The road began to snake its way into the Guama Mountains and as the first sharp bend to the right approached, the car in front ground to a complete standstill, leaving us scrabbling to get into first gear before we stalled. Baffled by the need for the sudden halt as there was no other traffic on the road, we held our breath as the hire car rolled back to within uncomfortable distance of our bumper before the driver finally found the bite and resumed his excruciating journey, stuttering around hairpin bends as if he expected to drive off the cliff at any second and hitting a top speed of 2 kilometres per hour on the straight sections. Behind him, we barely got out of first gear until mercifully, he pulled off at the first viewpoint.
So dangerous and yet so safe.
Tenerife’s second most popular day trip destination it may be, but the vast majority of visitors who make it to the remote hamlet of Masca, do so by letting someone else do the driving. For those intrepid independents who hire a car on Tenerife and take the wheel themselves, the road to Masca is the island’s most notorious white knuckle drive, twisting and turning its way down the sheer side of a mountain in a series of gravity-defying switch backs.
Ironically, the road to Masca is actually one of the safest roads on Tenerife where accidents are a rarity, and that’s because everyone is driving so slowly that even if they make contact, there’s usually no more than a smudge on the bumper to show for it. But that’s not to say a plunge over the edge is beyond the realms of possibility, particularly given how badly some visitors drive this stretch of road.
The art of steering
In much of Europe, peoples’ daily commutes consist of road journeys that require very little in the way of steering wheel manipulation. From motorway lane changes to main road junctions, it’s a simple fact that many of us predominantly drive in straight lines. So, confronted with some of Tenerife’s narrow roads that zigzag their way up and down mountains, coupled with an unfamiliar car, your average driver has no notion of how to steer through the curves.
Having spent some time in the south west of the island yesterday, we had to detour to Buenavista del Norte on the way home to check out some details about one of our Island Walks and the quickest way to do that was via Masca. Unfortunately, we found ourselves behind this very nervous hire car driver. But he wasn’t the only dangerous element on the road yesterday, the way was littered with offending motorists.
Essential tips for driving the road to Masca
- Don’t use passing bays as car parks – you’re putting other drivers at risk. All the way down the road we saw stopping places used as parking spots with people posing for photos and even eating their sandwiches while their cars occupied the only space where two vehicles could pass.
- Follow the road markings which take you wide on left hand bends and hug the cliff on right hand bends, leaving space for oncoming vehicles to get past. The man we were stuck behind took every corner in the middle of the road, forcing oncoming traffic into the ditch or dangerously close to the edge.
- If a viewpoint is full, you can’t stop there. We saw two cars yesterday with their rear ends stuck half way across the road because they’d squeezed into spaces too small for their vehicles.
- Don’t arrive at 1pm and expect to get a parking spot. Masca is extremely popular, particularly between the hours of 11am and 3pm when the jeep safaris descend. It’s impossible to get a parking space anywhere nearer than El Palmar, and deciding to sit in your car in the middle of the little roundabout on the off chance that someone might be leaving soon is just plain silly – stop it.
Having said all of that, if you’re a confident driver, the road to Masca is a brilliant drive, provided you’re not unlucky enough to be behind the bloke in the hire car who, for all I know, may still be en route.
The road to Masca is part of the Hidden Depths drive in Real Tenerife Island Drives.
[…] wonderful old merchants’ trails through a valley that most tourists don’t go near; bad driving on the Masca road, how to serve an almogrote that most people like; a fainting wine […]
Your brief description attracting me to check my driving skill over there, any how thanks for posting about such a nice place.
Driving from Puerto de la Cruz back to Los Gigantes I took a wrong turn and ended up at Buenavista de Norte. Looking at my old fashioned paper map I discovered the road to Santiago del Teide, at night.
This took me on what I discovered next morning was the Masca road. Twists, turns, rocks in the road at hairpin bends and visions of tail lights high up the mountain ahead made this a very scary drive in my hire car. No I did not creep along but kept up a steady pace where I could see. Some nice drop off the side moments prevented by a few large boulders in the gaps.
The great thing about night driving is you can tell when a car is coming towards you in regions like this.
Thank god for old fashioned maps, had I taken a sat nav(GPS) I would never have discovered this road.
Hi John,
Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you, I’ve been globe trotting.
Yep, I can see how driving at night would make this road much easier in terms of seeing if any traffic’s heading your way. On the other hand, I’m not sure I fancy those hairpins in the dark!
You’re absolutely right about missing out on great drives with sat nav, but if you want to experience the best of Tenerife’s roads, get yourself a copy of Real Tenerife Island Drives (http://www.realtenerifeislanddrives.com/Island%20Drives.html ) and you won’t have to leave it to chance 😉
Thanks for the info on the drives(Realtenerifeislanddrives). We may visit again for our 5th wedding anniversary. I may do the Masca road in daylight and hire a motorbike to explore the roads to Teide.
Cheers, John
I have just returned from Tenerife (3/3/14) and drove on many of the islands winding steep roads. I hired a medium sized Skoda that had gears and steering suitably matched for the road conditions, and love every meter of it. I drove the Masca road too, and it was one of the holiday highlights! I do agree with Andy Mont’s story, as experienced similar situations, and that’s in the quieter time of the year.
[…] showing the dramatic hike on the site, Tenerife Guide. There is also an amusing account of Driving the Road to Masca on the Real Tenerife […]
My partner and I drove to Masca today and I can honestly say it was an absolutely beautiful valley, but the trip around the mountain somewhat spoilt the lovely experience as it was very scary, I don’t get frightened easily but that road trip was awful, I have never been so scared in my life. So if you have nerves of steel then I would recommend it, but if not steer clear!!
We drove the road past Masca in October 1990 when there were no safety barriers or road markings to be seen, just the occasional stone at the side of the road to mark the edge with a steep drop. We had taken a road trip with our two young children around the island and chose this route from a very basic map. As we got up into the hills with a beautiful sunset as a background we realised we were low on petrol. As the dark descended we saw someone in traditional clothing on a donkey (around where Masca is) and met one tourist bus – causing us some angst as it seemed to hang over the edge! Towards the end of our trip, as we reached the lower ground and could see the lights of the main road, our road disappeared and in the pitch black we had a few scary minutes driving through what seemed like a field until it seemed to reappear again! WE got to a petrol station on the main road just in time. That was a memorable trip. We repeated it in 2010 and the road is now much improved, much less scary and with safety barriers. No disappearing road this time, and we made sure to fill the tank!
What an amazing story, Christine! I’m so impressed with you and how you managed to stay so calm in the face of such uncertainty. Never again will the now ‘tame’ road to Masca seem scary! 🙂
Going to Tenerife in 2 days time and plan to drive there. I am a confident driver how does this compare to the drive to amalfi in the Italian coast if anyone has done both?
Hi Vidy, I haven’t specifically driven the Amalfi coast in Italy but I have driven mountain roads in Italy and there are similarities. As you’re a confident driver I don’t see you having any problems at all. Everyone takes it nice and slowly. Incidentally, the road to Masca from Santiago del Teide is closed for maintenance during working hours until the end of this month so you can only access Masca from Buenavista, at the weekend or after the working day (the last being pointless as everywhere will be shut!). Have a great holiday 🙂
Thank you andymont
The road to Masca through Teno is the scariest
I drove that horrible road in 1986. I remember chunks of it falling away as we were driving along, and the light was fading. It was absolutely terrifying. I got back to our hotel, had a drink and passed out!
Like Metal Rat, I drove that road in a Seat (Yes Se at) in 1985. Not paved, no barricades, huge boulders on the road. Easily the scariest drive of my life by far and I have driven many cliff-side roads in all parts of the world. Now it looks like a nice Sunday drive. In 1985, there was a sign in Masca that the road was actually closed, the problem is that we came from the other side.
Hi, I don’t know if posts are still being seen here, but I was wondering if anyone could comment on the best part of the day to actually arrive at Masca. I have read all the comments about it being very busy during the mid-day hours, esp. 11-3, so would it be better to arrive for sunset? Or does that make the return trip in the dark that much scarier? We have drivern the road to Hana on Maui, and I’m sensing similarities to the hairpin turns on high cliffs pattern…. We are in Costa Adeje right now, and I am planning our trip to Masca. Hoping for some much-needed advice… Thank you in advance.
Hi World Traveler, sorry for the delay getting back to you, we don’t use this site any more, we moved to the Real Tenerife site (http://therealtenerife.com/) many years ago. Masca is certainly at its busiest between the hours of 11am and 3pm when the jeep safaris descend into the village but you don’t have to wait until sunset to go, just time your visit to arrive around 4pm and you should have plenty of time to look around and still drive out before dark (around 7pm) as long as you’re not planning on doing the barranco walk! I personally wouldn’t recommend doing the drive out after dark. I hope I’m not too late for your planned trip – have a good one! Andrea
We took an early morning drive to Masca (7am) It was so worth it and the views from top to bottom are breathtaking . This was one of the highlights of our holiday , and yes it was a little scary but if you are thinking of going then go. You won’t be disappointed. Good luck finding the goat that you will hear but can’t see in the vast and beautiful valley. All in all a fantastic experience that we will never forget .
Lovely description. Thanks for sharing, Stephen.