Staying overnight in the Refuge on Mount Teide

The Refuge cannot be held responsible for guests' personal belongings.

Download the refuge rules and take them with you.

Rules which must be observed by anyone using the Refugio’s facilities.

The following is expressly prohibited:

• Lighting fires or candles, smoking, or using or handling any oxidising or combustible material that could pose a fire risk in any indoor or outdoor area of the Refuge, or in its immediate vicinity.
• Consuming and/or selling spirits or alcoholic drinks within the premises and in the immediate vicinity outside them.
• Moving furniture or belongings from their usual places and taking any materials intended for use inside the premises outside.
• Operating any audio equipment which, in the opinion of the refuge staff, might cause a disturbance to other users.
• Entering areas for private use reserved exclusively for Refuge staff, or areas restricted to guests (lounge, kitchen and bedrooms), without having an overnight booking.
• Carrying out any activity on the premises other than those for which the Refuge is intended.
• Stacking materials or blocking access points in a way that could prevent people from leaving the refuge immediately in the event of an emergency.
• Staying overnight or camping outside and in the immediate vicinity of the refuge.
• Using drones for recreational or private purposes throughout the Teide National Park.
• Leaving rubbish and waste on the refuge premises or anywhere within Teide National Park.

Additional rules for overnight guests:

In addition to the above, guests staying at the Refuge must also adhere to rules regarding the use of the facilities, good relations between guests and respect for Refuge staff.

The following are expressly prohibited:

• Cooking on the premises.
• Entering the bedrooms before 7 pm and sleeping in the communal areas.
• Failing to respect other guests’ right to rest. Absolute silence must be observed from 10 pm until 6:30 am the following day.
• Guests must not remain in their rooms after 8 am, except in the event of sudden illness or other impediment; such cases must be reported to the refuge staff.
• Leaving rubbish at the refuge is prohibited, as is leaving the sleeping bag required for overnight stays, which guests must take with them.

• Ensure the conservation of the refuge and use of its facilities, equipment and services appropriately.
• Use the refuge’s electricity and water resources sensibly, as it is not connected to the mains supply; you must comply at all times with the instructions and any restrictions issued by the refuge staff.
• Follow any instructions given to you at any time by refuge staff in order to ensure the safety of guests and a harmonious atmosphere, as well as to ensure the upkeep and smooth running of the facility.
• Show ID to stay overnight at the refuge. You must bring:
  • Valid proof of booking and ID (DNI, NIE or Passport) must be shown to stay overnight at Altavista Refuge, even for minors. All guests must check in, either in advance online or, failing that, directly at the Refuge.
  • Proof of Tenerife resident status or membership of the Spanish Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing (FEDME) will be required to receive the applicable discounts.

Mandatory equipment for accessing the mountain trails on foot and staying at the Refuge 

Hikers, mountaineers and visitors must carry the basic mandatory equipment to comply with the regulations for accessing the summit trails on foot, including appropriate footwear, warm, weatherproof clothing and other essential items to handle the potential risks high in the mountains, especially during the winter. This equipment includes: suitable hiking shoes, warm and weatherproof clothing, long trousers, a hat and gloves (especially in winter), a thermal blanket, water, food for energy, a fully charged mobile phone and a headlamp or torch. If you do not bring this mandatory equipment, Park staff will be forced to prevent you from accessing the trails.

To stay overnight in Altavista Refuge on Mount Teide, you must bring your own sleeping bag.

Specifications regarding footwear and clothing for accessing the trails:

• Appropriate footwear is mandatory. In other words, it is essential to wear hiking boots, ideally high-top ones, or closed-toe trekking shoes with good grip and support, and a non-slip, grippy sole. For safety reasons, it is expressly forbidden to wear heels, wedges, platforms, loafers and shoes with smooth soles or open-toes/heels.
• Warm, weatherproof clothing and a thermal blanket are compulsory. It is compulsory to bring a thermal jacket or equivalent, even in summer, and a hat and gloves in winter. Access to the trails will be denied to those wearing shorts or short sleeves who do not have additional warm clothing. Wearing the appropriate clothing is essential due to potential low temperatures and the risks associated with high altitude and the mountains. Find out more here.
• If you are planning to use hiking poles, please note that, under the Teide National Park Master Plan for Use and Management (PRUG), poles with metal tips are not permitted anywhere within the park, even when the tips are covered with rubber caps or similar protective materials.
• Should the Montaña Blanca (number 7) and Telesforo Bravo (number 10) trails be closed because of a decision to introduce preventive measures due to ice and snow, access will only be permitted to expert mountaineers who sign a declaration of responsibility. Participants must sign a declaration of responsibility and wear technical winter clothing, 10- or 12-point crampons suitable for the footwear being worn, and ice axes. Further information is available at TenerifeON. 

For your safety during your stay at the refuge your must:

• Wear warm clothing and footwear suitable for the mountains, even in summer. Only bring what you need, so as not to overload your backpack. Please note that water, soft drinks, hot drinks and non-perishable food can be purchased from our vending machines at the refuge. If you wish, you can bring your own food and heat it up in the Refuge kitchen.
• Protect yourself from the sun with sunglasses, a hat and sunscreen.
• Carry sufficient water with you during the ascent and/or descent. If you need to stock up on water, please note that, although we have vending machines carrying water at the refuge, you will need coins or a credit or debit card to use them (banknotes are not accepted).
• If you notice any symptoms of altitude sickness, start your descent as soon as possible.
• For serious illness, please call 112, the emergency telephone number.
• Remember that although our facilities have toilets, there are no showers.
• Always act prudently and at your own risk.

Altavista Refuge bookings can be changed up to 72 hours before the check-in deadline of your overnight stay (10 pm GMT), at the same rate as the contracted rate, on the Manage your booking page. 

After this date, no changes can be made. Any changes made will not be eligible for a refund.

maximum number of changes allowed during the 12 months following your initial purchase is three.

If you do not use your booking on the contracted date, this will result in the loss of user rights.

No refunds are available for cancellations. Given the high demand for stays and the limited places available, if you are unable to use your reservation, please cancel it on the Manage your booking page at least 72 hours before the date of your visit, so that someone else can make use of it. 

If weather conditions do not allow for Altavista Refuge to be opened (for example, due to the closure of the trails that lead to it), we will email you to notify you of the closure with the option to change the date of your reservation, subject to availability. If you do not change the date, the full amount of the booking will be refunded. To receive your refund you must request it on the Manage your booking page. 

Facilities at Altavista Refuge 

The site is made up of two buildings separated by a common courtyard and with a terrace on the front overlooking Las Cañadas del Teide (the volcanic craters and plateau).

The main building consists of:

• A sleeping area with 39 beds divided into two floors (26 on the ground floor and 13 on the upper floor).
• A first aid area.
• A space for relaxing with a fireplace and a dining area (with microwaves and a fridge, only available to guests with an overnight booking).
• A lobby and reception.
• A unisex toilet (no shower).
• A covered porch.
• A terrace.

The outbuilding consists of:

• A sleeping area with 10 beds.
• Two toilets (no shower).
• An equipment room.  

*The refuge has a registration book, an incident book and a complaints book

Restaurant/Cafeteria 

Your reservation at Altavista Refuge on Mount Teide does not include restaurant services. However, you can purchase drinks and non-perishable snacks from our vending machines. The refuge also has a kitchen where guests can heat food they have brought with them.

Toilets 

There are two toilets, but no showers.

Parking 

The refuge can only be reached on foot. Given its location, it does not have a car park.

You can park in the small car park at the start of the Montaña Blanca trail, or, if you’re taking the cable car up, in the car park at the Visitor Centre, check the opening and closing times for the visitor centre here.

Although you can leave your car in the cable car car park if you wish, please remember that if you are going to walk up or down the Montaña Blanca trail to the Refuge, you will need to walk 3.6 km all the way along a path running parallel to the road (trail 39),(the road is not open to pedestrians as it is too dangerous).

The best option is to use public transport as far as possible. Various bus lines run by the public company, Titsa, stop at the cable car and at the Montaña Blanca trail. You can find details of the routes in getting here.

If you are using your own transport, we advise against leaving any belongings and valuables in your car, whether you're parking at the cable car or the Montaña Blanca car park.

The cost of your stay goes directly towards conservation and safety costs at Altavista Refuge.

There are special rates for Tenerife residents and members of the Spanish Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing (FEDME). Documentation proving this status will be required. If you cannot show proof on arrival, you will need to pay the price difference at the refuge to be able to stay overnight and not forfeit your booking.

You must take care of and respect the facilities at Altavista Refuge, along with the surroundings and the National Park as a whole. You are in a protected natural area.

Altavista Refuge promotes respect for the natural environment, the responsible management of waste. Visitors should take their rubbish with them and use resources like water responsibly as the refuge is not connected to water supply networks. Please also bear in mind that the regulations prohibit camping on Mount Teide.

The refuge is located within a protected National Park, i.e. a vulnerable area and, therefore, you must follow a series of simple rules of good conduct and respect for the natural environment, for example: don't litter or pick up stones, plants or animals. Please remember that it is not permitted to light fires, make loud noises, stray from the marked paths, feed the wildlife or camp.

1- If you plan to take the cable car up or down as part of your night at the Refuge

Important: As the ascent and descent will take place on different days, you must not purchase the combined ascent and descent ticket. This ticket is only valid when both journeys are made on the same day. In your case, you must purchase two single-journey tickets (one for the ascent and one for the descent), following the instructions set out below. Otherwise, you will lose the descent journey included in the combined ticket and will have to buy a new ticket for the descent.

• You can book your ticket for the ascent in advance an the official Teide Cable Car website, preferably choosing sessions after 3 pm.
• You can only book your descent ticket at the top station on the day you are going to use it (advance bookings are not allowed for this type of ticket as they are subject to the cable car running on the day), simply scan the QR code at the station. You can pay for your ticket with a credit or debit card. No cash payments.

The cable car may not be running on the way up or down due to weather conditions or force majeure. Please bear in mind that you may have to walk up and down trail no. 7 (Montaña Blanca).

If you book a cable car ride and the cable car is not running on the day of your visit, the company will notify you and offer the option to change your reservation date or cancel it, free of charge.

2- Booking access to the Mount Teide trails 

An overnight booking at Altavista Refuge includes the permits required for the following trails: PNT 07 Montaña Blanca – La Rambleta (upper station of the cable car) and/or PNT 10 Telesforo Bravo, these will be processed on your behalf with the relevant public authority, namely the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife. This means that an overnight stay at the refuge entitles you to access as detailed below (you will need to present your booking confirmation at the checkpoints):

• Access to the relevant section of Montaña Blanca trail no. 7 between 3 pm and midnight on the day of your overnight stay (you must check in before 10 pm) and between 9 am and 12 pm on the day immediately after your booking.
• Access Telesforo Bravo to Pico del Teide trail no. 10, from 6 am to 9 am on the day immediately after your booking.

Access to these footpaths is regulated by the Tenerife Island Council via the website TenerifeON. 

Please remember that you do not need to apply for permits yourself, as these are included in the Refuge booking and that you must take into account all the mandatory equipment required by TenerifeON to use these routes.

The Altavista del Teide mountain refuge, situated at an altitude of over 3,200 metres, dates back to 1892, the year in which the first building was erected. Since 1950 it has been managed by the Tenerife Island Council; and, after several decades of use, it underwent a comprehensive refurbishment in 2007 to bring it in line with current requirements.

In 2026, a new renovation was completed, positioning the refuge as a benchmark for sustainability and safety in high mountain constructions.

Did you know that this refuge was born to provide shelter for scientists and researchers who needed a safe place to carry out their work?

Researchers such as George Glas and Robert Edward Alison had already pointed out the potential of the site, but it was the Scottish astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth who, in the summer of 1856, first settled here to carry out his studies.

Years later, in 1891, the English naturalist and photographer George Graham Toler, decided to improve the existing primitive facilities after experiencing the harsh conditions of spending the night at altitude.

Altavista Refuge then became a major site for observing nature and the sky, and it has remained so to this day.

But why was Mount Teide chosen as the location for a mountain refuge?

Tenerife's extraordinary conditions for astronomical and atmospheric research were recognised as early as the 18th century.

The purity of the sky, the stability of the climate and the ability to make observations at high altitude attracted numerous scientists, especially foreigners, who took advantage of their trips to the island to climb Mount Teide and carry out measurements and studies.

Most notably, Charles Piazzi Smyth. For a fortnight in the summer of 1856 he stayed in the area to carry out his observations. For this purpose, he had a small shelter built, consisting of four stone compartments about two metres high, where he set up his instruments and pitched his tents.

Decades later, in the autumn of 1891, George Graham Toler climbed to the summit several times. Faced with the precariousness of the original shelter, he decided to extend and improve it. He built stone foundations, laid a floor, added a roof and erected a small room with an iron stove, as well as an annex building divided into three rooms: one for women, one for men and one for animals and guides. The toilet was located in a separate hut some ten metres away.

Toler donated the installation to La Orotava Town Hall in May 1926, and the council officially accepted it in July 1927. Thanks to this first refuge, visitors to Mount Teide now had a place to rest during their ascent.

In 1950 the Tenerife government took over the management of the building, which has undergone several refurbishments to arrive at its current refurbishment in 2026.

Today's Altavista Refuge conserves the essence of that 19th-century construction, although it has been adapted and modernised over time.

Originally conceived as a scientific observation point, over the years it was extended to provide accommodation for mountaineers and visitors to Mount Teide in their quest to summit Spain's highest peak.