This is one of three guidebooks that replaces Walking in the Canary Islands - West. An update to the original guidebook was planned, then shelved, as the authorities in the Canary Islands embarked on an ambitious plan to signpost and waymark a splendid network of trails across the entire archipelago. After a series of visits to keep a check on the developing trail network, all the routes were walked, photographed and mapped for this new guidebook.

Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, and home to the highest mountain on Spanish territory - El Teide - at 3718m (12,198ft). The centre of the island is a vast caldera, protected as a national park, boasting a splendid network of waymarked trails, ranging from easy to exceptionally rugged, and always wonderfully scenic. The extreme eastern and western peninsulas of Tenerife, Anaga and Teno, feature deep and rugged barrancos, along with uplands covered in laurisilva forest. Since the Spanish conquest of the island, a number of volcanoes have erupted, and some of these are visited on walks.

In recent years new trails were signposted and waymarked on Tenerife. These include the GR 131, which runs across the island from Arona to La Esperanza, passing through the national park in plain view of El Teide. This is one of seven stages of a route planned to cross all seven of the Canary Islands, and the trail across Tenerife can be completed in five days. Other stages of this long-distance route are marked across the islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. Shorter ‘PR’ routes, based on traditional paths and mule tracks, have also been cleared, restored and marked.

Tenerife is of course very popular with summer holidaymakers, but for walkers it offers a splendid winter destination, with enough walking routes available to cover several visits, with fine weather almost guaranteed. However, the high, central parts of the island do catch occasional snowfalls, completely transforming semi-desert landscapes.