We got up very early to drive from our Airbnb in the south of Tenerife to the north side, in the Parque Rural de Anaga. We arrived around 9:30am and were the second hikers there. Our trek led us from the small village of Benijo through El Draguillo to the Faro de Anaga, a lighthouse.
Nearly the entire way there we hiked in the shade as the moutain peaks to our right blocked the rising sun. This proved for some beautiful moments as the sun did creep over the steep horizon, revealing little farms in the valleys below us. Although much of the time we hugged the coast, there were periods where we took switchbacks up the mountain. Along our journey we passed the very rare Dragon Tree, old millworks, an abandoned church, and impossibly small villages and single farms, alone on the tip of this rugged island.
There were moments when we felt completely alone; this may have partially been because the trail itself was closed. We kept on anyway and thankfully made it to the lighthouse just fine. There were definitely some steep or dangerous parts, but nothing clearly stood out as the reason for it to be closed.
We made it to the lighthouse and then took anther trail along the peak back to Benijo. It was a beautiful hike that left our legs sore for the rest of the trip!
