Spain Aliasnamesake · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
243 metres, to scale.
A slice through Masca Gorge where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
243m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
4.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
44°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
0m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In September the afternoon reaches 25 °C on the floor, against 22 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from March to May and from December to January. The wettest months are from November to December.
- 20°16°Jan
- 19°16°Feb
- 20°16°Mar
- 20°17°Apr
- 22°18°May
- 23°20°Jun
- 24°21°Jul
- 25°22°Aug
- 25°22°Sep
- 24°21°Oct
- 23°19°Nov
- 21°18°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Valley in Spain
Masca Gorge is a canyon in Spain, cut by the Barranco de Masca river. The relief model measures 243 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 519 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 4.3 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Santiago del Teidenearest town · 3.4 km in a straight line
- El Agujeronearest viewpoint · 1.5 km from the floor
- Tenerife Sur Airport (TFS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 39 km in a straight lineCar hire at TFS airport (Tenerife)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From March to May and from December to Januarybest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
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.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 10 × 10 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 39viewpoints within 5 kmMirador Cherfe, cruz de los Misioneros, Masca mirador and 36 more
- 13marked hiking routes within 4 kmSantiago del Teide - Montaña Chinyero, Las Moradas, San José de los Llanos - Punta de Teno and 10 more
- 3footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmCamino del barranco de Masca
- 2caves within 3 km
- 11car parks within 3 km
- 20information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 6bus stops within 2 km
- 9campsites within 8 kmZona de Acampada de Los Pedregales, Zona de Acampada San José de los Llanos, Zonas de Acampada de Tenerife and 6 more
- 42hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLas Rosas, Landmar Costa Los Gigantes, Finca el Lance Rural apartments and 39 more
- 23restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Santiago del Teide3.4 km in a straight line
- Los Gigantes5.8 km in a straight line
- Los Silos8.6 km in a straight line
- Buenavista del Norte8.9 km in a straight line
- Tanque9.7 km in a straight line
- Guía de Isora12 km in a straight line
- Garachico12 km in a straight line
- Playa de San Juan13 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Masca Gorge.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Peakyas8 mountains within 15 km
Coastya11 beaches within 15 kmFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 20 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 21 |
| Afternoon · rim | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 18 |
| Night · rim | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 16 |
| Rain (mm) | 29 | 33 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 28 | 42 | 44 |
| Rainy days | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Sun hours/day | 6.4 | 7.0 | 8.1 | 8.9 | 9.5 | 9.9 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 8.8 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 5.9 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20 | 16 | 14 | 29 | 6.4 |
| Feb | 19 | 16 | 14 | 33 | 7.0 |
| Mar | 20 | 16 | 14 | 24 | 8.1 |
| Apr | 20 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 8.9 |
| May | 22 | 18 | 16 | 8 | 9.5 |
| Jun | 23 | 20 | 17 | 4 | 9.9 |
| Jul | 24 | 21 | 18 | 2 | 9.2 |
| Aug | 25 | 22 | 19 | 6 | 9.1 |
| Sep | 25 | 22 | 20 | 11 | 8.8 |
| Oct | 24 | 21 | 19 | 28 | 7.4 |
| Nov | 23 | 19 | 17 | 42 | 6.2 |
| Dec | 21 | 18 | 16 | 44 | 5.9 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (0 m) and the rim (519 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 10% | 30% | 33% | 59% | 31% | — | — | 5% | 133% | 57% | 64% | 24% |
| 2021 | 171% | 27% | 215% | 46% | 80% | — | — | 11% | 33% | 12% | 87% | 31% |
| 2022 | 78% | 76% | 52% | 44% | 111% | — | — | 100% | 389% | 35% | 9% | 104% |
| 2023 | 17% | 35% | 8% | 15% | 35% | — | — | 200% | 28% | 47% | 39% | 58% |
| 2024 | 38% | 34% | 45% | 31% | 57% | — | — | 34% | 39% | 35% | 62% | 108% |
| 2025 | 24% | 17% | 41% | 63% | 27% | — | — | 55% | 97% | 54% | 58% | 35% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Masca Gorge
Spain
- 243 mDepth
- 4.3 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 44°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q19605621) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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