What are Camino del Barranco de Masca collaborating companies?
They are Masca Holiday Rental companies, as well as sea transport and Active Tourism operators that provide transfers and guided treks along the Masca Gorge Trail, which meet all legal and administrative requirements and have duly registered on this website in order to access places reserved for authorised companies.
To become a Camino del Barranco de Masca collaborating company, companies MUST:
- Meet all required legal conditions.
- Be aware of the operating guidelines of the Masca Gorge Trail and especially those applicable to their services.
- Understand and adhere to the approved system for improving the safety of the road into the hamlet of Masca.
- Check the current condition of the equipment and facilities that are to be used, weather forecasts, sea conditions and warnings given by public authorities.
Regarding registration and sign-up to become a Camino del Barranco de Masca collaborating company:
- Register here as an authorised collaborating company, to which you will be assigned a username and password.
- On the registration form, in the “Establishment type” field, select one of the following options from the drop-down menu: Active tourism: for active tourism businesses. Accommodation: for holiday rental properties.
- Once the form is completed, you must provide the required documentation specified below to complete the registration process as an authorised collaborating company, which must be sent to reservas@caminobarrancodemasca.com.
Documentation required to complete registration as a Camino del Barranco de Masca collaborating company:
ACTIVE TOURISM COMPANIES
To operate on the Masca Gorge Trail:
- Valid public liability insurance for active tourism activities.
- Valid accident and public liability insurance, with explicit coverage for participating customers.
- Proof of registration as an active tourism company for hiking and/or mountaineering.
To access the Masca Hamlet car park during periods when access is subject to time restrictions:
- If they have their own transport, a regional VPC transport permit for the vehicle or vehicles concerned.
- You can find further information on the requirements for using the car park during periods when access is subject to time restrictions here.
Register as a collaborating company
How to make reservations for the Masca Gorge Trail once registered as a collaborating company
- You can access the collaborating companies’ booking website by using your username and password, which will be provided once you have registered as a collaborating company.
- Reserve places for the descent of the trail for the required number of people, in the time slots reserved for companies.
- 72 hours prior to the specific time slot, any unoccupied or cancelled places, both those of companies and individuals, will be freed up for whomever wishes to reserve them.
To access the trail companies MUST:
- Provide at least one responsible guide per group, apart from bookings made through Holiday Rental companies (Viviendas Vacacionales).
- Ensure that the group meets requirements and has the compulsory equipment and that each member of the group is familiar with and has accepted the TERMS AND CONDITIONS related to the characteristics, risks and requirements for undertaking the hike along the Masca Gorge Trail. Said documents can be viewed here.
- The list of persons who make up the reserved group and their acceptance of the Terms and Conditions must be sent in advance to the managing body of the booking office.
- The responsible guide and the group must arrive 30 minutes prior to the reserved time in order to carry out necessary checks at the Masca Visitors’ Centre or Checkpoint number three (Masca Bay), depending on the direction you will be hiking. If you enter by Checkpoint 3, a preliminary access check will be carried out at the port of origin.
- Guides must also reserve a place for themselves, counting themselves as part of the maximum number of 25 people.
Important information for collaborating companies:
After the long interval during which the Masca Gorge Trail has been closed, work to finalise different management, supervisory and improvement measures for public facilities has finally been completed in order to reduce the level of risk and to maximise the conservation of the natural area. One must bear in mind that in any natural environment, especially one such as the Masca Gorge, it is impossible to eliminate all risk. We therefore ask everyone, including companies, engaging in hiking along the trail to act responsibly and to use their common sense to ensure that situations of risk are kept to a minimum. For this reason, we kindly request that you inform us of anything you notice that could help us to improve the experience and the conservation of the trail and its surroundings.
In particular, it should be noted that:
- In the hamlet of Masca, parking restrictions mean that parking spaces must be occupied for as little time as possible in order to drop off/pick up groups of people and, in the event that you need to wait for any reason, you must proceed to Cruz de Gilda and wait there. Due to a lack of parking spaces in Masca, parking time between 8.00am and 2.00pm is limited by municipal bylaw to 2 hours maximum. Vehicles that exceed the limit may be fined and/or impounded.
- In both the SAFETY and CONSERVATION sections of the website you can find a list of the guidelines, restrictions and precautions that must be taken on the Masca Gorge Trail. It is important to note that the management system only spans the part of the trail between the Masca Visitors’ Centre and Checkpoint number three, close to the jetty.
- Group leaders must ensure that all group members have the compulsory equipment, save for protective helmets, which will be provided on loan at the starting point and must be returned at the end of the trail.
- In the event that companies bring minors (under 18 years of age), who are not accompanied by their legal guardian, a consent form completed by their legal guardian must be supplied (download one here), certifying that they are aware of the trail’s risks and that they give their authorisation for said minors to undertake the hike with the company in question.
- Companies must reserve all required places, including places for guides.
- According to the cancellations policy for groups, reservations that are cancelled with more than 72 hours’ notice will not incur any penalties. Once formalised, bookings cannot be changed, only cancelled. Cancellations made with 72 hours’ notice or less will incur a penalty of the full cost of the reservation. In the event that the Masca Gorge Trail is closed by the managing body due to adverse weather conditions, poor sea conditions, factors related to safety, or maintenance works, among others, the full cost of the reservation will be refunded.