Number of climbing
routes: about 175 for all skill
levels
Lower
Arico Gorge[2]
One
of the best areas for climbing
is the superb Arico gorge, set
in the mountains of Arico
It is the largest
climbing area on the island, and
home to Tenerife’s hardest
routes. Arico is a dried up river
bed, layered with pine trees and
huge boulders. The lower gorge
was once quarried leaving huge
overhanging walls up to 30 meters
high and home to some of the hardest
routes in Spain. The climbing
on the island is suited for all
grades of climbers. The easier
walls of Arico upper and Tejina
are well within the capabilities
of even beginner climbers.
And the lower walls
of Arico are suited to the more
experienced climbers. And if sport
climbing isn’t your cup
of tea, there are plenty of adventure
routes in the mountains of the
north. Around Tanganana and Roque
Ambro are the best places in the
north. The huge sea cliffs of
Los Gigantes in the south are
another good location for the
more adventurous. They stand some
2000 feet from the sea and should
only be challenged by very experienced
climbers
A rough landscape of
pitted rock pillars, cracked boulders,
and bus-sized shelves of stone lean
against burnt-brown cliffs, this is
the Arico Gorge of Tenerife. Walking
through this landscape is comparable
to entering a natural disaster zone.
Located on the southeastern slope
of a now-dormant volcano that towers
close to 12,000 feet above the ocean's
surface, the Arico area has been scalded
by red-hot lava and scorched by fiery-hot
gasaes and ash for thousands of years.
As the eruptions stopped and the mountain
cooled, the layers of volcanic ash
and ejected rubble were compressed
over time into a conglomerate of stone
known as ignimbrite, which wind and
water then cut to form this narrow
canyon. This process exposed pockets
of gas and shards of rock once trapped
within lava flows, and so the canyon
walls of today have a knobbly and
even abrasive character, features
that have made Arico one of the top
climbing destinations in the world.
With its steep walls and giant boulders,
a climb through this gorge is certainly
a challenge. Despite the dusty and
dry semi-desert conditions, the gorge
runs in a zigzap, so there is always
shade nearby for a break from the
sun. [1]
