Ventana del Bentayga stone arch, interspecies kiss

Do you see a camel on the left and an elephant on the right?

The amusingly-shaped stone arch above is called Ventana del Bentayga, Window of Bentayga. If you are on the right level, Roque Bentayga rock formation can be seen through it. If you are slightly above the arch, as in one of the photos below, behind and above Bentayga and to its right small white houses of Artenara village are visible, and directly above it — the top of Tamadaba massif. On a good day, Teide is seen on the horizon, too. The height of the opening is about 4.5—5 metres.

Aserrador massif. Road GC-60 circling it, branch to Juncal goes to the left

I first saw this arch on a totally spectacular hike with Arawak in the beginning of this unfortunate year, where we have visited six arches altogether, if I remember correctly. Arawak is currently not doing any short hikes in Canaries, so I have to make do as best as I can, while waiting for them to restore their normal activity. I, together with many others, am hooked on hiking, of course, so not doing it is not an option. This beautiful hike can be done using the public transport — arriving to Tejeda village and using the only bus that passes through La Culata hamlet to go back.

View towards the center of the island from the the top of the ascent to the arch.
The military installation on the top of Pico de Las Nieves can be seen in the V shape formed by the dark rocks to the left

I provide the route we used below. There are other variations which can be found on wikiloc. I would like to note that the main almost-circular path Tejeda—Aserrador—(towards) Roque Nublo—La Culata is well-signposted, so the only tricky bit is to find the arch itself.

View downwards along the slope to the main path and the reservoir, almost empty at the moment.
The lighter-colored rocky area along which you have go up and down in lower edge centre, we mistakenly started to the left of it.

When you start in Tejeda, you first follow the road till you come to Cesta Monumental, wine basket made on metal, favourite photo spot for many. From there, you start following the signs to Aserrador, walking the path which runs parallel to the road GC-60 and above it till Cruz de Timagada landmark cross, then along it and then below it. There is no getting lost at this stage, and btw, this is one of the most beautiful almond blossom walks, when in season obviously. At the end of this stage, in about six kilometres from the start, you will find yourself directly below the Aserrador, on the small road that goes to Juncal de Tejeda. Return to the bigger road GC-60 and follow it, circling the Aserrador counter-clockwise, till you come to a bus shelter at the foot of Chimirique massif. From there, you have to start following the ascending path to Roque Nublo, once again very clearly signposted.

The window as seen from the path. To get Roque Bentayga framed properly, you need to go down.
Artenara above right, Mesa de Acusa plateau to the left

Now, the trickiest bit. There is no single obvious path to the window, but rather a network of possible paths that all go up. On both occasions — with Arawak and on our own — we started badly, turning off the main path too late and finding ourselves between bushes and small trees. Both times we’ve scrambled up somehow, eventually finding the right way, but somewhat scratched and worse for wear. Once above, though, the way can be seen quite clearly, and it is along a low rocky crest which is shown on one of the photos.

So. In less than a kilometre, you will see a small reservoir on your right. Start immediately looking for a rocky ascent, marked with cairns when we went, on your left. Don’t go where there is a lot of vegetation. Basically you need to go up any old how, and it’s the best to go on a relatively rocky surface, not between the bushes. In some places, there is no solid rock, just a slippery loose stones. Find where you feel the safest.

View through the arch. Altavista mountain far left

This time, there was a lot of cairns, and I mean A LOT. I do not remember so many cairns when we went with Arawak, so I suspect that one of the companies that still organises walks even now have put them there for their benefit in between. I know that some hikers remove the cairn markings. Not going too much into the reasons of those who mark and those who unmark, point is, you can’t count on the cairns being there, so check the routes beforehand, and be prepared to find an alternative way, as some paths you might find closed by small landslides.

Roque Nublo from the arch.
There are probably even lesser-known paths to it, but we weren’t inclined to try to find them, as we were afraid to miss the bus

Once you are up and facing a rocky outcrop, there is one obvious path that start circling it clockwise. Follow it for a few hundred metres. You will find Ventana del Bentayga on your right.

The orange line represents the leg Tejeda—Aserrador—Ventana del Bentayga, and the lilac one Ventana del Bentayga—Roque Nublo—La Culata

Once all the photos of the window and spectacular landscape around it were taken, we returned to the main path, retracing our steps. From there, once again, you can’t get lost.

It took us about five and a half hours, together with the ascent false start. According to various trackers, the whole route is between 14 and 17 kilometres, such large disparity probably explained by the difference in recording the ascents and descents, which accumulate quite a bit. I would qualify this hike as moderate, and not recommended for people with vertigo and/or no hiking experience. There are two steep ascents, both relatively short — one below Aserrador and one to the arch, and one steep and slippery descent from the arch. Take all this into account when you do your planning.

The star Attraction once again

The sunset version of the same walk must be spectacular, but you will need either to stay in Tejeda, La Culata or Ayacata, or forget the public transport and make it completely circular, coming back to Tejeda village, for example.

More pictures from around Tejeda and of stone arches on Shutterstock.