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Chanajiga in May with lots of flowers and butterflies
A view from the track as we were returning to the start.
My blog of 31st July, 2015, describes a walk from Chanajiga Recreation area high above Los Realejos in the Orotava valley. I love going there in the summer on a clear day to get the views and enjoy a shady walk. This year I went at the end of May when the flowers and insects were amazing. I was with my husband who is not a walker, but loves nature, so we just did a there and back walk on the lower track.
Canary Strawberry Tree (Arbutus canariensis) an endemic tree, showing its characteristic smooth red bark
On arriving at the barbecue area there is a wide part of the track where we parked, and then continued on the same track for as long as we felt like, returning the same way. It was a delightful walk. The photos below are some of the delights we saw.
Atlantic Islands Buttercup (Ranunculus cortusifolius) still in flower at the end of May
Large-leaved St John’s Wort (Hypericum grandifolium)
Small White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) on Canary Geranium flowers (Geranium reuteri
Spoon-leaved houseleek (Aeonium spathulatum) growing on the cliff at the side of the track
A Hummingbird Hawk-moth or Bee Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) feeding on Vipers Bugloss (Echium vulgare) Sorry the picture not clear! They don’t stay still! I saw several around this time in May, including in the National Park at the El Portillo botanic garden.
Pericallis cruenta – a relative of Cineraria
Canary houseleek (Aeonium canariense) on the rocky cliffs above the track
Canary Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa vulcania) on Echium strictum
Cardinal butterfly (Argynnis pandora) on Pitch plant flower (Psoralea bituminosa)
A nature walk in the dramatic Barranco de Badajoz, Guimar
Looking up the barranco as it narrows.
I have wanted to visit the Barranco de Badajoz for a long time as I was aware of its historical interest and biodiversity. However I always thought it was a rather short walk for my energetic walking friends, and too difficult underfoot for my less active friends. However, I was proved wrong on both counts when I finally visited it on Saturday, 19th March.
Approaching the canal bridge across the barranco after which the path becomes very rough
The Barranco de Badajoz is known historically for being the last stronghold of the resisting guanche population after the spanish invasion. However, I was interested more in the wide range of interesting and endemic plants that grow there. Usually such a barranco would be extremely difficult to walk up, due to large boulders, etc, but this was not the case until the last 100m or so before the end point where the barranco becomes almost vertical some hundreds of metres high.
The lush greenery where a side ravine joins the main barranco.
The path up the barranco is a driveable (4×4) track for a great part of the way, and then becomes an easy sand/gravel path until you reach a decaying and unused concrete water channel bridge overhead just below the Galeria Izana. Only then does the path deteriorate to a rubbly scramble through bramble bushes till you reach a very narrow gorge, only a couple of metres at its narrowest, where the cascade chain begins.
The final end to the trail, the narrow gorge through which the water gushes after a near vertical fall of 2-300m.
We began our walk from near the church in the village of San Juan in the Guimar valley where there are a number of parking places and a nice friendly little bar for our end of walk drinks. However, if we had wanted to shorten the walk further we could have driven a further kilometre to park on the side of the barranco itself, or even further than that.
A rare Canary endemic broom Teline osyroides
On entering the barranco it is fairly wide, with small farms either side on the slopes. Gradually as you walk up the barranco sides close in and get steeper and the farms get fewer and then disappear. Half way up the barranco is a concrete and cobbled ramp which takes you past a gallery entrance on the left and through a narrow gorge on a bend in the barranco. Afterwards the barranco widens again but from this point on, the richness of the plant life and the breathtaking scenery are amazing.
Flowers and leaves of Atlantic Island Buckthorn – Sanguino – (Rhamnus glandulosa)
Immediately after the gorge there is a group of evergreen small trees including Atlantic Islands buckthorn – Sanguino in spanish -(Rhamnus glandulosa), Spiny Buckthorn – Espinero – (Rhamnus crenulata), Canary maytenus – Peralillo – (Maytenus canariensis), and mixed in with them some Wild Olive (Olea europea). Also luxuriant growth of shrubs and climbers such as Shrubby Burnet – (Bencomia caudata), Forest Bindweed – Corregüelón de monte – (Convolvulus canariensis) and Madder – Azaigo de risco (Rubia peregrina ssp agostinhoi).
Canary Maytenus (Maytenus canariensis) and its fruits
At the sides of the path and tracks can be found Pinnate Rue (Ruta pinnata), False sages (Sideritis oroteneriffae), Viper’s Buglosses of two species (Echium virescens) and (Echium strictum), an endemic broom (Teline osyroides) and Canary St Johns Wort (Hypericum canariensis) among many other things.
Rough-leaved bugloss (Echium strictum) in a mass of vegetation – another Canary endemic
On the steep slopes are forests of ferns, lots of native sow thistles (Sonchus sp.), native Cinerarias (Pericallis sp.) and so much more. Even in the luxuriant brambles near the end of the trail an endemic of the stinging nettle family can be found (Urtica morifolia).
Pinnate Rue – Ruta pinnata – a Canary endemic.
The walk took us 3.5 hours at a leisurely pace with plenty of time to look at the plants. We walked 8.5 km / just over 5 miles and climbed approximately 310m on a gentle incline. As mentioned above, starting the walk 1km further on, and finishing a little sooner could have reduced the distance by 2-3 km, and, as it is a there and back walk one can walk as little or as much as desired. However, I do recommend going past the concrete and cobble ramp and through the gorge to see the best biodiversity.
The flowers of Shrubby Burnet (Bencomia caudata), a Macronesian (Atlantic islands) endemic
You can find various walks to the Barranco de Badajoz on the wikiloc.com site to help you get to the beginning. Clearly the higher reaches of the barranco with high vertical cliffs does not lend itself to accurate GPS tracks.
Vicia cirrhosa – an annual vetch which scrambles over other shrubs is another Canary endemic
The fantastic Masca Barranco
Our first view up the barranco after leaving the beach
I haven’t written in this blog about the Masca gorge, or barranco, and neither did I include it in my book ‘Tenerife Nature walks’ despite it being one of the most botanically interesting areas of Tenerife. One reason is that the gorge is very overcrowded with literally hundreds of people going both up and down, many of them not particularly suited to doing such an arduous walk, so I do not particularly want to encourage more. However, if you are interested in the botanical rarities which can be found in the gorge, and are fit enough to do the walk, it is a very rewarding experience.
Polycarpaea filifolia, a Canary endemic found near the bottom of the gorge. Photo taken Jan 2013
This time we decided to walk up the gorge, so we took the boat from Los Gigantes to Masca beach. It was nice to do it that way, but I think if you want to look at the plants, it is probably better to do the walk downward. I was struggling to keep up with my friends and did not have time to take good photos of most of the flowers I saw, so I have used some from previous visits. The gorge has tremendous biodiversity, but I have concentrated on the ones you are less likely to see elsewhere, when choosing the photos to put on this blog.
Dorycnium eriophthalmium, a rare Canary endemic shrub found a short way up from the beach. Photo taken March 2011.
I’m not going to describe the walk as once in one end of the gorge, the only way out is either the same way, or the other end! And while there may be various choices of paths in places in the barranco, you cannot get lost.
Walking up the gorge
As we went up the gorge, I am describing the plants in a bottom-up order. The first plant I was excited to see was Vieraea laevigata, a fresh green clump of a plant hanging from a side of the gorge, with yellow daisy flowers. It is a Tenerife endemic, confined largely to Teno, but a delight to see. Unfortunately, my photos did not come out!
Soon after I saw more than one dwarf shrub with soft filiform leaves and tiny white flowers, Polycarpaea filifolia.
The large distinctive leaves of Salvia Broussonetii, a Canary endemic which flowers late in summer.
Higher up, on a bend in the gorge where the path is a few feet above the streamed, I was surrounded by fresh green shrubs around 1 metre high with creamy white flowers. These are Dorycnium eriophthalmium, a rare Canary endemic.
Fruits and leaves of the tree/shrub Maytenus canariensis. These plants can be seen in various places up the gorge, but I did not see any flowers or fruit this time. Photo taken Jan 2013
I began to see clumps of large crinkly and hairy leaves, about 15cm / 6 inches across. I saw them in several places up the gorge. They are the leaves of Salvia broussonetii, a rare Tenerife endemic which is confined to the Teno and Anaga regions of the island. It flowers in late summer.
Teline osyroides, a Tenerife endemic of the broom family, largely confined to Teno and West Tenerife
Throughout the middle part of the gorge I came across several shrub-sized specimens of Maytenus canariensis which is known in Spanish as Peralillo, or little pear tree. This is because the leaves bear a resemblance to pear tree leaves, though they are stiffer and more waxy. The plant can grow to the size of a small tree. However, this year I was unable to see any flowers or fruit on them, so the photo is from 2013.
Another view of the dramatic gorge
Also in the middle part of the gorge, in various places, were the small upright shrubs of Teline osyroides, brightening up the valley with their yellow flowers.
Teucrium heterophyllum, a Macronesian endemic. Photo taken Jan 2013
Previously I have seen the flowers of Teucrium heterophyllum in the gorge, fairly near the top. It is a lax grey leaved shrub, and the flowers are hard to see, under the leaves. I did not see them this time.
Echium strictum, a canary endemic
As we started to emerge from the gorge into the sunshine just below Masca village, we saw some specimens of Echium strictum in flower. This isn’t the most striking of the tajinastes (as the Vipers Bugloss family is called in spanish), but still an interesting plant.
We walked up the gorge in 2.75 hours, including a lunch break, but I would have liked to spend a lot longer looking at the plants and flowers, so if that is what you like doing, allow plenty of time – there’s a lot to see!
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