Hiking from Boca Tauce to the Cascada de Chindia waterfall

Boca Tauce – Hiking and an Ethnographic Museum

Boca Tauce is a prominent crossroads for hikers, as many hiking trails converge there. But also the access roads to the Teide National Park from Arona and Chio (TF-21 and TF-38) meet there. The Juan Évora Ethnographic Museum near Boca Tauce is very interesting and definitely worth a visit.

The man who gave his name to the museum was the last inhabitant to live traditionally in the Cañadas. In this small museum, admission to which is free, you can vividly see how shepherds and their families used to live in the cañadas.

The museum has original rooms and many interesting information panels. The museum is open Monday to Sunday from 9:00 to 15:45. If you can fit it in with your hiking, it’s definitely worth a visit before or after your hike. If you are travelling by car, you can leave your vehicle in the car park, which is open until 3.45 pm. From here you will find hiking trails in all directions.

Waterfall hikes in Seven Islands

This hike from Boca Tauce takes you past the Cascada de Chindia waterfall, among others. I have already described another circular hike from Vera de Erques to the Cascada de Chindia. Even though both big circular walks pass the same waterfall, they don’t have much in common. This is because this hike starts at high altitude near Boca Tauce and takes you around the mountains of the Cañadas and later along the upper part of the Barranco de Erques.

The other circular hike, on the other hand, runs a few metres lower in the middle altitudes below the Cañadas, so that both routes actually only touch each other near the Cascada de Chindia. You can find more waterfall hikes on Seven Islands: 

Tenerife: Barranco del Río, Cascada Lomo Morín, Madre del Agua, Barranco del Infierno, Barranco de Carrizales. 

But the big circular walk from Boca Tauce has much more to offer than the Cascada de Chindia waterfall. The start at the Ethnographic Museum alone, with its wealth of information, makes the tour a real experience. Then there is the walk around the Cañadas Heights and the hike along the wild Barranco de Erques, as well as the fantastic views from the heights.

General information about the Boca Tauce – Cascada de Chindia circular hike.

Starting point and access 

The hike starts at the small car park near the Juan Évora Ethnographic Museum on the TF-21 just past the Boca Tauce road junction. If you leave your car in the car park, remember that the car park closes at 15:45, so your car must have left by then. If you are thinking of hiking later, there is also roadside parking nearby or parking immediately at Boca Tauce.

Access by car 

You can drive from all sides of the island from the Cañadas access roads towards Boca Tauce. The ethnographic museum near Boca Tauce cannot be missed, is signposted and therefore easy to find. 

Getting there by bus 

Only the bus line Titsa number 342 goes up to the Cañadas. It also passes the starting point and stops in Boca Tauce. You can find more information about the exact times on the Titsa homepage.

Time 

I don’t like to give general times for hiking tours, as the times are very individual. We needed just under 5 hours for this tour with extensive breaks. 

Difference in altitude and distance  

The difference in altitude is about 700 metres in descent and ascent. The route itself is about 14 kilometres long.

Requirements

Because of the metres in altitude, you should be in good physical condition. However, only a few places on this hike really require a head for heights and absolute surefootedness, so that you can relax and enjoy the beautiful landscape. 

Refreshments

There are no restaurants, bars or shops either at the starting point or on the hike. Therefore, be sure to take enough water and, if necessary, food with you.

Variants

This tour can be combined well with various other hikes and circular walks in the vicinity. I already mentioned the adjacent tour to the waterfall Cascada de Chindia from Vera de Erques. As you can see on the map, the neighbouring hiking possibilities are numerous. I would also like to mention the impressive hike around Montaña del Cedro.

Great circular hike from Boca Tauce to the Cascada de Chindia waterfall

Boca Tauce to Barranco Cuéscara section

You start your circular walk at the car park of the ethnographic museum near Boca Tauce. From the car park, follow the signposted PR TF 70 hiking trail in the direction of Guía de Isora. At the beginning of the tour through the national park, you walk along the foot of the Cañadas heights. From here you already have impressive views of the Teide and the Pico Viejo. The path runs parallel to the TF-38 for quite a while, then it turns left and runs downhill from here on. Here the hiking route also borders on the Montaña el Cedro tour.

You hike above the Barranco del Fraile and get closer and closer to the Barranco Grund. First you walk through a branch of the Barranco, over a small hill and then cross the Barranco Grund. On the other side, the path leads uphill again. From here you walk through the pine forest. At first, the path runs along a ridge. At a fork, the Montaña del Cedro tour turns off to the right. Keep to the left. As you continue, you will cross the Barranco Cuéscara in the upper section.

Section Barranco Cuéscara to Cascada de Chindia

The trail continues downhill on the left, at the height of Barranco Cuéscara, through the pine forest. Finally, you will come to a wide road. Follow it around to the left. After a short while, the Cascada de Chindía trail from Erjos comes up from the right and meets your path. From now on until a little after the waterfall, the routes are identical for a short time. You comfortably follow the wide road in wide serpentines along the edge of the pine forest. If the weather is good, you have wonderful views to the coast and back to the foothills of the Cañadas. 

After a while you will see a wide gorge in the distance. In front of you, on the right side of the gorge, you can see the Cascada de Chindía waterfall. From the path, a path branches off to the left that will take you directly to the waterfall in a short time. At the waterfall itself, you can take a rest or have a picnic. Perhaps you would also like to refresh yourself in the water. Then return to the path, which you now follow around to the left. At the waterfall itself, you will cross the Barranco de Erques, which is called Barranco de Chindía in the upper area around the waterfall.

Cascada de Chindia to Roque Ucanca section

On the other side of the Barranco, the route climbs uphill again. Afterwards, there is an alternation of easy ascents and descents on serpentines that continue to be long and more or less maintain their altitude along a long mountain saddle. For quite a while, the path winds off and on through pine forest above extensive ravines. Finally, the road makes a sharp left turn. Here, the Cascada de Chindía hike from Vera de Erques goes downhill to the right. You do not take either of the two paths, but follow a narrow path that leads steeply up the mountain to the left shortly before the left-hand bend.

Here you walk straight ahead on the wide ridge path for a while. Then the path bends to the right. And you walk straight on through the pine forest. From time to time, the path goes in small serpentines and then straight uphill again. Some passages can be a little steep. Still in the forest, you walk through a small side gorge of the Barranco de Erques. Afterwards, you cross a saddle and now have wonderful views of the high cliffs (Roque Ucasme and Roque Ucanca) that rise up to your left and in the height next to you.

Roque Ucanca section to the starting point of the museum

Then you are on a small plateau with magnificent views. In front of you is the Barranquillo de Erques, into which you walk straight along a narrow path. You cross the gorge at the bottom and hike steeply up again on the other side. Then cross the ridge to the left and continue up the slope. You can already see the TF-21 high above you. The trail leads you to the left in a large arc along the slope and up to the road.

There you turn left and can now hike back to the starting point, the car park at the Ethnological Museum near Boca Tauce. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should now take some time at the end of the hike to visit the interesting museum.

And finally

I hope you enjoyed the hike from Boca Tauce via the Cañadas to the Cascada de Chindía waterfall. It’s nice that you follow me on Seven Islands. I would like to thank you for that. Have fun hiking,

Dagmar from Seven Islands