LITMIR.BIZ

      There are occasional buses to Pico del Inglés, around 1000m (3280ft) high, and if these are not convenient, other buses pass 1km (½ mile) from a car park and mirador near the summit. Despite nearby masts there are splendid views of the Anaga peninsula, the urban sprawl of Santa Cruz and La Laguna, with El Teide rising beyond. Gran Canaria lies out to sea. The peak was named after a visitor who fell to his death; only he wasn’t an Englishman, but an Austrian.

      From the Pico del Inglés car park a signpost for Valleseco points down a short flight of steps. Turn left and right past a derelict building; then the path is often worn to bedrock on a slope of laurisilva woodland. Keep ahead at a junction, along the clearest path, flashed yellow/white. Occasional views to either side reveal that the route is along a rocky crest, rising and falling. There is a sudden view of the urban sprawl and the path swings left. Stone-paved zigzags give way to a zigzag groove on the slopes of Cabezo del Viento, where forest and scrub vie for dominance. Watch for markers to pass a little house.

      The path drops and then climbs round a steep hollow where there are lots of aloes among the scrub. Join another path and turn left up to a gap where a few houses, Casas de los Berros, stand either side. Cross the gap and go down the other side, traversing before winding down past a big eucalyptus tree. Pass little plots and cross a river, heading downstream and passing a little white house while crossing the barranco from side to side.

      The Roque de Agua is seen on the way down from Pico del Inglés

      Make a slight rising traverse, then wind down and cross the Barranco de Valleseco back and forth again, passing a concrete aqueduct. Cross the barranco later and pass a bridge carrying another aqueduct, spanning an impressive narrow rock gorge. Cross again well below the bridge, then back again. Pass stoutly-walled plots and cross yet again. Pass more plots and keep left below a house. Cross the river a couple more times, pass a ramshackle house, then see lots more houses straggling down through the barranco ahead. Follow the rugged path and join a concrete road beneath a concrete aqueduct. The road offers rapid onward progress, but the path slices up to the right and comes down later, beside a map-board and signpost.

      In wet weather waterfalls can be seen at intervals through the Barranco de Valleseco

      Continue down the road, crossing two bridges and passing bus stops at La Quebrada. Unless a bus is due, keep walking down the road through Valleseco, passing sports facilities and bars. Reach a junction with a very busy coastal road where there are plenty of buses to and from Santa Cruz.

WALK 2

      Igueste de San Andrés to Chamorga

Start	Igueste de San Andrés
Finish	Chamorga
Distance	10km (6¼ miles)
Total Ascent	875m (2870ft)
Total Descent	425m (1395ft)
Time	5hrs
Terrain	A road walk is followed by a rugged path climbing to a ridge. Intricate paths lead from village to village.
Refreshment	Bars at Igueste and Chamorga.
Transport	Regular daily buses serve Igueste de San Andrés from Santa Cruz. Infrequent buses serve Lomo de las Bodegas and Chamorga from Santa Cruz.
Waymarked route(s)	Route uses PR TF 5.

      This route could be used as the first stage on a trek round the Anaga peninsula, though it stands on its own merit as a fine day’s walk. After climbing through a barranco, a ridge leads to laurisilva forest, followed by a walk from the village of Lomo de las Bodegas to Chamorga.

      The road serving Igueste de San Andrés bends round a barranco and this walk starts at its furthest point inland, where there is a bus shelter beside an ATM. Follow the road signposted ‘Pista Hoya de los Juncos’, which climbs from the village, crossing and re-crossing the Barranco de Igueste. Pass a few houses and enter the Parque Rural Anaga. The barranco bed supports dense canes and aloes, while the steep and rugged slopes rising from it are thick with tabaibal and cardón.

      Turn right as marked up a steep concrete track with a 10kph speed limit. Turn left off it along a level path past little terraces, passing an old sign reading ‘Casillas’. The path climbs a steep rugged slope, and a couple of little houses can be seen tucked into hollows. The scrub features tabaibal, cardón, prickly pears and asphodel, as well as fragrant incienso and lavender. The path levels out on a ridge, Lomo de la Zapata, with a view back to Igueste and the sea, as well as up to the well-wooded crest of the mountains.

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