Visit Mount Teide even if the Cable Car is closed
You are ready for your thrilling visit to Tenerife. You’ve heard about San Cristóbal de La Laguna, the sunsets at Tacoronte, the stunning views from Los Gigantes and, of course, the island’s great emblem: Mount Teide! However, just when you’re about to visit the highest peak in Spain and one of the world’s most amazing volcanoes, you find the Teide cable car closed. But don’t panic: it’s not the end of the world, and there are fascinating alternatives for a visit to Mount Teide even if the cable car is closed!
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Yes, you can visit Mount Teide even if the Teide cable car isn’t open. Fortunately, there are many different ways of discovering Mount Teide if the Teide cable car is closed on the day of your visit.
Whether you already have tickets, or you’ve forgotten to book them in advance, or the Teide cable car isn’t open today, below we give you all your options for visiting and enjoying Mount Teide before the end of your stay in Tenerife.
How will you know if the Teide cable car is closed?
If you’re ready to discover the world’s third largest volcano (measured from its base on the ocean bed) during your stay in Tenerife, your first step should be to check whether the Teide cable car is open today or closed, because certain weather conditions can lead to its closure. Then, check the weather forecast for Mount Teide, so that you can dress for the conditions.
And if it turns out that on the day you plan to visit Mount Teide the cable car is closed, go ahead and check out all the experiences we offer in this article, and which don’t depend on the Teide cable car being open, so that you can enjoy this Canary Island icon to the full.
What if you have tickets for the Teide cable car but it’s not open today?
Have you booked an experience with us and you don’t know what to do if the Teide cable car is closed? Or what if you need to cancel your booking for any reason, or to change the date of your booking? Don’t worry! Firstly, if you have tickets to visit Mount Teide but you’re unable to come, nothing could be easier than requesting a refund or a change of date free of charge (up to the deadline for free changes which you will find in the description of each activity), and enjoying one of the many other options.
Whatever the situation may be, there is always one single step to follow: change or cancel your booking from our “manage your booking” section by entering your booking reference number and the e-mail address you used to make the booking.
Alternative ways to visit Mount Teide if the Teide cable car is closed
If you’ve planned to visit Mount Teide but the Teide cable car is closed, there is absolutely no need to cancel your visit: you have a plethora of options for exploring this epic volcano and discovering all Mount Teide’s secrets in some other way. Don’t miss the best options:
Teide Legend and Teide Cable Car Visitors’ Centre
Nothing can beat a visit to the Teide Cable Car Visitors’ Centre, which can be accessed from any point on the island of Tenerife. From there, you can enjoy any of the various experiences we have designed to help you get the best from this magical volcano, including the Teide Legend experience. Read on, and discover the fascinating options we offer for your visit, even if Mt Teide is closed.
Teide Legend Tour
It is an audio-guided visit to go up Mount Teide by car that ends with the “Science and Legend” exhibition at the Teide Cable Car Visitors’ Centre, in which the characters of the legend of Guayota, the gods and the Guanches, put forward their version of the volcanological events that resulted in the great eruption of Mount Teide a thousand years ago, in opposition to the scientific explanation of the various stages of the eruption.
This comprehensive audio-guided tour (available for both Android and Apple devices) takes you along the main road access routes to Mount Teide from both the north and the south of the island and lets you start enjoying your visit to the National Park from the very moment you step out of your accommodation.
The audio guide included in the tour gives you access to information on the natural and cultural heritage of the island, and on points of interest you will pass on your chosen route to Mount Teide.
Unless all access roads to Mount Teide are closed on the day of your visit, Teide Legend Tour allows you to complete your ascent of Mount Teide even if the cable car is closed. So you won’t have to change your plans for the day on which you intend to visit Mount Teide, because none of the options we suggest require a cable car ascent.
Once you arrive at the Teide National Park, you will be fascinated by the informative explanations on volcanology, history and anthropology, as you learn about the Guanches, the island’s earliest inhabitants who worshipped the Teide volcano, and who believed its eruptions to be the expressions of the fury of the gods.
And there’s more! On your audio-guided tour of Teide routes, you will discover the very best viewpoints, where you can enjoy spectacular views, and trails which will lead you around Mount Teide while you learn about the typical flora and fauna of this protected natural setting.
Moreover, we have great news for visitors who book the Teide Legend Tour! When you purchase a single audio-guided Teide routes tour, all the members of your group can access the “Science and Legend” exhibition with you, free of charge.
Teide Legend Exhibition
In the Teide Cable Car Visitors’ Centre you will find the “Science and Legend” exhibition. The exhibition juxtaposes the mythological vision of the eruption that formed the peak at the summit of Mount Teide, through the legend of Guayota, the demon of the volcano, with the scientific interpretation of the different phases of that eruption that so terrified the Guanches.
The exhibition is housed in the Teide Cable Car Visitors’ Centre, where you will also find our official souvenir shop as well as Spain’s highest restaurant and snack bar.
Have you planned to book tickets for the cable car, but you also want to visit the “Science and Legend” exhibition? Well, book your cable car ticket direct, (which includes access to the exhibition) and live the legend!
In the “Science and Legend” exhibition, which is housed in an impressive setting, the characters of the legend of Guayota, the gods and the Guanches, put forward their version of the volcanological events that resulted in the great eruption of Mount Teide a thousand years ago, in opposition to the scientific explanation of the various stages of the eruption. Relive the experience of that eruption, 1,000 years ago, from the perspective of science and from that of the legend, comparing the various phases of the eruption from two apparently opposing, but closely connected, perspectives.
This action-packed story is brought to you by its own characters: Guayota, Achamán and Magec, the gods; and the Guanches: Tassat, the Mencey and the Guañameñe.
Gods and humans in the most epic legend about Mount Teide.
Did you know that the Guanches mummified their dead? Several Guanche mummies have been discovered in the Teide National Park, and you’ll see a replica of one of them in the exhibition! We will explain the process they undertook to preserve the dead.
We have great news for you if you’re travelling with children: admission to the exhibition is free for children up to the age of 13.
Once your visit to the exhibition is over, continue your tour of the Visitors’ Centre in our official souvenir shop, where you can find the perfect memento of your Teide Legend experience, and for the finishing touch to your visit, why not treat your taste buds with delicious local dishes in Spain’s highest restaurant-cafeteria, while enjoying extraordinary views of the National Park?
And remember that when you buy a ticket to the Teide Legend Exhibition, your entitled to a discount equivalent to the cost of your ticket on food and drink purchased in the restaurant and snack bar, or on purchases in the official souvenir shop. If the Teide cable car is not open today or on the day of our visit, this is a good alternative, wouldn’t you say?
Official souvenir shop
Take home a unique and legendary memento of your visit to Mount Teide. In our official shop, situated at the exit to the exhibition, you will find all kinds of souvenirs inspired by the Teide Legend.
How would you like a t-shirt or a coffee cup showing the characters from the legend of Guayota? Choose your favourite, and take a memento of the Teide legend home with you. You’ll also find caps, magnets, bracelets, and more.
Here’s a recommendation for the youngest children and fans of comics: you can give them a fantastic comic that tells the story of the eruption of Mount Teide in full colour. They will meet Guayota, the evil spirit of Mount Teide, and Achamán, the god of the skies. Who will win the battle?
Remember that when you book the Teide Legend Exhibition, you can use your ticket to claim a discount equivalent to the cost of your ticket on food and drink you purchase in the restaurant and snack bar, or on purchases in the official souvenir shop.
The Teleférico del Teide restaurant-snack bar—the highest in Spain
Of course, your visit to Mount Teide must finish on a “high note”. In the restaurant-cafeteria to be found at the exit of the souvenir shop, you can enjoy mouthwatering dishes prepared using local produce while you gaze out at the spectacular, panoramic views of the Teide National Park.
Remember that when you book the Teide Legend Exhibition, you can use your ticket as an equivalent discount voucher to be redeemed on food and drink you purchase in the restaurant and snack bar, or on purchases in the official souvenir shop.
Teide Tour Excursion without cable car
Whether you’re in Tenerife South (Costa Adeje, Playa de las Américas, Los Gigantes, Los Cristianos, El Médano or any other tourist resort in the south of the island), or in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife metropolitan area (Candelaria or Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife North), you can enjoy an excursion and a tour to Mount Teide without the cable car. All you have to do is to start the booking process and choose the “without cable car” option, and you can visit the Teide National Park in a sustainable way—by bus, and with an official guide who will tell you everything you want to know about this Tenerife icon.
Visit the Teide Observatory (daytime)
The Teide Observatory is a not-to-be-missed attraction on any day of the year, and especially if you’re visiting during daylight hours. This is because there’s so much more to Tenerife than the sun and the beach: there’s volcanology, active tourism, excitement and yes, the magic of exploring the world’s biggest solar observatory, which became operational in 1964, exactly one hundred years after the English astronomer Piazzi Smyth arrived in Tenerife on a scientific expedition.
Book your place today to visit the Teide Observatory during the daytime, and discover this amazing scientific centre, get to know its intricacies and the work of its researchers. Our guides will make you feel like a scientist for the day, because on this visit to the Teide Observatory:
- You will be introduced to the importance of the sky in the Canary Islands, the Tenerife Observatory telescopes and the different projects of the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics, the institution that manages this solar observatory.
- You will participate in a workshop on astrophysics given at the visitor centre, in which our guides will explain what astrophysics is and how astrophysicists work.
You will observe sunspots and solar flares through two solar telescopes, which you will have at your disposal to fully enjoy them.
- You will explore the inside of a nocturnal telescope and won’t leave until you know how it functions and learn about its exciting history.
Astronomic Tour (with a visit to the Observatory)
Would you prefer a 2-in-1 excursion for astronomy enthusiasts when you visit Mount Teide? Then our Astronomic Tour with a visit to the Observatory may interest you.
The Astronomic Tour of Teide is our 2-in-1 astronomical tour, which combines a Teide Observatory visit in the afternoon with a stargazing experience. Transport is also offered from various points on the island of Tenerife.
During this excursion, our Starlight guide accompanies you at all times, so that you can enjoy Mt Teide by night. But you’ll also be accompanied by nocturnal creatures. As the sun goes down, a change comes over the National Park. Creatures that are active during the daytime hide away, the nocturnal creatures emerge from their lairs, and the stars shine more brightly here than anywhere else!
Mount Teide Night Tour
As night falls, Mount Teide is transformed, revealing its full potential. And everything included in the “Teide by night” excursion confirms that. You will be thrilled to see how the landscape is transformed as you near the summit of Mount Teide on a sustainable visit by bus, seeing the sunset over one of the world’s biggest volcanic craters from a viewing point in the National Park, and finally, gazing at a sky where it is possible to see up to 83 of the world’s 88 known constellations—a unique, and ever more popular, experience.
You can also book an exclusive stargazing session from Mount Teide—one of the best skies in the world in this respect—in the company of our accredited astronomical guides and using long-range telescopes. In this case, you will need to make your own way to the place where our professional telescopes are located, in order to do your stargazing.
Viewing points
Discover Mount Teide by means of the fascinating viewing points that afford the finest panoramic views, and which are accessible whether or not the cable car is open on the day of your visit.
The Teide National Park includes astounding viewing points such as the Mirador Zapatilla de la Reina (8.4 km from the Teide Cable Car), the Mirador de Boca Tauce (10.8 km from the Cable Car) and the Mirador de las Narices del Teide (14.1 km from the Cable Car), in addition to many other viewing points over this arid landscape.
Check out the full list of the National Park’s best viewing points.
Trails
During your visit to Mount Teide, you can discover incomparable trails such as Arenas Negras [the name means ‘black sands’ in English], which leads from the El Portillo Visitors’ Centre. Remember that you can follow hiking trails from different points in the Teide National Park, where there is so much to see, even if the cable car is closed.
Other interesting activities
In a nutshell, as you can see, there are plenty of options for visiting Mount Teide with or without the cable car, or you can even climb Mount Teide without a permit, however unlikely that may seem. (Remember, though, that you cannot access the path that leads to the crater itself without the relevant access permit from the National Park.)
Remember that you can change or cancel your Teide Cable Car booking at any time, and free of charge if, when you check whether the cable car is working, you find that it is closed on the day of your visit. You can also visit the Teide Observatory, live the Teide Legend experience, visit the Teide Cable Car Visitors’ Centre, and enjoy all Mount Teide’s other attractions. Ah! And of course, you can visit the Teide Observatory with your children, and discover together all the secrets hidden high above the fascinating island of Tenerife.
