The Top 5 'Must See' Places on Tenerife
Discover the Best Locations to Visit Around Tenerife
Tenerife, The largest of the Canary Islands, is known for its purpose built tourist resorts and year round warm sunshine. However, visitors who stick to the beaches and bars of the southern resorts miss out on seeing the most interesting parts of Tenerife.
Mount Teide and Las Cañadas
Rising high above the centre of the island, Mount Teide is Spain’s highest mountain and the third largest volcano in the world. Las Cañadas, the 16 kilometre wide crater which surrounds ‘El Teide’, is commonly referred to as ‘other-worldly’; a fair description as scientists test robots destined for other planets there. The landscape is a weird wonderland of sprawling glistening black basalt fields, mustard volcanic cones and pahoehoe lava streams which spill down the mountainside like melted wax.
It’s a mythical landscape, one of the reasons it was chosen as a location for filming Clash of the Titans starring Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes.
Travel Tip: For a ‘WOW’ experience take the cable car to within 500 metres of Mount Teide’s summit for bird’s eyes views over the old crater of Pico Viejo and the other Canary Islands.
Tenerife’s Shangri la – Masca
Nestling into the folds of the 7 million year old Teno Mountains like a mini Machu Picchu is the tiny picturesque hamlet of Masca. Cut off from the outside world until a road was built in the 1970s, the word quaint could have been invented for this rural community of pretty agricultural cottages linked by the stony walkways that serve as streets. Tales of magic and mystery abound in these parts and it’s impossible not to fall under the spell of this stunningly beautiful little village.
Travel Tip: Take the cobbled road toward the small museum at Lomo de Masca to escape most of the day trippers and bask in views of this lost world from Bar Riquelme’s eclectic terrace.
Tenerife’s Classiest Town - La Orotava
The northern town of La Orotava feels like the aristocrat of Tenerife; the legacy of the noblemen and women who settled in this part of the island following Tenerife’s conquest in 1496. Its immaculate streets are bordered by colonial 17th and 18th century mansions known as the Casas de los Balcones and wandering the old town is like exploring an open air museum. There are curios everywhere, such as the wooden drum used by anonymous young mothers to pass their babies to nuns, or the gothic mausoleum standing proudly in the elegant Victorian Gardens in defiance at the Catholic Church’s refusal to allow its denizen a Christian burial. Every visit turns up some new gem.
Travel Tip: Casa del Turista and Casa Méndez-Fonseca are the most visited of the Casas de los Balcones, but Casa Lecaro further down the hill has the nicest courtyard of all them all… and a stylish tapas bar.
The Rock Pools at Garachico
Tenerife’s unluckiest town is also one of its prettiest. In 1706 a volcanic eruption destroyed the town’s harbour robbing it of its source of wealth, but the town rebuilt itself and today its charming streets are a joy to stroll around. Its main plaza, bordered by Moorish churches, Indian laurel trees and the exquisite San Roque boutique hotel is arguably the most attractive on Tenerife.
Ironically, the lava from the eruption which fills Garachico’s seafront has become one of its most attractive features. Paths lead through the black basalt to large pools in the lava; perfect for floating lazily amidst shoals of tropical fish.
Travel Tip: Climb through palm trees and oleander bushes at the tranquil park of Puerta Tierra for a grandstand view over the town.
The Friendly City, Santa Cruz
Tenerife’s capital, Santa Cruz, feels more like a big town than a city, making it easy to get around on foot. The broad artery of Las Ramblas is lined with sculptures from such luminaries as Henry Moore and Joan Miró. On the promenade, the iconic Auditorio de Tenerife rises like a cobra’s hood of blindingly white contemporary architecture against cobalt blue skies. Museums in the city display artefacts such as mummified Guanche and the canon which parted Admiral Horatio Nelson from his arm in 1797. The coolest place to hang out after dark is in the Noria district, a maze of historic streets full of trendy restaurants and chic bars.
Travel Tip: When the city becomes oppressively hot, head for Parque García Sanabria, the city’s lungs. Leafy corners, lily ponds, bamboo tunnels and a fabulous centrepiece fountain, ‘Fertility’, make a haven for poets, romantics and anyone else wanting respite from the heat.
Mount Teide on Tenerife
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Masca on Tenerife
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La Orotava on Tenerife
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Garachico on Tenerife
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Tenerife Auditorium, Santa Cruz
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