Teide increases control due to the influx of tourists and environmental violations

The Cabildo of Tenerife, together with the Civil Guard, the Canary Islands Police, and environmentalists, is increasing control over visitors to Teide. Particular attention will be paid to popular places such as Chipeque, Chimaque, and Ayosa, located in the Corona Forestal Natural Park.

From next week, the Canary Islands Police will be on duty in Teide National Park.

Rosa Dávila, head of the Cabildo of Tenerife, explained that such measures are necessary due to the large number of people gathering at sunset at the Corona Forestal viewpoints.

"In the evenings, there is a real crowd. People park wherever they can, creating traffic jams and risking safety, because in the event of a fire, there could be trouble," she added.

The Cabildo recalls that special rules were already introduced during holidays, such as Easter, to limit the flow of people and transport in protected areas. These rules are now in effect again due to the large influx of tourists to the Corona Forestal viewpoints. Blanca Pérez, Councilor for Natural Environment, warned: "Violators will be identified and punished."

"This is a complex problem that requires coordinated action from various departments. We are working to ensure constant surveillance of these areas. It is important not only to protect nature but also to ensure safety in case of fire," she added.

Pedro Millán, Director of Natural Environment, emphasized that people cannot be allowed to violate the rules in protected areas. He reminded that environmentalists have the right to issue reports to offenders.

These reports are forwarded to the General Directorate of Traffic, which imposes fines. Several such reports have already been drawn up in recent days.

In the first half of this year, about 700 environmental violations were recorded in Tenerife.

Teide National Park is one of the most popular places in Spain, and problems often arise here due to overtourism. Thousands of visitors flock to certain places, such as the Ayosa and Chipeque viewpoints, leading to congestion and traffic collapse.

Social networks, in particular the Instagram account @meteolamatanza, publish videos showing how improperly parked cars have flooded Ayosa, as everyone wants to admire the sunset.

On August 9, more than 50 people were evacuated from the Chipeque viewpoint, although access to the mountain was prohibited and the viewpoints were closed due to the high level of fire danger and heat.

Photographer Diego Manrique warned on social networks about "uncontrolled tourism" in Corona Forestal. He spoke about cases of smoking in pine forests during a fire alert, throwing cigarette butts and garbage, illegal drone flights, and even theft from cars. "When will the next fire be?" he asks.

Jaime Coello from the Telesforo Bravo-Juan Coello Foundation believes that Teide is suffering from an "ideal storm of mass tourism" and accuses the Cabildo of prioritizing "mass tourism over nature conservation." He argues that the situation is "unbearable" and criticizes the lack of control in places such as the San José mines, where cars are illegally parked and visitors leave the trails and collect stones.

Unfortunately, similar complaints about careless actions in Teide National Park can be heard almost every day.