: the assigned slot, safety information, monitoring and rescue support, the loan of a helmet and accident insurance.
• What is not included: bus 355, the boat out, the return from Los Gigantes and the rest of the compulsory kit.

Changes and cancellations

With 72 hours' notice or more, an individual booking can be changed or cancelled free of charge; with less, 100 % is retained. Bookings made through partner companies cannot be changed, only cancelled.

How to get to the hamlet of Masca

Bus 355, compulsory

Masca belongs to Buenavista del Norte, but access to the trail is from the other side of the Teno massif, in Santiago del Teide. Since December 2025, anyone hiking independently must ride up to the hamlet on TITSA line 355, which links Buenavista del Norte, Masca and Santiago del Teide; the section from Santiago del Teide takes about 20 minutes. The organisers ask you to be at the Santiago del Teide stop at least an hour before your slot and to keep the proof of your journey, because you show it at the checkpoint.

From Wednesday to Saturday, TITSA gives boarding priority to passengers who show the driver their trail ticket. Check the 355 timetable on the TITSA website the day before: some services only go as far as Masca and others run showing line 365.

If you drive to Santiago del Teide

Park in the Santiago del Teide cemetery car park, which is the one the organisers specify, and walk about ten minutes to the stop. Bear in mind that your car stays in Santiago del Teide and you will finish in Los Gigantes: to get back to it, TITSA lines 462 and 325 link Los Gigantes with Santiago del Teide. Cards and fares are in getting around Tenerife.

The TF-436 and its checkpoint during fire alerts

The TF-436 crosses Teno from Santiago del Teide to Buenavista via Masca: narrow, with tight hairpin bends. Since 30 July 2026, whenever an alert, pre-emergency or emergency for fire risk is declared, the Cabildo activates an access checkpoint on the TF-436 between 9:00 and 16:00. During those hours, residents, property owners, workers, emergency services and public transport up to 7.5 metres long can pass, including the 355 and, since August, small tourist buses with a quota; hire cars and private tourist traffic are kept out. Hikers doing the gorge are not affected, because they already go up by bus.

The descent, section by section

The organisers give these figures for the trail: about 5 km long, from about 750 metres above sea level in the hamlet down to sea level, with short climbs along the way, about 4 hours of descent and high difficulty. Other official tourism sources give slightly different figures (between 4 and 4.5 km); the difference depends on where the start is measured. For planning, use the trail operator's figures.

From the hamlet to the stream bed

After the checkpoint at the Visitor Centre you collect your helmet and start losing height quickly on a stepped, stone-paved path between abandoned farming terraces. This is the part that puts most strain on your knees; trekking poles make the descent easier.

The central section: the narrow gorge

Once at the bottom, the trail follows the stream bed between ever higher walls. Here you alternate between stretches over polished rock, crossings of the bed and short climbs. Wet rock is slippery even if it has not rained, because in some sections water runs or the shade stays damp. Along the route there are numbered emergency locators showing your position, the distance covered and mobile coverage, and three checkpoints.

The final section to the cove

The gorge opens out as it nears the coast, and the last checkpoint is next to the landing stage. The beach is closed to the public and swimming is not allowed, so the end is a wait for the boat. With a late slot and a slow pace, the margin before the boat gets tight.

The boat out to Los Gigantes

The boat is compulsory and bought separately. The organisers assign each day of the calendar to one of the authorised boat companies (as of October 2026, Discover Teno, Marítima Acantilados and Masca Express, in rotation), and the ticket must be bought from the company operating on the day of your booking. The trail's official website publishes that calendar. When you buy access you declare that you already have the boat ticket, and with the descent-only option the boat must be no more than four hours after your slot.

The boat runs along the cliffs to the port of Los Gigantes. The trail's website does not publish the boat fare: ask the company operating that day. When you land you are in Los Gigantes, with Playa de Los Guíos a few minutes away and buses 462 and 325 to Santiago del Teide.

If the sea does not allow boarding

The landing stage may close without warning because of sea conditions. In that case the organisers let you know and you have to walk back up to the Masca Visitor Centre, starting the climb from wherever you receive the warning. The full climb takes at least four hours and is harder than the descent. That is why it is worth carrying more water and food than seems necessary. Check the AEMET (Spain's national weather agency) wave forecast for the Teno coast the day before, and the status of the landing stage in the "Masca hoy" (Masca today) section of the official website.

What to bring: compulsory and recommended kit

If anything on the compulsory list is missing, you will be refused access:

• Documents: ID for each person, the slot ticket, proof of the 355 journey, the boat ticket and, where applicable, proof of a reduced rate or the authorisation for minors.
• Footwear: hiking boots, closed and with a deep-lugged sole. Sandals, street shoes and trainers without reinforcement are not accepted.
• Helmet: lent at the checkpoint and returned at the end.
• Water and food: at least 1.5 litres per person, plus cereal bars, nuts or similar.
• A charged mobile phone and any personal medication you need.

Recommended: a cap, sun cream, sunglasses, trekking poles, extra food and a bag for your rubbish.

Safety: rockfalls, heat and closures

• Falling rocks: this is the main risk in the gorge and the reason for the helmet. Do not stop beneath walls with loose rock and do not leave the waymarked trail.
• Heat: the bottom of the gorge traps heat and some stretches have no shade. In summer and during calima episodes (hot African air carrying suspended dust) the effort multiplies; choose the first slot, drink often and do not run your water down.
• Rain and flash floods: the stream bed can carry water after heavy rain. The trail closes for adverse weather, sea conditions, rockfalls or maintenance, sometimes with only a few hours' notice.
• Emergencies: call 112 and give the number of the nearest locator. If staff consider it unsafe to continue, they may ask you to sign a document accepting the costs of rescue and assistance.

Before setting off, check the status of the trail, the landing stage and the visitor centres in "Masca hoy".

Masca on an organised excursion

The trail's partner companies offer the descent with a guide, and many include transport from the south and the boat. What you pay extra for is the guide and the logistics. It is worth it if you do not have a car, if you are travelling alone or if you would rather not juggle bus and boat times. Check that the operator is listed as a partner company on the official website and that the price includes access to the trail and the boat. Our guide to the best excursions in Tenerife compares this tour with the rest.

Seeing Masca without hiking the gorge

The hamlet and its viewpoints

You can walk around the hamlet in an hour: the church, the stone houses on the ridges and a public viewpoint over the gorge with very few parking spaces. Further on, towards Buenavista, the La Cruz de Hilda viewpoint, on the TF-436 itself, offers the classic view of the valley, with a café, a car park and a bus stop. Go early, before the coaches, and remember that during a fire alert you can only go up on the 355 between 9:00 and 16:00. More viewpoints in the best viewpoints in Tenerife.

Masca from the sea

Boats leave the port of Los Gigantes for the Masca cove, often with a swimming stop and pilot whales along the way. This also works with children under 8.

Alternatives if the trail is closed

• Teno on foot: Teno Rural Park has waymarked trails from Las Portelas, El Palmar and Teno Alto, shorter and with no booking. Choose one to suit your fitness in the best hikes in Tenerife.
• Punta de Teno: while the TF-445 roadworks last, with no announced end date, the road is closed to private cars, pedestrians and cyclists; you go up on bus 369 from Buenavista del Norte, by taxi or with an authorisation.
• Los Gigantes: cliffs, Playa de Los Guíos and boat or kayak trips towards Masca.

Frequently asked questions

Can you do the Masca hike without a booking?

No. Access to the trail requires a named booking on the official website, with an assigned date and time slot, and it is checked with ID at the Visitor Centre. Without a booking you can visit the hamlet and its viewpoints freely, but you cannot go down into the gorge.

How much does it cost to hike down the Masca gorge?

As of October 2026, the official shop advertises it from €40.66, taxes included, for visitors who do not live in the Canary Islands. Tenerife residents do not pay, and there are reduced rates for Canary Islands residents and minors. On top of that come bus 355, the boat out and the return from Los Gigantes.

Can you hike up the Masca gorge from the beach?

Not with a descent ticket: the route is downhill only, with the exit by boat. The only exception is when the landing stage closes because of sea conditions; the organisers then require you to walk back to the hamlet, a climb of at least four hours.

Can children do it?

From age 8, accompanied by their legal guardian or by an adult with a signed authorisation, and with the same compulsory kit as adults. For younger children, the boat from Los Gigantes to the cove is the alternative.

What happens if the trail closes on the day of my booking?

If the organisers cancel because of weather, sea conditions, maintenance or force majeure, you can change the date free of charge or ask for a refund. Check "Masca hoy" the day before.

When is the best time of year to hike Masca?

Spring and autumn, with moderate temperatures. In summer, choose the first slot; in winter there are more closures because of rain or heavy swell. Our guide to Tenerife weather by month covers each season in detail.

Keep planning

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