How to become a collaborating Active Tourism company

What are collaborating Active Tourism companies?

They are Active Tourism companies 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 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.
Be aware of and comply with updated exceptional regulations related to COVID-19. Said regulations can be viewed here.
Register here as an authorised collaborating company, to which you will be assigned a username and password.
Update any changes to your company’s details.

How to make reservations 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 on the trail (joint descent and ascent) for the required number of people, in the time slots reserved for companies.
48 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:

Have at least one responsible person accompanying the group.
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.
Guides must also reserve a place for themselves, counting themselves as part of the maximum number of 25 people.

Important information for collaborating Active Tourism 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.

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 that of the guide, observing the reduced rate, and do not need to pay the cost of accident insurance, since, as Active Tourism companies, they should already have accident and civil liability insurance.

According to the changes and cancellations policy for groups, reservations that are cancelled with more than 48 hours’ notice will not incur any penalties. Cancellations made with 48 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.