El Colmenar de la Chapa, situated in the Los Realejos firebreak, serves as the access point to the Fregel Cross, leading towards La Degollada del Cedro and La Fortaleza. It marks the boundary between the Island’s Forest Crown and Teide National Park. On a beautiful day, the location chosen—after navigating the winding Km 29 track, which is currently off-limits due to reforestation efforts following last year’s fire—was presented by the Tenerife Cabildo to showcase the outcome of over 15 years of work, initiated in 2007. This initiative was prompted by another major forest fire akin to the one that affected the Island last year, which also reached these perimeters: the enclosure of five hectares, equivalent to several football pitches, to safeguard the endemic broom from the appetites of rabbits and the introduced mouflon, which find it quite delectable.
