Masca is three different outings. The hamlet, in the Teno massif, takes a morning or a stop on a day tour. The gorge is a demanding descent of about four hours with a chain of bookings: ticket, bus and boat, all bought beforehand. And a boat from Los Gigantes takes you to the mouth of the gorge with no permits at all.
My advice: if you can't see yourself spending four hours going downhill in a helmet, stick to the village and the boat. If you do want to hike down, settle the day and the boat first, then the ticket.
Our picks
1
Hike the gorge without wrestling the logistics
Guided hike, boat and transport in a single payment; check on the listing whether the €40.66 ticket is included.
GetYourGuide6 hours
Tenerife Barranco de Masca: Guided hike + boat trip + transport
4.7 (369 reviews)
from €145Check availability
2
Masca from the sea
Two hours from Los Gigantes with one of the boat companies licensed for the gorge; a swimming stop in the bay if the sea allows.
GetYourGuide2 hours
Los Gigantes: Whale or dolphin-watching tour and swim in Masca
4.7 (3,893 reviews)
from €28Check availability
3
The village as part of a full day
6.5 h taking in Masca, Teide and the Los Gigantes cliffs; the shortest of the tours that combine village and volcano.
GetYourGuide6.5 hours
Tenerife: Masca, Mount Teide and Los Gigantes Cliffs Tour
5.0 (451 reviews)
from €60.39Check availability
4
Walking in Teno without the chain of bookings
Guided walk in the hills above Masca with pick-up, 5 h, without going down the gorge. It's sold as the "Enchanted Forest", but it isn't El Pijaral in Anaga.
GetYourGuide5 hours
Tenerife: Hike Above Masca in Enchanted Forest with Pick-up
4.9 (464 reviews)
from €89Check availability
What Masca is and where to find it
Masca is a hamlet in the municipality of Buenavista del Norte, inside Teno Rural Park in the north-west of the island. It doesn't belong to Los Gigantes or Santiago del Teide, but they're its two gateways: Santiago del Teide by road and bus, Los Gigantes by sea.
The gorge trail is called the Camino del Barranco de Masca. It's managed by TRAGSA for the island council (Cabildo), and bookings, rules and the day's status are on caminobarrancodemasca.com. The managers themselves warn that in recent years there have been more rescues here than anywhere else in the Canary Islands.
Village, gorge or boat: which suits you
| Village only | Hiking the gorge | Boat from Los Gigantes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking | no | ticket + bus + boat | the boat |
| Price | free | €40.66 + bus + boat | from €28 |
| Time | up to you, or 30–45 min on a tour | full day | 2 h |
| Age | any | from 8 | depends on the boat |
| Fitness | low | high | none |
The descent is only worth it if you really enjoy walking and don't mind an early start and depending on other people's timetables.
The Masca Gorge: rules, price and what's closed
The trail is downhill only: from the Masca visitor centre (Calle El Lomito 4, pedestrianised) to the jetty, about 5 km and about 4 hours, hard. You leave the gorge by boat to Los Gigantes, and that boat is compulsory and bought separately.
Ticket price: €40.66 for non-resident adults and €20.33 for ages 8 to 17. Canary Islands residents pay €7.49 and €3.75; Tenerife residents and members of Canarian mountaineering or caving federations go free, checked at the control point (none of these discounts will apply to most visitors from abroad). The ticket includes your entry time, a loan helmet, on-site staff, rescue cover and accident insurance. It doesn't include bus 355, the boat or getting back from Los Gigantes.
Time slots: descents every 30 minutes from 08:30 to 13:00, with 25 places per slot and 50 at 09:00. The trail is open from 08:30 to 18:00; the visitor centre from Monday to Thursday 09:00 to 17:00 and Friday to Sunday 08:00 to 18:00. At the moment the booking calendar only offers descents from Wednesday to Saturday; confirm it on the website before you book flights or a hire car.
Age: minimum 8. Under-18s go down with their legal guardian and a signed consent form.
What's banned or closed:
- Masca beach is completely closed to the public. You go down to the jetty, not the beach.
- You can't go into the stream bed or the pools, leave the path, bring pets, smoke or camp.
- If the sea closes the jetty while you're on the way down, you'll have to walk all the way back up. That's why they ask for a good level of fitness.
Compulsory: closed hiking footwear (no exceptions), at least 1.5 litres of water per person, a charged phone and the helmet they lend you, worn.
Cancellation: 100% refund up to 72 h before (two changes at most); after that, no changes or refunds. If the trail is closed, you can change the date or get a refund.
How to book the descent, step by step
- Pick the day on the calendar at caminobarrancodemasca.com, and aim for the 09:00 slot: it has twice the places.
- Buy the boat first from one of the three licensed companies: Discover Teno, Marítima Acantilados or Masca Express. Its departure must be no more than 4 hours after your descent slot.
- Book the trail ticket (€40.66). If there's nothing available, look again 3 days before: that's when places unsold by partner companies are released.
- Work backwards: with a 09:00 slot you need to be at the Masca control point by 08:30 and at the Santiago del Teide stop (code 4692) by 08:00. Arrive late at the control point and you lose your ticket and your money.
- Park in Santiago del Teide, in the cemetery car park, about a 10-minute walk from the stop. Take the 355 (about 20 minutes, €1.45 cash, €1.15 with the Ten+ card) and keep your ticket.
- Pass the control point with your ID card or passport, trail ticket, bus ticket and boat ticket. They'll give you a helmet.
- Walk down for about 4 hours to the jetty and board the boat for Los Gigantes. To get back to your car, buses 462 or 325 to Santiago del Teide (not included).
If you arrive by car, taxi or any vehicle other than the 355, you'll be turned away.
On your own or on a Masca tour
| On your own | With a tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Item | on your own | on a tour |
| Price | €40.66 ticket + €1.45 bus + boat extra + bus back | from €145 (check what's included) |
| Transport | car to Santiago del Teide and two buses | pick-up included |
| Places | 25 per slot, 50 at 09:00 | the company brings its own quota |
| Boat | you book it within the 4-hour window | included |
| Guide | no, just control staff | yes |
| Flexibility | you choose your slot and pace | the group's timetable |
Going on your own works out cheaper if you have a car, but the chain of timings is your problem: a late bus or a boat outside the window and you're out. The boat companies don't publish the gorge boat fare, so ask for it and add it up before you compare.
Masca village without hiking the gorge
Visiting the hamlet is free and needs no booking. You get there on the TF-436, and the public car park at the entrance to the village is very small. By bus, the 355 and 365 stop at "Masca" (code 4553).
Day tours usually give it 30 to 45 minutes within about 9 hours that also take in Teide, Icod and Garachico, with no time for the cable car (going up Teide needs another day). Big coaches can't get in: vehicles carry 35 people at most. Tours from Puerto de la Cruz do the circuit the other way round and reach Masca before the groups from the south. More in island tours and bus tours.
Masca from the sea: the beach and the bay
You can't get onto Masca beach even from a boat: it's closed to the public and pleasure boats anchor in the bay. Trips from Los Gigantes stop for a swim at Masca, Barranco Seco or Juan López depending on the sea, so Masca isn't guaranteed.
In return, you see the end of the gorge and the cliffs with no ticket, no bus and no trail age limit. Two-hour trips cost from €28 and almost all include whale and dolphin watching. Our Los Gigantes page covers the harbour, the beaches and how to get there.
Santiago del Teide is where you park and catch the 355; Los Gigantes is where you come ashore. Punta de Teno, to the north, can only be reached on bus 369 at the moment (more routes in hiking in Tenerife).
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See all options on GetYourGuide →
Do I need to book to hike down the Masca Gorge?
Yes. You need a timed ticket (€40.66 for non-resident adults, minimum age 8), a bus 355 ticket from Santiago del Teide and a ticket for the boat out to Los Gigantes; without any one of them you won't get past the control point.
Can I hike up the Masca Gorge from the sea?
No. The trail is downhill only, from the village to the jetty, and you leave by boat. You only walk back up if the sea closes the jetty while you're on the way down.
Can I go to Masca beach?
No. The beach is completely closed to the public; hikers reach the jetty and pleasure boats only anchor in the bay when the sea allows.
Can I drive to the start of the trail?
No. Under the current system you have to arrive on bus 355 from Santiago del Teide, and your bus ticket is checked. Park in the cemetery car park in Santiago del Teide.
How much does it cost to visit Masca village?
Nothing. The hamlet is open to all with no booking; the only limits are parking and, on fire-alert days, access for tourists' cars between 09:00 and 16:00.
