Authorities in Tenerife have officially launched their tough new crackdown on tourists at one of the Canary Islands' most popular hotspots. From Monday (January 19), non-residents are now required to pay to access the Telesforo Bravo Trail (PNT 10) and the Montaña Blanca-La Rambleta Trail (PNT 07), which form part of the iconic Teide National Park, and only during specific time slots.

This move marks the Tenerife Cabildo's first ecotax for the national park, which aims to support conservation, safety and visitor experience, and to help promote a more sustainable tourism model. Under the new rules, for trail 10, which takes hikers from La Rambleta to the summit of Mount Teide, non-residents will be required to pay €15 (£13). For trail 7 - which leads past volcanic formations, the Altavista Refuge, and eventually connects to the Cable Car's upper station - non-residents are required to pay €6 (£5.20) on a weekday and €10 (£8.70) on weekends and during holidays. Those under 14 years old are exempt from the fee.

Tariffs will apply between 9am and 5pm on trail 10 and between 9am and 3pm on trail 7. Additionally, trail 10 is now strictly capped at 300 people per day, divided into specific time slots to prevent overcrowding.

For Tenerife residents, access remains free, but registration is still mandatory. Meanwhile, inhabitants of the other Canary Islands are required to pay a reduced "symbolic" rate of approximately €3 to €6 (£2.60 to £5.20).

Cabildo President Rosa Dávila described the ecotax as a clear commitment to conserving Teide and one that is "fair and balanced", ensuring that Tenerife residents continue to enjoy free access.

In addition to the ecotax, a credit or debit card is required for all bookings, and the details of every participant must be provided. Confirmed reservations cannot be modified or cancelled, nor can dates, times, or participants be changed.

Refunds will only be issued if the trail is closed due to weather, exceptional circumstances, or if the Teide Cable Car is out of service. No refunds will be issued if access is denied due to users failing to meet the mandatory minimum equipment requirements published on the Tenerife ON website. All hikers are now required to have proper mountain footwear, long trousers, a warm jacket, a charged mobile phone and a torch.

Entering these trails without a valid permit or the required equipment can now result in fines of up to €600 (£520).

Reservations will continue to be made via the Tenerife ON platform. As of Monday, the system is temporarily limited to the website only as an update for the mobile app is pending. Each Monday at 7am local time, a new week of availability opens, maintaining a rolling 28-day booking window. Users must be registered and verified on the platform in order to reserve a space.

Teide National Park has been the crown jewel of Tenerife's tourism for decades. However, its booming popularity, now with some four million annual visitors, has pushed it to breaking point. With very few public facilities at high altitudes, "wild toileting" has become a major problem, risking contamination of the scarce water sources used by local wildlife. Despite "leave no trace" signs, cleaners have also struggled to keep up with cigarette butts, food wrappers, and plastic bottles left along the trails.

Physical contamination by tourists is not the only problem. Many tourists have taken to building "cairns" (stone towers) for photos or take volcanic rocks home as souvenirs. This is a serious crime, not only disrupting the natural volcanic landscape but also destroying the habitat of small invertebrates. Meanwhile, in a bid to get that perfect photo, many visitors stray from the marked paths, trampling the fragile volcanic soil and killing endemic flora, which can take years to recover in such harsh conditions.

Finally, the limited parking at the Cable Car and Mirador de la Ruleta often fill up by 9am. This results in illegal parking along the TF-21 highway, blocking emergency vehicles and local buses. The single mountain road (TF-21) has frequently become gridlocked, leading to heavy CO2 emissions in a protected air zone.