Faneque, the first attempt

Faneque, as seen from Tamadaba campsite viewpoints. Teide floating serenely on his cushion of clouds

Faneque, the tallest above-sea cliff in Europe, is always very prominent when you are in the northwest of Gran Canaria. It looks infinitely majestic and quite, quite forbidding. The side view gives you an impression of a series of three plateaus, separated by sharp V-shaped drops. Plus, people always talk about “the last platform” or “the last point”, which contributes to the same impression. It’s not really true, of which later.

The last platform is indeed not really accessible without equipment.

We were looking at it for the longest time, thinking and hoping that after nearly two years of inactivity our favourite hiking group would restart its activities and then we could go there with them. Sadly, it looks like there is no chance of that, at least just yet. Then, while preparing on our visit to Altavista (which was spectacular, btw, and I am planning to write that up, too), and browsing through the info on wikiloc, I spotted a route which mentioned Faneque and was marked, to my surprise, as “moderate”.

The small village below is El Risco, and the sharp light-colored cape to the right, where you can see the waves breaking, is La Punta de Las Arenas

Further reading showed that it was only marked as moderate because in one place you need to scramble up a bit, a few meters’ ascent that I would hesitate to even call climbing. You have to go down the same bit on your way back. Apart from that, the user who uploaded the route was qualifying it as “easy”! Yes, you won’t be able to proudly stand on the last plateau of Faneque, you could only approach and look at the crevice separating it from the rest of the crest, but it looked like a good start.

As you walk along the crest, views open up on both sides. Here you can see, clockwise, Puerto de Las Nieves, Sartdina del Norte and the conical mountain of Gáldar.

That was a point of no return, we just had to do it. And, I am happy to confirm, that the route is indeed easy, if you handle the heights well. The drop could be rather sharp, so if you suffer from vertigo, best not to attempt the last stretch of the walk. You can still have beautiful views from a safe place.

The route we chose makes a circular out of what is essentially a linear walk. That is to say, if you do not wish to go though the camping area of Tamadaba, you can simply launch towards the tip of Faneque from the car park, but then you will miss the best views of the cliff itself — similar to the ones in the first two pictures.

View from the Las Lechugas viewpoint to the tip of Faneque

One more veering from the beeline is a viewpoint, Morro de Las Lechugas. The crest it sits on sticks at a slight angle from the main one. When seen from the side, it blends with the Faneque crest, making one of the platforms I mentioned in the beginning. There is a trig point at the end of it, and the views are amazing.

View down and north. Shadow rays are just about visible over the ocean

We went to Morro de Las Lechugas first and then re-took the direct path to Faneque. You can pass through the viewpoint on your way back, or, once again, ignore it altogether thus shortening the route somewhat. However, I’d advise a visit, it’s beautiful.

Looking back to the Morro de Las Lechugas as we went on, we noticed two people in the place we’d just been. And two rocky gorilla profiles with open mouths, one forming part of the other. Can you see them?

After we passed Morro de Las Lechugas, the only relatively tricky bit of the path came up. First, you have to pass along a narrow crest joining two rocky outcrops. The pass is not difficult, but the drop on each side is sharp. And then comes the ascent of maybe 4 meters where you need to use your hands. This is the only stretch that places this route into the “moderate” category.

And there you have it. El Risco village to the left, the final (unpassed by us yet) crevice just down, and the point of Faneque to the right.

The little platform on the top is waiting for us to come back.

The whole path is well visible, and there are some official and unofficial markers along the way. Unless you start your walk in severe fog, which is not advisable in any case, there will be no problem finding your way.

The view north from the point where we couldn’t go any further. The pine tree grows on the edge of the flat platform.

So, the walk is relatively easy and short. Getting to the start of the route is more problematic. Public transport can bring you to Artenara, but from there you are faced with a choice of walking to Tamadaba (which will add another 10 km each way), or taking a taxi, which could be difficult too, there aren’t many. So the only viable options are to drive or to join an organized walk with transport included. If the camping site in Tamadaba, which was shut down after the wildfire in 2019, reopens some day, there will be the option of walking there, camping and doing a walk from the camp, but right now this is sadly not possible.

Morro de Las Lechugas from the final point of the walk, Tamadaba massif in the background.

Fortunately, organized activities seem to be coming back to life somewhat, so you should be able to find the way.

View back towards Teide on our way to the car. The pine tree most likely burned in 2019

We ended up walking almost exactly 10 kilometers, slightly longer than it specifies in the route description, but otherwise it closely corresponds to our experience.

BTW, they are tunneling in Faneque right now, making a shortcut on the very tricky Agaete — La Aldea road. It is very much needed, of course, La Aldea is still extremely isolated and difficult to get to and out of, especially in emergency situations. Still, I find the thought of it a bit frightening. All this rock on top of a man-made tunnel.

Well, that’s it. We’re hoping to return some day and complete the experience, getting to the last platform, but I’d much rather do it with a guide familiar with the route. If we manage to do it, I will write it up too.

Tamadaba bracken in autumnal glory