How Long Does It Take to Climb Teide?

Here you have answered various questions related to climbing El Teide, like time for the climb, routes to the summit, access roads, clothes, etc. So keep reading.

Can you climb Mount Teide in a day?

As mentioned above, there are two ways how you can get to the summit, a hard way and a tourist easy way. In any case this can be done in one day. But if you climb from the road, it will be hard. So this will be a long day-tour.

I have climbed Teide 8 times in the past and I did this in all possible ways, from two available directions. You can read more about my climbs in detail in my separate texts.

To understand what to expect, if you start from the car parking which is at 2350 meters of elevation, see the details here, the elevation difference is 1368 meters. It may not look much, but bear in mind this is at high altitudes.

My fastest ascent from this place was in 3 hours and 15 minutes. But this is exceptionally fast, it is best to plan twice as much time.

⇒ Related: Climbing Mount Teide from Sea Level (0-4 Route)

Can you walk to the top of Mount Teide?

The answer is yes. There are two directions for this, one is from the south-east side (the link here describes this direction), and another is from the south-west side.

The latter has at least two start points, but your final access route will be from the south-west side (more in this link).

However, if you go from the top station of the cable car, you will have only 163 meters of elevation difference. You can do this in any shoes.

Note that you need a permit for the summit, more below.

Is climbing Teide difficult?

I mentioned two options, so it depends on what you do. If you go all the way from the road, which I warmly suggest, it is hard because of two reasons:

• This is a very harsh volcanic environment. Make sure you have good hiking boots for this. I was using Lowa Renegade in some of my tours.
• It is high. You will feel the altitude. If you are lucky, you may not develop altitude sickness. But if this happens, make sure you turn back and descend immediately. This cannot be predicted and it cannot be stopped if it starts. I did not have it in my first 5 climbs, but I had it on my 6th. No rule as you see.

How cold is it at the top of Teide? What should I wear?

It will depend on the weather. If it is windy you will feel very cold, but on a quiet day you may feel really pleasant on the summit. You cannot take a risk, so make sure you have clothes for winter conditions.

This implies a wind-proof jacket that will protect you from possible winds, a warm fleece as the layer underneath the jacket, a cap, and glove, etc. I remember that on my first climb, in the morning on the summit I could not stop trembling.

Can you climb Mount Teide without a permit?

A permit is required for the summit only. Otherwise you can go up to 3500 meters of elevations, and even traverse the mountain, and you will not need any permit.

But all the details related to the permit issue are given in my separate post, so please follow the link to read more.

Can you climb Teide at night?

The answer is yes. I have done this several times and those were my overnight tours. The purpose was to be on the summit to watch the sunrise.

I did this directly from the road, but this may be too hard if you are not used to it. There is a hut on the mountain and you may try to get a reservation, but it is usually fully booked several months in advance.

It can be cold so make sure you have warm clothing. More about this you can read in my separate text.

Here is a video of how this may look if you go for the sunrise, this person was enjoying it:

Does it rain on Teide?

Actually, from what I know this is rare. There can be storm on the island, and if you are on Teide in such moments, you may enjoy watching it from above. So if you are on the summit, you will be far above the clouds.

I have experienced it first-hand, and I could see how the summit pushes clouds away because of some peculiar upward air circulation.

But I have always had rain equipment with me. You will need it if it is raining below, you will be walking through the clouds and I mean this literally, see the picture below, this was a storm on the island:

Is there snow at the top of Mount Teide? Does Tenerife get snow?

Yes there can be snow on Teide, and this is usually in March. The snow normally does not stay long, it can be just a few days. The summit can be icy even if there is no snow, but this is also rare. I have climbed the mountain in winter time and in summer time and it was the same.

Is it safe to drive up Mount Teide?

The answer is yes, there are roads from four directions and they all lead to the great crater area which is more than 2000 meters above the sea level.

The roads are very good on the island in general. There are no fees on any road there.

How long is the cable car ride on Mount Teide?

I have never used it, but from what I can see around, this is around 10 minutes or so. Note that the lower cable car station is very crowded and it may be hard to park.

Cable car does not operate when it is windy so check weather conditions when you plan to go there.

What should I wear to Mt Teide in January?

There is no difference, January or July, it is the same. I discussed this issue above, this is a high mountain and it can be cold.

How do you get to cable car in Tenerife?

Here is a zoomable Google map with access roads, you will easily locate the lift station, it is accessible by car:

So these are some questions about Teide mountain which I found interesting and wanted to answer. I hope this will be useful to you. Can you climb Teide solo? You can read about this in my text about using a guide on Teide.

Read also my another on how much time you need to walk across Tenerife. You might want to check also my text about Mount Fuji.

If you plan to visit Tenerife, you can make reservation through Booking.com company. Let me know if you have questions, there is a comment box below. Thank you for reading and have a great day.