Montaña Amarilla Beach

Local name: Playa de Montaña Amarilla

Cove of black volcanic stones beneath a yellow tuff cone, with layered rock shelves and clear water for snorkelling.

Montaña Amarilla Beach lies at the foot of Montaña Amarilla, a volcanic cone of yellow tuff on the Costa del Silencio coast of Arona, in southern Tenerife. The cone formed where erupting magma met seawater, and the waves have since cut its seaward side into layered shelves. Below them sits a cove of black volcanic stones and clear water, used for sunbathing and snorkelling, and the cone above can be climbed for views along the coast.

Beach

Entrance: Free; there is no ticket.
Accessibility: No wheelchair-accessible entrance or parking. The shore is uneven rock and loose stone, impassable for a wheelchair and hard going with limited mobility.
Parking: Free street parking, plus free and paid car parks nearby; the nearest mapped car parks, about 390–410 m away, are private.
Difficulty: Uneven rock and loose, slippery stones underfoot all the way to the water; the climb up the cone gets windy higher up.
Transport: Bus stops Minerva and Jose Antonio Tavio, about 320 and 360 m away in a straight line.
Advance booking: No booking needed.
Hours: Open at all times.
Address: C. Aquiles, 18, 38630, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

What makes it special

The colour does it. Pale yellow rock, banded in thin layers like the edges of stacked paper, runs straight down into blue water, with the black stones of the cove underneath. The sea has planed the foot of the cone into ledges that serve as sunbathing platforms, and the water off them is clear enough for snorkelling.

Go up the hill as well. The wind picks up as you climb Montaña Amarilla, and from the top the view opens along the coast and over the towns of the south. Beyond the rock, the view and a swim there is little else to do here, so it fits best as a stop on a day along this stretch of coast.

Good to know

There are no toilets and no drinking water at the beach or nearby; bring water with you.
Shade is scarce on the rock and stones. Bring an umbrella or a hat.
The ground is rock and loose stone throughout, slippery where wet. Wear shoes with grip.
The rising tide covers the lower shelves, so walk the shore by daylight and keep an eye on the water.
Part of the shore is used for nude sunbathing.

Getting there

The beach sits at the edge of the residential streets of Costa del Silencio, and most people arrive by car. Parking is straightforward: there is free parking along the surrounding streets, as well as free and paid car parks. Two bus stops, Minerva and Jose Antonio Tavio, lie about 320 and 360 m away in a straight line.

An information board stands at the site. From there the last stretch is on foot over rock and loose stone down to the cove, and the cone above it can be climbed from the shore.

Best time to visit

Best: late afternoon, at low tide.

Avoid: midday in summer, and the shore after dark.

The yellow rock deepens in colour as the sun drops to the west and low water leaves the shelves dry for walking, while at midday there is almost no shade and once the tide comes in at night the shore can no longer be walked.

Access & restrictions

Montaña Amarilla is a protected natural monument. The yellow tuff is soft and wears away under feet and hands, so keep to the worn routes on the cone, and leave the rock, the stones and whatever lives in the rock pools where you find them.

Sun & daylight

Volcano crater

🩶

☑️

Torviscas Beach