The timing that catches people out
From Costa Adeje the 342 leaves at 09:25 and takes about 2 h 15, so you reach the park around 11:40. The return leaves the cable car at 15:40. That is roughly four hours on the mountain, and it is the whole plan: there is one bus up and one bus down. Miss the 15:40 and no later service is coming.
It also constrains the summit permit: arriving at 11:40 rules out the 09:00–11:00 slot, so book 13:00–15:00 and leave margin for the walk.
The cable car
Opening times
| Season | Opens | Last ascent | Last descent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan – 27 Mar | 09:00 | 16:00 | 16:50 |
| 1 Jul – 30 Sep | 09:00 | 17:40 | 18:30 |
The ride takes about 8 minutes to the top station at 3,555 m. Times vary through the year between these two extremes — check the operator for your exact date.
The number to write down is the last descent. Miss it and you are at 3,555 m at night, in the temperatures on our summit page.
Prices (return)
| Ticket | Return | One way |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, non-resident | €42.00 | €23.50 |
| Child, non-resident | €21.00 | — |
| Adult, Canary resident | €10.50 | €5.88 |
| Child, Canary resident | €5.25 | — |
Buses (guaguas)
Outbound
- Costa Adeje (Estación)09:25
- Los Cristianos09:40
Return
- Parador Nacional15:15
- Teleférico15:40
- El Portillo16:00
Outbound
- Puerto de la Cruz09:30
- La Orotava09:45
Return
- Parador de Turismo16:00
- Teleférico16:05
- El Portillo16:30
Sleeping up there: Altavista RefugeRefugio de Altavista — Open in Google Maps
The refuge sits at 3,260 m — 49 beds in three dormitories, reopened in July 2026 after a €1.9M refurbishment.
Booking the refuge automatically includes the permits for trails 7 and 10, with trail 10 (the summit) valid 06:00–09:00 the morning after your stay. The forum folklore that “you don’t need a permit before 9” has it backwards: the permit is included, and that is the window.
| Per night | € |
|---|---|
| Non-resident | €71.00 |
| Federated mountaineer | €56.80 |
| Tenerife resident | €29.00 |
One night maximum, online booking only. No bed linen — bring a sleeping bag.
Today’s forecast (AEMET)
This site gives you climatology — what usually happens. AEMET is the Spanish state weather agency and gives you the forecast — what will happen. Check theirs before you go up; ours is for deciding when to go, not whether to go today.
Open in Google Maps
Official links
What we could not confirm
The wind speed that closes the cable car
Still unconfirmed, and we will not guess. Secondary sources put it anywhere between 50 and 80 km/h, and the operator publishes nothing. A 30 km/h spread on the one number that decides whether you go up is not something to invent — use the probability of each band on our summit page instead.
Times, prices and timetables verified on 2026-08-09 against the operator and TITSA. These change: for a specific date, use the official links above rather than trusting our copy.