Mount Teide is not the highest mountain in Europe, Elbrus, in the Caucasus, is higher, but Teide is the highest mountain on European soil measured from the sea floor: 3,718 metres above sea level, and another 3,000 metres below the water to the sea bed, a total of 7,500 metres of volcanic mass that makes Teide the third-tallest volcanic structure on Earth (after Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, in Hawaii). The summit of Teide, the cable car to 3,555 metres (the highest cable car in Europe, the 8-minute ascent, the view of the Canary Islands, the Atlantic, and, on a clear day, the coast of Africa 300 km to the east), and the final 163 metres on foot (the permit for the summit, the Telesforo Bravo, is free, required, and must be booked months in advance at reservasparquesnacionales.es), is the most spectacular view in the Canaries. But Teide is only the beginning. Tenerife is an island of extraordinary, often bizarre, natural beauty: the lava fields (the Malpaís de Güímar, the volcanic badlands, the twisted rock, and the silence of a landscape that was created in a single eruption in 1706), the laurel forests of the Anaga Mountains (the laurisilva, the cloud forest, the moss, the ferns, and the sense of walking through a Jurassic landscape that has not changed in 20 million years), and the black-sand beaches of the north (the Playa de Benijo, the volcanic sand, the cliffs, and the most dramatic sunset on the island). Here is a guide to Tenerife for nature lovers.

Tenerife, Nature Lover’s Guide

• Teide National Park, the otherworld: The Teide National Park, a UNESCO World heritage site, 19,000 hectares of volcanic landscape that looks like the surface of Mars (the red, ochre, and black rock, the lava flows, the craters, and the mineral colours that were used by NASA to test the Mars rovers), is the essential Tenerife experience. The cable car: ~€40 return. Book online for the earliest slot (9am, the sky is clearest, the crowds are thinnest, and the summit permit holders can make the final ascent before the cloud builds). The hiking: the Roques de García loop (3.5 km, 2 hours, the most popular and most beautiful short walk in the park, the Roque Cinchado, the “finger of God,” the most photographed rock in the Canaries, and the view of Teide and the Llano de Ucanca, the plain of the caldera, stretching to the horizon). The Pico Viejo (the alternative summit, the walk from the Mirador de Pico Viejo, the older, wilder, and less-visited crater, and the view of the western islands of La Gomera, La Palma, and El Hierro. The summit permit is not required for Pico Viejo, and the walk, 5 km, 2–3 hours, is the best alternative for those without the Teide summit permit). Essential gear: the altitude (3,500 metres, the headache, the shortness of breath, and the sense of being on top of the world are real. Drink water, walk slowly, and do not underestimate the altitude), the sun (the UV at 3,500 metres is ferocious, the SPF 50, the hat, and the sunglasses are essential), and the cold (the temperature at the summit can be 10°C even in August, take a fleece, even if the coast is 30°C). More Spain →
• The Anaga Mountains, the Jurassic forest: The northeastern tip of Tenerife, the Anaga Rural Park, is a landscape of knife-edge ridges, deep ravines, and the laurisilva, the subtropical cloud forest that once covered the Mediterranean basin, now surviving only in the Canaries, Madeira, and the Azores. The forest, the moss hanging from the trees, the ferns, the silence broken only by the dripping of the water, and the sense of walking through a landscape that the dinosaurs might have known, is one of the most beautiful and least-known environments in Europe. The essential hike: the Sendero de los Sentidos (the “Path of the Senses”, the easiest and most beautiful walk in the Anaga, the three variants from the Cruz del Carmen visitor centre: the short loop, 500 metres, the wheelchair-accessible boardwalk, the medium loop, 1.5 km, and the long loop, 3 km, the forest, the barranco, and the most beautiful 90 minutes of walking on Tenerife. Free). The essential drive: the TF-12 from the Cruz del Carmen to Taganana, the road winding through the mountains, the hairpin bends, the view of the ravines and the sea, and the arrival at Taganana (the white village, the black-sand beach of Roque de las Bodegas, and the best fresh fish on the island, the Restaurante Casa Africa, the grilled fish, the papas arrugadas, and the mojo. ~€15)
• Whale watching, the cetacean highway: The channel between Tenerife and La Gomera is one of the best places in the world to see whales and dolphins in the wild: the resident population of pilot whales (approximately 350 individuals that live in the channel year-round) and the migrating species (the bottlenose dolphins, the sperm whales, and the occasional blue whale, the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth). The whale-watching boats depart from Los Cristianos and Los Gigantes (the cliffs, the Acantilados de Los Gigantes, the 600-metre cliffs that plunge vertically into the sea, the most dramatic coastline in the Canaries). The essential operators: the small, responsible, and conservation-focused companies, Nashira Uno (Los Gigantes, the knowledgeable guides, the respectful approach to the animals, and the best whale-watching experience in the Canaries. ~€40 for a 3-hour trip) and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (the WDC, the logos of the certified, responsible operators). Essential rule: do not book a trip that promises “swimming with dolphins”, the practice is harmful to the animals and illegal in the Canaries (except under strict licence)