This Enduro MTB route is a circular route with one of the longest descents in the north of the island of Gran Canaria. The descent begins from low to high intensity, so only the strongest will endure without stopping on the descent. And if we add to this a second part for the famous “black belt”, stage of the Spanish Enduro MTB championship, you will finish the route with your arms bruised. Hence the name we wanted to give to this route “Circular arm-breaker of the North” or Rompe-brazos del norte in Spanish.
A descent of almost 1.600m
The first down hill of the route begins with the super descent, one of the longest we will find in the north of the island of Gran Canaria. This is the Talayón de Ariñez, which begins near the Cruz de Tejeda. This road begins with a series of curves without difficulty. Then, as the path progresses, it gets more and more difficult. The track passes through a small neighborhood of houses in the middle of the mountain, but 90% of it runs along dirt and stone paths.
When we recorded the track, the trail was in good condition. As a general rule, it is clean, being frequented by Enduro cyclists and some hikers or mountain runners.
La bajada de El Cinturón Negro, en El Picacho
After finishing El Talayón, we will surround the town of Teror. In this way, by road, we will reach the El Picacho mountain. Here there are several trails to reach the town of Arucas. This route probably goes through the hardest path among the options we have. In the same way as the previous descent, it goes from less to more. Few are the riders capable of descending The Black Belt (El Cinturón Negro) from start to finish with their Enduro bike.
Characteristics of this enduro MTB route
For this route we recommend an Enduro or All Mountain bike with at least 14cm of full suspension travel. Keep in mind that it is a circular route, so you will have almost 1600m of positive elevation gain, although most of it will be by road. Being circular, you can start the route wherever you want. Although I recommend that you do it in Arucas to end up going down with a happy ending.
| Distance | 42 km |
| Positive/negative slope | +1,596m/-1,589m |
| Estimated duration | 3/6 hours |
| Minimum drink | 500 ml |
| Minimum food | 500 kcal |
| Provisioning during the route | Yes |
| Technical level | Medium/High |
| Recommended bike | Enduro/All Mountain |
✔ Things to consider before doing the route
We will pass by some shops/restaurants along the way. In Arucas, Los Chorros and Valleseco. Still, it is always advisable to bring enough food and water. In the Black Belt area, it’s very easy to get your tires punctured, so bring spare tubes and tools.
Download the track of this route
Then you can download the track in .gpx format so you can follow the route on your own. If you don’t know how to download it and follow it from your GPS or smartphone (Guru maps), here we explain it to you. If you want to support us so that we can continue creating content for you about Gran Canaria, we would appreciate it if you purchase any of our tracks, either to enjoy incredible routes or as a donation.
