Chinyero Volcano

Where the pines end, the ground turns black: soft needles give way to lava clinker heaped in ridges like slag from a furnace. That is the flow of 1909, the last eruption on Tenerife, and it still lies almost bare around the cone of Chinyero.

The trail runs along the seam between the two landscapes, in and out of the Canary pines, with the dark cone on one side and, on a clear day, the sea beyond. There is little climbing, so the walking stays easy and your attention stays on the ground. Up here it is quiet: pine forest, lava and very little else.

• Access closes on some days for mouflon control, the culling of wild sheep, and a closure can turn you back after a long walk in.
• There are no toilets and no drinking water near the volcano, and none on the way in. Bring all the water you need.
• Walk the loop anticlockwise to keep the cone in view for most of the way.
• The lava stretches have no shade and the dark rock holds the heat. Bring a hat and sun cream.

Two car parks serve the volcano: one on gravel about 1.5 km away in a straight line, and a paved one about 1.9 km away. From either, the rest is on foot, so the walk begins well before the cone comes into view.

The nearest bus stop, Arenas Negras, sits about 4.2 km away in a straight line, which turns a bus trip into a proper hike. Longer walks come in from Montaña Negra and from Garachico on the coast, the Garachico route running to about 11 km.

Best: a clear morning, before the lava has taken the full heat of the day.

Avoid: days when access is closed for mouflon control, and days when low cloud sits over the pines.

The lava fields have no shade and the black rock warms fast, while cloud on the high ground hides both the cone and the sea below.

Chinyero lies inside a protected nature reserve (Reserva Natural Especial del Chinyero). Keep to the marked trails, and leave the lava, the plants and the young pines as you find them.

On some days the area is closed for mouflon control, the culling of the wild sheep that roam these slopes. When it is closed, you may not go on to the volcano, however far you have already walked.