From sea-level to the highest peak of El Hierro (1501 m): Pozo de la Salud - Sabinosa - Malpaso peak

You can visit the highest peak of El Hierro, named Malpaso (1501 m) by car if you want. But where’s the fun in that? This hike takes you from Pozo de la Salud, located at sea-level in the El Golfo valley, via the village Sabinosa to Malpaso. It’s a long hike, over 26 km with obviously a lot of climbing in the beginning. But how cool is it to actually really climb to the highest peak of the island from scratch?! I started at sunrise in Pozo de la Salud and reached Sabinosa after about 1.5 km. From there the trail quickly changes into a steep forest trail with lots of shadow. Near the top I made a circle below the Malpaso peak on rather flat surface, because it was quite enjoyable not to have to climb anymore for a while (funny enough this detour actually added some extra ascent). After the peak, which is disfigured by a large antenna (but at least you will have a good signal on your phone) you will walk mainly downhill very gradually and on a pleasant and easy track. This part is completely the opposite of the shaded forest trail in the beginning, with wide open views and rocky volcanic landscapes, including green fields with quite a lot of flowers already in February. In the distance you can see the Orchilla Lighthouse. The last 2 km back down to Sabinosa are quite steep downhill, but very well do-able on a good trail. The last part from Sabinosa to Pozo de la Salud is via an alternative trail that did not seem to be used a lot but was easy to follow nevertheless. Just before Pozo de la Salud there is a small cave on the left side of the asphalt road. It took me about 8.5 hours to complete this hike. You can shorten the hike considerably if you don’t care about starting from sea-level: Starting in Sabinosa will cut off about 3 km and 250 m climbing. In addition, if you skip the loop around the Malpaso peak (which is not too interesting anyway), you reduce the length with an additional 3 km and 100 m ascent. I rate this great hike with different landscapes and good views with 5 out of 5 stars.