Barranco de Masca to remain closed to walkers

The Barranco de Masca (Masca Gorge), which was damaged during the recent fire in Tenerife, had to be closed to the public. It's popular with walkers for the energetic little 3 hour stroll (read: difficult) from the village of Masca, down to the corresponding bay. Joe Cawley asked if it was still closed and, this is something that visitors will likely wish to know, so I asked a few questions today to find out the current situation.

The news is that the gorge is to remain closed, in both directions, until further notice.

There is a brief item about it at the Tenerife Tourism Corporation website, but I've also spoken to the town hall in Buenavista del Norte and to the Cabildo (Corporation)'s Oficina del Parque Rural de Teno (Teno Rural Park Management Office) at Los Pedregales, here in the El Palmar valley.

According to the management office, the decision to keep the gorge closed was taken by the mayor of Buenavista, Aurelio Abreu, because of the fire damage on the route and, therefore, to ensure public safety.

The recuperation of the Barranco de Masca is being treated as part of the overall restoration works, being coordinated by a special committee formed by the Tenerife Cabildo, the Canary Islands government and Buenavista council, as well as the residents of the hamlet of Masca themselves.

They are also taking this opportunity, not only to restore it to how it was, but to make improvements for visitors by installing a plan for controlled access, similar to that which is operated in the Barranco del Infierno (Hell's Ravine), in Adeje, where a small charge is levied, numbers of visitors are controlled and there are guide services available, by appointment, free of charge.

Adeje town hall website says that "The presence of guides is for reasons of security, protection of the surroundings and to give information to visitors over subjects such as the history, geological formation, flora, fauna, etc."

Masca's system, we can assume, will therefore be very similar.

The Rural Park Management Office were unable to tell me exactly when the Masca gorge is expected to reopen, although they did indicate that there may be more idea after a meeting at the end of September.

They seem to think that it's possible the gorge will be reopened before the end of the year, however, since the weather might not always be accommodating in winter, to be on the safe side, it may be best not to expect the gorge to be always accessible until next Spring/Summer.

If anyone will be able advise visitors better (in Spanish, English and German) it will be El Cardón who have the tourist information place in the Plaza de los Remedios in Buenavista del Norte and who organize outdoor nature activities in the area, including walks and the descent of the barranco.

This, of course, does not prevent visitors from seeing Masca village.

But, for the moment, you can only descend the Masca gorge by video - almost no energy required and only takes about 4 minutes too! :)

Video: Denscenso Barranco Masca (Filmed in June, 2007)

More about the barranco and the descent (in Spanish):
El Barranco de Masca: el descenso de un laberinto de roca
Senderismo en Tenerife: Barranco de Masca (Playa Masca)