The pumice, the black, the light the as the cork (the 0.7 g/cm³, the rock that the floats on the water), the sharp the on the hands the from the scrambling the over the lava the ridge the of the Montaña Blanca on the Teide National Park (the UNESCO, the 190 km², and the most visited national park in the Spain and the Europe, the 4 million visitors a year), the altitude the light (the 3,000 metres, the air that is the thin, the sky that is the deepest the blue at the 3,100 metres at the La Rambleta, the upper the cable-car the station that the delivers the visitors to the 3,555 metres, the 163 metres below the summit), and the sense that the Tenerife is the not the only the beach, the Tenerife is the lunar the landscapes, the volcanic, the unique the wildlife, and the best the hiking the in the Spain, is the essential the Tenerife the beyond-the-beach the experience. Here is your guide.

Tenerife: Lunar Landscapes and Unique Wildlife

• The Teide, the essential Tenerife the lunar the landscape: The Teide is the highest the peak in the Spain (the 3,718 metres, the 3rd-highest the volcano in the world when the measured from the ocean the floor at the 7,500 metres, the only the higher are the Mauna Kea and the Mauna Loa in the Hawaii), and the Teide National Park is the most the visited national the park in Europe. The essential the Teide the experience: the cable-car (the Teleférico, the 8 minutes from the 2,356 metres to the 3,555 metres, the €38 the return, and the essential: the book the 2 weeks the in the advance for the peak the season, the tickets the sell the out the 2–3 days the ahead in the July–August. The best the times: the 9am, the first the cable-car, the light is the clear, and the summit is the visible before the afternoon the cloud the inversion the builds), the summit the permit (the free, the required for the last 163 metres, the Telesforo Bravo the path, and the book the 2 months the in advance at the www.reservasparquesnacionales.es. The essential alternative: the hike the overnight, the Altavista Refuge the at the 3,270 metres, the €21 for the bunk, the sleep the at the altitude, the summit at the sunrise without the permit (the the permit is the required for the 9am–5pm, the summit before the 9am is the free). The essential: the refuge is the book the 3–4 months the in advance), and the view from the summit at the sunrise: the shadow of the Teide, the largest the mountain the shadow in the world, the cast the across the Atlantic to the Gran Canaria 120 km the away. The film the location: the “Clash of the Titans” the (the 2010), the “Planet of the Apes.” The essential the Teide the hike: the Roques de García, the 3 km the circular from the Parador, the Cinchado (the “Finger of the God”, the most photographed the rock in the park. The free, the walk, and the best the non-cable-car the experience). More Spain →
• The unique the wildlife, the Tenerife the gecko and the whale: The Tenerife the gecko (the Tarentola delalandii, the only in the Tenerife): the endemic the wall the gecko, the nocturnal, the see on the rocks in the evening, and the best the place: the Parque Rural de Anaga (the far the north-east of the Tenerife, the laurel the forest, the prehistoric, the Jurassic the Park, and the most beautiful the forest in the Canary the Islands. The essential: the sendero the Cabezo del Tejo, the 5 km, the view of the 2 sides of the island, and the best the walk in the Anaga). The pilot the whales and the dolphins (the southwest the coast): the colony of the 300 the short-finned the pilot the whales the resident in the waters the between the Tenerife and the La Gomera, the one of the only 3 the permanent the pilot-whale the populations in the world, and the boat-the trip from the Los the Gigantes: the €25 for the 2 hours, the whale the guaranteed, and the essential: the morning the trip, the sea is the calmest and the whales are the most active. The essential: the choose the boat with the “Blue the Flag”, the responsible the whale-watching, and the avoid the speedboats. The alternative: the ferry to the La Gomera, the 1 hour from the Los the Cristianos, and the Garajonay National the Park (the UNESCO, the 3,000-year-old the laurel the forest, and the best the cloud-forest the walk in Europe. The €70 for the return the ferry, and the essential: the 1 day, the hike the 10 km in the Garajonay and the return on the last the ferry).