Hiking in Tenerife: a new perspective on Spain In fact, for €25 (£21), a cable-car whisks you to within an hour's stroll of the peak (you need a summit permit, which is free online), but for many the thrill of walking the whole distance from the volcano's base at 2,200m (7,218ft) - roughly a nine-hour round trip - is more appealing than riding up. Even better, you may walk part of the distance in the afternoon, stay the night at the recently renovated refuge two-thirds of the way up, then rise early and slip out into the night air to attempt an arrival as the sun touches the horizon - which is what I did. This offers a different perspective; a way of owning, or at least earning, a part of the island. Teide is not a climb as such - you can walk or scramble all the way without equipment. But the base trail soon turns from broad track to tortuous narrow path, and the gradient is as steep as the last stretches of Kilimanjaro, and as slippery. To make matters worse, I found the air above 3,000m (9,843ft) was thin enough to cause problems, so that after leaving the refuge I was forced to count out 20-pace slots before collapsing on to any handy rock to recover in heaving, oxygen-hungry gasps. It was unpleasant, though the worst fatigue eased after an hour, so eventually I could manage 100 paces, then 150 without a pause. Even so, some of the younger, fitter walkers we'd left back in the refuge overtook us. On my return I was told by a doctor that I should probably have descended once the symptoms set in - if you are prone to altitude sickness, it is definitely worth taking medical advice before you attempt the climb. In the end, walking Teide was a matter of three really quite intense elements. I was aware of the landscape as a sense of burnt, ancient rock under foot and hand, a hint of crazed horizons glimpsed by head torch or outlined against the stars. There was a distractingly self-absorbed sense of discomfort and fatigue. But the third element, the dominant feeling that overrode even the breathless weakness, was an awareness of space and silence. Mike and I, blundering upwards, were specks pinned to the face of a rock as big as the world, it seemed. A humbling experience. Roque Cinchado, one of the wildest rock formations We reached the jagged summit literally as dawn broke, at 6.51am sharp, slumping alongside a dozen others crammed together in the cold. The wind was sharp. Sulphur fumes from rock fissures choked the air. The lights of coastal resorts glimmered far below as over the cloud line a streak of orange light slowly expanded into a margin and then a page and finally the full glorious story of daybreak. At which point I discovered that I owned Tenerife; or at least loved it, which seemed to be the same thing. Tenerife essentials Monarch Airlines (monarch.co.uk) flies to Tenerife from Birmingham, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Gatwick and Luton. From £100 return. Staying there The Parador hotel (paradores-spain.com) inside Teide National Park offers doubles rooms from €150 (£127) b & b. After the climb, recover at the Hotel Rural Victoria (hotelruralvictoria.com) in La Orotava, doubles from €80 (£68) b & b. The climb When you stay at the Altavista del Teide Refuge, you may access Teide peak without a permit. Otherwise, apply online (reservasparques nacionales.es). Check your travel insurance covers high-altitude treks. Walking On Tenerife by Paddy Dillon (Cicerone) has useful insights.