Take a walk on the mild side and enjoy one of our Guided Walks. Here, our head guide describes another of his favourite island routes, from Femes to Playa Quemada.
Starting in the village of Femes situated in the hills overlooking the Rubicon Plain and Playa Blanca, this walk takes us down through the Higuera Barranco to the coast and over the headland to the black sand beach of Playa Quemada. Not a difficult walk but care should be taken on the initial descent into the barranco.
Walk Stats
Grade: 2 (Easy)
Duration: 2hrs 30minutes
Distance: 6.5km
Acc/Des: 400mtr Des F3
Walk Instructions
With our backs to the Femes Bar we head off across the road towards the cottage with distinctive brickwork situated on the corner of our upward route. The dirt road climbs steeply as we pass between two water tanks and over our shoulder we have lovely views of the village and across the valley the imposing peak of Atalaya de Femes (611metres). One of the highest points on the island.
Continue on this dirt road turning left towards the two grey block buildings in the distance, which are currently used as goat pens. Walk between the two buildings and at the end of the goat pen the barranco opens up in front of us, and the start of our descent.
In front of us our route is very easily seen but be extremely careful at this point, as the goats have used this trail for many years and it has become very rough and dusty. As we descend take time to look around at the beautiful rock formations that appear in ribbons from the top of the surrounding cliffs.
Continuing carefully down, the barranco floor opens out and looking toward the sea we can soon make out Puerto del Carmen and on clear days even as far as the Grand Hotel in Arrecife.
Having made our way to the bottom of the barranco the trail now takes a distinctive split, take the left walking trail heading down to the barranco floor and towards the sea. We are now walking into the main valley floor with the large watercourse bed running along our left hand side, above to the left the goat pens still dominate the sky line and on our right the impressive looking peak of Pico Redondo (551mtrs).
A track joins us from the right but we carry straight on.. One thing that you will notice about this area, because of the surrounding peaks and as most of the walking is done in the barranco it does get very hot, so drink plenty of water, also it’s a lot farther than it looks.
Crossing the watercourse we continue down on a driven dirt track passing by a number of disused goat corrals, which are slowly being covered in Aulaga shrubs, which gives the terrain the look of heath land. Continue on this track until it splits the track off to the right eventually meets up further down the valley with the main walk so if you feel in the exploring mood; see you at the bottom!
The main dirt track continues straight on, almost running parallel with the high-tension cables overhead. The main dirt track works it way down the left side of the barranco and as it sweeps off to the right take a look over your left shoulder at the wonderful view of the collapsed volcano facing you. The track takes a 90 degree left which follows the left side of the valley. Opposite we see the ridgeline of Morro de la Loma Del Pozo gently dropping down towards the sea. Our route carries on down until we meet a large interchange turn right here and after a short walk the driven track turns up left.
At this point if you had decided to take the right hand track and unless you are going for a swim cross over the barranco floor and rejoin the main driven track heading up and around the headland of Risco de las Coronas. The walk up is not difficult or long but its steep, and worth it for the great views looking back up the valley and across the sea to Fuerteventura and the sand dunes south of Corralejo.
As we climb Puerto del Carmen comes into view, at this point be on the lookout for a walking trail heading 60deg right. There are not any visible markers to give you a clue but the path follows the cliff edge. If by chance you do manage to miss the walking trail completely the driven track going up and over the hill will eventually take you into Quemada. After a few hundred metres Quemada and Puerto Calero can be seen in the distance, the walking trail follows the cliff edge; it’s quite difficult sometimes to pick out the correct trail but try to stay with the main one.
A walking trail heads off to the right and its quite distinctive as it zig zags its way down into the Barranco de la Corona, and the beach of Playa de la Arena and back up the other side. If you decide that all the ups and downs are not for you carry on around to the left following the main walking trail, it will meet up with the other trail at a small cairn.
The walking trail is very easy to follow down into the village where it splits, take the right trail this will drop you onto the beach at the southern end of La Bajita which in turn leads into Quemada village, walk along the tarmac road until you arrive at a T junction to the left the bars La Casita and 7 Islas the ideal place to finish the walk. Ask at the bars for a taxi to take you back up to Femes.
