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Teide - pico viejo

Volcano·SpainSpain

Pico viejo

3,135m

Summit weather

user:Sethaphopes · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
3,135m
Prominence
65m
Relief
1,601mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
37°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
NoneSee month by month ↓
Summit
28.2642°N, 16.6644°W

Mountain in Spain

Pico viejo is a volcano in Spain. Its summit stands 3,135 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 65 m.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,534 m), it rises 1,601 m. The steepest side is the north-west face: 17° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 37° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is La Guancha, 12 km away at 497 m: 2,638 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Pico viejo for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

7.6/10

Difficulty to the top

Mountain walk

Most path sections around the top are T3 on the SAC hiking scale.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 2.5/2.538 waymarked routes and 81 path sections nearby
  • 0.5/1.52 huts and shelters
  • 2.0/22,638 m of ascent from the valley
  • 0.8/1.565 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.512 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Snow

When there is snow on Pico viejo

In a normal year there is no snow on this mountain, not even at the summit.

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Pico viejo, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average September afternoon the summit reaches about 9 °C; on February nights it falls to about 1 °C. Afternoons at the top are above freezing in every month of the average year. In September the 0 °C line climbs to about 5,000 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, July is the driest month (2 mm) and December the wettest (44 mm).

1,000 m2,000 m3,000 m4,000 m5,000 mSUMMIT · 3,135 mLA GUANCHA · 497 mJanuary: 3,920 mFebruary: 3,840 mMarch: 3,900 mApril: 4,040 mMay: 4,260 mJune: 4,540 mJuly: 4,760 mAugust: 4,960 mSeptember: 5,000 mOctober: 4,860 mNovember: 4,480 mDecember: 4,160 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °CLa Guancha high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January42173,9202976.4
February41173,8403377.0
March42173,9002468.1
April42184,0401658.9
May63194,260829.5
June75204,540419.9
July86214,760209.2
August97224,960619.1
September97225,0001138.8
October96224,8602867.4
November75204,4804286.2
December53184,1604485.9

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 138 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.

West – east
3,135 m1,598 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
3,135 m1,063 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 15°NNE: 2°NEE: 0°ESE: 12°SES: 14°SSW: 10°SWW: 13°WNW: 17°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Pico viejo

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Pico viejo seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  • 2mountain huts and shelters

    Refugio los Viveros

  • 1cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways

    Teleférico del Teide

  • —ski areas
  • 38waymarked hiking routes

    Playa de El Socorro - Pico del Teide, Los Regatones Negros, Roques de García, Ucanca and 34 more

  • —via ferratas
  • 12climbing crags and routes

    Félix Méndez, Roques de García, La Catedral, Cañada del Capricho and 8 more

  • —named glaciers
  • 54viewpoints

    Mirador del Llano de Ucanca, Tabonal Negro, Mirador de Pico Viejo, Mirador de Zapatilla de la Reina and 50 more

  • 15campsites

    Zona de Acampada de Las Hayas, Campsite bivouac, Sunset Camp, Zona de bivac and 11 more

  • 9hotels, B&Bs and chalets

    Casa Finca Mortero, Finca Yugoslavia, Casa Vidal, Casa Rural La Campiña and 5 more

  • 18restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

81 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T2T3T4
  • T1 hiking
  • T2 mountain hiking
  • T3 demanding mountain hiking
  • T4 alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

  • La Guancha12 km · 497 m
  • Vilaflor12 km · 1,364 m
  • Guía de Isora13 km · 594 m
  • Icod de los Vinos13 km · 219 m
  • San Juan de la Rambla14 km · 99 m
  • Realejo Alto15 km · 390 m
  • Santiago del Teide15 km · 922 m
  • Garachico16 km · 19 m

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Aerial view of Chinyero volcano on Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain (48225248822)
dronepicr · CC BY 2.0
Around the volcano El Tide - panoramio
Aleš Makovec · CC BY-SA 3.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average444467899975
2020+0.3+2.0+0.4+0.7+0.8+0.7+0.3+0.1+0.3−0.2+0.9+0.1
2021+0.3+0.4+0.2+1.0+0.1−0.3−0.2+0.2+0.6±0.0−0.2+0.2
2022+1.0+1.1−0.1±0.0+0.8+0.1+0.4−0.2+0.1+0.2+1.2+1.8
2023+0.7±0.0+2.3+1.5+1.2+1.8+1.5+1.4+0.7+2.8+2.1+1.6
2024+2.6+2.5+1.1+2.3+0.8+0.3+0.3+0.2−0.5−0.1+1.7+0.9
2025+0.8+0.8+0.4+0.3+0.3+0.3+0.6+0.4+0.2+0.2+0.8−0.3

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q2092383) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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