The Path of Senses
The „Path of Senses” is only one of the ways of enjoying the natural beauty of Tenerife.
There are countless marvels to wonder at between the beaches and Teide; the seabed, volcanic tubes with evidence of prehistoric animals. Flora and fauna totally unique to Tenerife. We will guide you on how best to enjoy the natural beauty of Tenerife.Here are some activities we recommend:
Walking, whale watching, scuba diving, star glazing, climbing, bird watching, paragliding, spelunking, mountain biking,watersports…
Experience the ever-green forest
In the Anaga Rural Park you will experience, probably for the first time, a totally different way of enjoying a laurel forest.
The Path of Senses follows the old road that connected the houses of Anaga with La Laguna. Sections of the old route have been restored to encourage you to experience the many facets of the forest; the diverse textures, the colours, the smells and sounds from the very heart of the forest.
Let each of your senses be your guide as you follow our recommendations and enjoy the smells, colours and sounds of the forest. You will be able to follow three different paths through the forest each of which will stimulate the senses.
1. Awaken your senses
Enjoy the humidity and smells of the forest. There is a runway and a small terrace which has been adapted for the disabled. Length: 340 m Difficulty level: low. Uneven ground: 6 m
2. Be amazed
The route is circular and crosses the old road to Las Montañas. You will see where steps have been cut into the path. There is also a bridge and a high runway. Length: 544 m Difficulty level: low. Uneven ground: 20 m
3. What the ever-green forest has to hide
Discover the secret that the forest hidesusing your senses. This route, also circular is uphill and ramped with steps. It reaches the viewpoint at Llano de Los Loros. Length: 1.272 m. Difficulty level: low to medium with some steep streches. Uneven ground: 100 m
In the Anaga Rural Park, you will be able to enjoy a very special experience, getting to know the laurel forest in a way that is completely unlike what you have always done in the past. Give free rein to your sensitivity and let yourself be carried away by the path that we are proposing. We invite you to discover the secrets hidden within the laurisilva with each one of your senses.
1. THE PATH.
1.1 WHERE IT IS
The footpath is in what was traditionally known as Las Montañas, in the Anaga Rural Park. This park occupies a large part of the mountainous massif located in the extreme north-east of the Island of Tenerife.
With an area of 14,419 hectares (35,600 acres), the Anaga Rural Park is located in the municipal districts of La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Tegueste. It is a rugged area with exceptional natural and cultural treasures, which has very harmonious and beautiful landscapes, which are the fruit of the coexistence of the human being and nature in a wild territory.
To be exact, the path starts at Cruz del Carmen, which is where the visitors’ centre is located. Here you can obtain full information about an area whose bio-diversity is unique in Europe. Come and see it.
1.2 CHARACTERISTICS AND ROUTE
The path of senses follows the old road that connected the houses of Anaga with La Laguna. Sections of the old route have been restored to encourage you to experience the many facets of the forest; the diverse textures, the colours, the smells and sounds from the very heart of the forest. Let each of your senses be your guide as you
follow our recommendations and enjoy the smells, colours and sounds of the forest.
You will be able to follow three different paths through the forest each of which will stimulate the senses.
1. Awaken your senses
Enjoy the humidity and smells of the forest.
There is a runway and a small terrace which has been adapted for the disabled.
Length: 340 m Difficulty level: low
Uneven ground: 6 m.
2. Be amazed
The route is circular and crosses the old road to Las Montañas. You will see where steps have been cut into the path. There is also a bridge and a high runway.
Length: 544 m Difficulty level: low
Uneven ground: 20 m.
3. What the ever-green forest has to hide
Discover the secret that the forest hides using your senses. This route, also circular is uphill and ramped with steps. It reaches the viewpoint at Llano de Los Loros.
Uneven ground: 6 m
Length: 340 m Difficulty level: low
2. THE SENDERO DE LOS SENTIDOS PROJECT
The footpath of the senses project is the result of collaboration between Turismo de Tenerife and the Department of Sustainability, Territory and the Environment of the Tenerife Island Authority (through the Management Office of the Anaga Rural Park).
It aims to:
– Bring the conventional tourist nearer to Tenerife’s active leisure options.
– Promote new tourism products and services
– Highlight local resources
It is part of the Revitalisation Plan for the tourism product, Tenerife Acoge, and it is financed by FEDER funds.
• 2.1 WHY THE SENSES
The best way to capture the magic of the mountain woodlands is to get close to them, explore them and perceive them for yourself, through your own sensitivity.
If you walk in silence, enjoying your sensations, you will have some very personal experiences.
Afterwards it will be easier for you to understand how unusual this very ancient forest is, a relic from millions of years ago, with so many unique species.
You will be able to better understand the history and customs of these places, of this pathway, the communication route from the Montañas de Anaga to the City of La Laguna.
It has been our wish to ensure that, at least in part, this should be a footpath accessible to all. It is adapted for persons of limited mobility but it is an invitation for every one of us to contemplate and sense the mountain in a different way.
• 2.2 A DYNAMIC PROJECT
The sendero de los sentidos is an open project, which aims not only to diversify and improve the way in which we feel and understand the countryside but it also aims to be a way of bringing people closer to the management of a piece of natural and cultural heritage: the Anaga Rural Park.
In this first phase, you can use the footpath freely, attending to certain guidelines.
There are currently two modes of use:
– The self-guided itinerary: using the leaflet and being guided by the signs and notices.
– The guided itinerary: we are working so that you can book through the Cruz del Carmen Visitors’ Centre.
Soon, through the Visitors’ Centre and the future Cruz del Carmen Service Multi-Store you will be able to buy other themed guides (booklets, thematic guides, audio-guides…) so that you can find out more about the natural and cultural heritage of the park, or as a memento of your visit.
This is also a project to which you can contribute. You can do so through the volunteer programme of the Anaga Rural Park.
You can take part in specific actions for conserving the natural and cultural heritage of the Anaga Rural Park: recuperation of footpaths, traditional routes, recovery of the oral tradition, actions of reforestation, etc.
2.3 GUIDELINES FOR USE OF THE FOOTPATH
General recommendations
The moist trade winds can make you feel quite cold so please bring some warm clothing.
Remember you are going through a very fragile environment. Please, walk through signposted routes and neither pull-up nor cut plants or any other natural element. If you touch any marked element, please do it carefully. Take with you all garbage, even organic waste. Even though the route is short, be at least accompanied by one person; wear appropriated clothes and shoes for trekking, as well as a hat, solar lotion and a slicker in case to be needed. When the path is wet you may find useful the use of a trekking pole. Carry some water with you.
Interesting details
The Path of Senses
3. TO FIND OUT MORE
3.1 Cruz del Carmen and the path
THE LOCATION OF CRUZ DEL CARMEN
Cruz del Carmen was a strategic centre of communication for, on the one hand, the inhabitants of Afur, el Batán, las Carboneras, Casas de la Cumbre and Taganana and, on the other, the old capital of the island, La Laguna. This was a meeting point and resting place where several paths coincided. From here, it was possible to take the camino real de los Loros (Los Loros Royal Bridleway) to go down to La Laguna, where the produce would be sold. It was also a stopping-place when the dead from the villages of Las Montañas were taken for burial in the cemetery in La Laguna This area was also a good place for the villages to exchange their produce. The residents of Las Carboneras would go up to Cruz del Carmen on Wednesdays and Sundays, with queues of people carrying charcoal, potatoes, cabbages and courgettes forming on the pathways.
THE CHAPEL OF CRUZ DEL CARMEN
A cross was set up at this crossroads in the year 1836 so as to bless the walkers and in the final quarter of the 19th century a small chapel was built on the site which had formerly been occupied by the cross, which can be seen on the left-hand side of the entrance to the chapel. Then in 1961, the chapel was built with the help of the Forest Ranger for the area who reached an agreement with the travellers that for each stone that they brought they would receive a bundle of firewood. The chapel devoted to the Virgen del Carmen was subsequently extended to the current size, including a clothed sculpture of little artistic merit.
THE CRUZ DEL CARMEN VIEWING POINT
It was constructed in 1934, together with the Jardina viewing point, once the road had been built from La Laguna to Cruz del Carmen. It is a semi-circular cobbled construction with a cement balustrade. At the edge, there is a semicircular closed pergola with eight columns. The viewing point is at the top of a set of stairs. In late 2010, a ramp was built to give access to persons of limited mobility. From the viewing point, if the atmospheric conditions are right, it is possible to enjoy an attractive view of the Vega Lagunera, Mount Teide and the Central Ridge of the island.
THE CRUZ DEL CARMEN VISITORS’ CENTRE
The Cruz del Carmen Visitors’ Centre was sponsored by the Canary Islands Government and was opened in 1995. It has a vestibule with a counter for attending to visitors, a central corridor and a hall, with an exhibition on the natural and cultural treasures of Anaga. The centre is located in the General Use Area of Cruz del Carmen, the main entry point to the Anaga Rural Park. The building is integrated into its setting and is surrounded by public woodland belonging to the municipal district of La Laguna. The outside walls are covered in stone. The entrance and the interior are accessible to all.
Flora
2. The Canarian Laurel Forest
Although traditionally, the term “laurisilva” was used (which was Latin for “Laurel Forest”) to denominate this woodland, which is peculiar to the Atlantic archipelagos of the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores, the term of “monteverde” is currently preferred. This is a kind of woodland which hundreds of thousands of years ago covered much of the Mediterranean Basin and disappeared in the area due to glaciations and desertification. Given the milder characteristics of the climate of the Atlantic Islands and the dominant presence of the trade winds, with their constant supply of moisture, woodlands which are authentic relics of the vegetation of past times persist in the mountainous areas. This is a type of subtropical cloud forest, which grows in moist areas that are warm and normally without frost, with large trees and climbing plants, whose leaves look like those of the laurel (broad, lanceolate leaves, that are tough and evergreen) from which the classical term of “laurisilva” is derived. One characteristic is the relatively limited interior luminosity of the woodland. The majority of species are adapted to the limited light, which also explains the intense green colour of the leaves. These species have different requirements, some are more pioneering and less demanding, they grow more rapidly (myrica faya, heathers) and create favourable conditions for the others, which predominate when the ecosystem has evolved. Others are more demanding, but grow more strongly and finally cover up the previous ones thus replacing them as the earlier ones require more light. The most characteristics trees of the evolved woodlands in this area are laurels, Portugal laurels, Madeira holly trees …
TREE SPECIES PRESENT IN THE CRUZ DEL CARMEN ENVIRONMENT
• Laurel (Laurus novocanariensis) Laurel
• Hija (Prunus lusitanica ssp. Hixa) Portugal laurel
• Faya (Myrica faya)
• Viñátigo (Persea indica)
• Acebiño (Ilex canariensis) Small-leaved holly
• Naranjero (Ilex perado ssp. Platyphylla) Madeira Holly
• Tejo (Erica scoparia)
• Follao (Viburnum rigidum) Canary snowball
• Palo blanco (Picconia excelsa)
• Sanguino (Rhamnus glandulosa)
OTHER COMMON PLANTS
• Capitana (Phyllis nobla)
• Morgallana (Ranunculus cortusifolius) Canary buttercup
• Algaritofe (Cedronella canariensis)
• Malfurada (Hypericum grandifolium)
• Flor de Mayo (Senecio webbi) White cineraria
• Cresta de gallo (Iisoplexis canariensis) Canary foxglove
• Gibalbera (Semele androgina)
• Hiedra (Hedera canariensis) Canary ivy
• Estornudera (Andryala pinnatifolia)
• Codeso de monte (Adenocarpus foliolosus)
• Reina de monte(Ixanthus viscosus) Laurel forest queen
Heritage
Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Siglo XIX)
Centro de Información Cruz del Carmen
Mirador de la Cruz del Carmen
Protection
Dentro del Parque Rural de Anaga Teléfonos de Interés:
Oficina de Información Parque Rural 922 633 576
Policía Local La Laguna 922 601 175
Puesto Cruz Roja 922 259 626 – 922 281 800
Guardia Civil 922 259 416 TITSA 922 531 300
Route details
| Position | Municipio de La Laguna |
|---|---|
| Start point | Cruz del Carmen |
| End point | Mirador Llano de los Loros |
| Distance | Route 1: 340 m.; Route 2: 544 m. and Route 3: 1272 m. |
| Duration | Route 1: 20 m. approx. ; Route 3: 1:30 h. approx. |
| Difficulty | Primer tramo: baja Segundo tramo: baja Tercer tramo: baja-media. Incluye tramos con pendiente acusada |
| Accessibility | TITSA bus routes |