Tenerife is not an island of mighty rivers. It could be said that there is plenty of water, at least salty, with that of the infinite Atlantic that surrounds it. On the other hand, it is the territory of streams, which run somewhat more generously and cheerfully when the rain makes its appearance. And, of course, also of waterfalls, which look tall, slender and imposing when overcoming the unevenness that hinders their search for the sea.
They hide in remote places, between the slopes of mountains or, as is the case, at the bottom to the right of a ravine, the ravine of Hell. Located in the southwest of Tenerife, in the town of Adeje, its beginning can be reached in the same way that you will walk its path: on foot and with prior reservation.
The first thing, because, unless you go very early, you will not be able to park near the gate of the enclosure. You will have to retrace your steps, maneuvering backwards and downhill, with a considerable degree of slope before you. You can leave your car in the car parks on Carrer de la Viña or in Tagoror.
Second, because when you walk through the Barranco del Infierno you will be walking through a special nature reserve that only 20 people can access every 30 minutes. The entrance has a cost of 11 euros per adult (over 12 years) not resident on the island.
Don't be scared by his name. It is true that it comes from the abruptness of the terrain, but it is also true that its 6.5 kilometers, between the outward journey and the return, will only take you about three and a half hours and that the route is suitable for children from five years of age.
Of course, keep in mind that these data do not exempt you from wearing suitable footwear for walking on stony terrain, water in the backpack to avoid dehydration; chocolates, nuts or sandwiches to recharge your batteries; sun protection and always put on your head the helmet that will be given to you before starting the route. Remember that you will be traveling along the slope and the bed of a ravine where landslides can occur.
This route begins in Adeje, in the upper part of Calle de los Molinos, and it does so by playing distraction, unfolding before you an old shepherd's path that, due to its layout, manages to hide the unevenness that you will have to overcome for a few meters .
It will not last long, the confusion, because this ravine is traveled along paths where the sun beats down, by stairs carved in the stone that will put your legs to the test and crossing small bridges over a stream that will give you clues of what awaits you in the end.
In between, there will be no shortage of obligatory viewpoints, those points where the spectacular landscape grows: rock walls and vegetation on one side; Adeje and, in the distance, the sea, to the other.
Before a mountain one feels small, entering a gorge you will feel tiny. Without realizing it, you will leave the sun behind, you will go down the slope, you will enter a shaded area and, suddenly, you will find yourself in La Cogedera, the only point on the path where, being in an open space and away from the rock walls, it is allowed to stop for a long time to rest. Get your strength back
Then, before you, the other half of the route, the one that runs through the deepest part of the ravine and farthest from the coast, next to the riverbed and between some vertical walls that, because they are so high, you will feel that they are looming over you. Pay attention to the ground: in this section, you will step on the oldest rocks in the place, those with which the water has not been able to.
Do not be surprised if at times you feel that you are taking a different route. This is what the Hell ravine has, which changes its appearance depending on the daylight, the weather or the season in which you visit it. But, above all, it changes its appearance as the landscape gains altitude.
And it is that the temperature and rainfall will condition the vegetation that comes your way. The picturesque and striking silhouettes of cardonal-tabaibal, accustomed to the heat and aridity of the lower areas, will give way to shrubs, wild jasmine and dragon trees in the middle parts and to the Canarian pine in the higher parts. It is this species that captures the moisture from the fog with its leaves to allow it to fall to the ground in the form of water and thus supply the aquifers.
Between the months of November and May, you will be struck by some orange flowers that, solitary, dot the landscape. Admire it well, it is the Canarian bellflower and it is endemic to the archipelago. The same will happen with the fauna, which changes depending on the area of the route in which you are. In the Hell ravine they have 40 species of vertebrates located, among which, for how easy it is to detect them in the sky, birds of prey such as the hawk, the raven, the common kestrel or the eagle. You will see them, high up, hovering over the gorge. There will also be turtle doves, hoopoes, canaries or robins and, whether on land or in the water, black lizards or frogs.
And so, immersed in nature, with a silence only interrupted by the chirping of the birds and the sound of your footsteps in the sand, you probably forget that the reason for your excursion was to find a waterfall. Until you run into her, of course.
It appears suddenly, at the last right turn, at the end of a small rock ramp. It is high, as much as its 200 meters of height that the water saves by letting itself fall, between cavities, until it is lost in a small crystalline lagoon. Hypnotic and relaxing, the culmination of a route that still has the ace up its sleeve on the way back to surprise you.
