Both are possible, though access to the gorge trail and the road out to the Punta de Teno lighthouse is sometimes limited or requires arranging in advance, so it is worth checking current conditions before counting on either. Even without them, the miradors above Masca and the drive toward the Punta de Teno coastline still deliver some of the park's best views.
From Costa Adeje, Masca is around 37 km (23 miles), about an hour's drive once you add the mountain switchbacks. From Tenerife South Airport it is roughly 50 km (31 miles) to Masca and around 43 km (27 miles) to Los Gigantes. From Tenerife North Airport or Puerto de la Cruz, expect closer to 55 km (34 miles) to Masca, mostly on winding roads through the Teno massif.
Most visitors need a half to full day to do the park justice. A comfortable itinerary covers the scenic drive in, a stop at Masca to wander the village and viewpoints, time at the Los Gigantes cliffs or harbor, and a detour toward Punta de Teno if the road is open that day. Trying to fit in the gorge hike as well usually stretches the day, so it helps to prioritize based on what interests you most.
Teno Rural Park packs four distinct landscapes into one protected corner of northwest Tenerife: the volcanic cliffs of Los Gigantes rising straight from the Atlantic, the isolated mountain village of Masca tucked into a gorge, the wild coastline and lighthouse at Punta de Teno, and one of the island's last stretches of ancient laurel forest. Few day trips let you go from coastline to cloud forest to hairpin mountain roads in a single afternoon.
Monte del Agua is one of the last surviving laurisilva forests in the Canary Islands, a humid, moss-draped woodland whose plant species trace back tens of millions of years, long before the islands took their current shape. Trails wind through firetrees and giant heather between 600 and 1,200 m elevation, giving Teno Rural Park a completely different character from the sun-baked coast just a short drive away.
The TF-436 into Masca is one of Tenerife's most spectacular drives and one of its most demanding, with narrow lanes, steep drops, and near-constant hairpin turns and almost nowhere to pull over for photos. Parking in the village itself is very limited. A private transfer lets you take in the views and stop at viewpoints along the way without white-knuckling the wheel or hunting for a parking spot.
