Tenerife is the pearl of the Canary archipelago. Always warm and mild climate, colorful volcanic beaches, unique nature with relict forests and lunar landscapes, the largest water park in Europe and a host of other entertainments - all this attracts hundreds of tourists here.
Top 10 attractions in Tenerife
Volcano teide
The most important natural attraction of the island, it is also the highest peak in Spain - the Teide volcano. It is a daughter crater from a much more grandiose volcano, the eruption of which formed the island itself 150 thousand years ago. Teide is 3718 m high. Almost all of its territory has been declared a national park. It erupted for the last time in 1909.
A cable car leads to the top from about the middle of the slope, which ends with an observation deck from which you can see all the Canary Islands, except for the three most distant ones. But you can climb to the top on your own - several trekking routes have been laid along the caldera of the previous mega-volcano and the Teide National Park. There is a tourist base Altavista and several places for overnight stays with equipped fireplaces.
Walking along these trails, you can see the remnants of the 1909 eruption: scorched areas of the forest covered with solidified lava, fragments of black volcanic rock. In some places on the slopes there are places of sulfur release. It was here that "Million Years BC", 1966, was once filmed.
Anaga relic forest
Humid subtropical forests are the oldest on the planet. Once they covered almost the entire land, but now, due to climate change and human activities, literally a few scraps remain of them. There are many endemic plants in Tenerife, that is, those that can be found only on this island, and most of them grow just in the Anaga Park. Only here you can find thickets of Canary laurel and Canary pine, and see the forest as it was millions of years ago.
There are well-maintained ecological paths in the park, which are comfortable wooden flooring, there are several observation platforms, signs, maps and information posters. The height of the mountain is 1004 m, which is not much compared to Teide, but on the observation decks it can still be windy and cold even on the hottest day. There are no wild animals and snakes in Tenerife, but lizards and beautiful parrots can meet along the way.
Moon rocks
A "lunar landscape" of conical white rocks sits on one of the edges of a huge caldera of a former stratovolcano. They are composed of light volcanic rock, tuff, and are very different from the surrounding dark landscape, covered with pumice and lava. White formations resemble either fantastic castles or termite mounds, and literally "shine" in sunny weather.
You can only get here on foot, so this is a place for trekkers: there are several routes leading here, and all of them are marked and provided with signs. The longest and most beautiful of them leads from the village of Vilaflor, its length is 9 km. The shortest is 2, 2 kilometers, this is the minimum distance from the road along which a car can pass.
Loro park
The second most famous attraction of Tenerife is Loro Park on the slopes of Teide, the road to it leads along a mountain serpentine, and from it stunning views. The park was founded in 1972 by businessman Wolfgang Kiesling as a parrot park. Now it is the largest entertainment and environmental center, decorated in an Asian style. There is a pond with decorative carps, an oceanarium with a glass tunnel with sharks, a mini-zoo, an orchid garden, and a museum of porcelain parrots.
The park regularly hosts short shows, 20 minutes long, which are included in the price of the visit. This is a show of parrots, killer whales, seals and dolphins. They take place at different ends of the park according to their own schedule. There is a huge snow-covered penguinarium - its snow installation produces 12 tons of snow daily! There is an aviary with gorillas, big cats and more. There are 350 bird species here and the park is doing a lot to restore the population of rare species.
Ethnographic Park "Pyramids of Guimar"
Once upon a time, Tenerife was inhabited by the Guanche Indians, who, with the arrival of the Spaniards, were almost exterminated and assimilated. Now a large ethnographic park has been created on the island, dedicated to their history and culture.
It was opened in 1998 at the initiative of the famous traveler Thor Heyerdahl around the most mysterious artifact of Tenerife - the six step pyramids. Nobody knows when they were created or what they were intended for. Excavations around them have yielded several items related specifically to the culture of the Guanches and dating back to the 10th century AD. Some associate these pyramids with similar structures in Mesoamerica, built by the Maya and Aztecs.
The pyramids are made of pieces of lava, strictly oriented to the cardinal points. Ladders are laid along their western slope, which accurately indicate the position of the sun during the winter solstice. However, some scholars deny the connection of these structures with the Guanches and believe that these are just heaps of garbage created in the 19th century by local farmers, who in this way removed stones from the fields.
The ethnographic park houses the Thor Heyerdahl Museum, a botanical garden and a garden of poisonous plants.
Garajonay National Park on Gomera Island
The most popular excursion from Tenerife is to the nearby island of Gomera. It houses a national park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sail to it from Tenerife in less than an hour. A section of a relict subtropical forest of unique forty-meter laurels, the trunks of which are covered with lichens, has been preserved here. These forests are richer and more interesting than similar forests in Europe, and this forest is larger than the relic forest in Tenerife. Indeed, on a large island, vegetation often suffered from volcanic eruptions, but here the landscape remained pristine. Endemic birds nest in the park, for example, two species of pigeon that are found only in the Canary Islands: the laurel pigeon and the Canary pigeon.
There are many comfortable hiking trails in the national park, there are observation platforms at the very top of Garajonay and on the way to it. There are small waterfalls, old chapels, information posters that tell about the unique vegetation.
City of San Cristobal de la Laguna
The cultural and historical center of the island was founded in the 15th century on the site of a settlement of the Guanche Indians. Its historical buildings of the 16th-19th centuries are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Here you can see the neo-Gothic cathedral (1875) and the monastery of St. Catherine of Siena from the 16th century. One of his nuns of the 18th century, Maria de Leon, is considered a saint, her relics are kept here and there is a museum dedicated to her. There are several more ancient temples in the city. One of them - Cristo de la Laguna - houses the main shrine of the island, a crucifix brought here by the first Spaniard to set foot on this land, Alonso de Lugo.
The city has the oldest university in the Canary Islands. The palaces of the 19th century have now been turned into hotels and public buildings, and the entire historical center of the city is very beautiful.
Tenerife History Museum
The History Museum is located in the heart of San Cristobal de la Laguna in an old 16th century mansion that belonged to the Lercaro family of merchants. Interesting is the building itself with a courtyard and a huge wooden balcony-gallery. This is the most famous Canarian haunted house: it is said that one of the representatives of this family once threw herself into a well so as not to marry an unloved one, and since then her ghost has wandered around the house.
The museum exposition tells about the history of Tenerife since the arrival of the Spaniards here. The museum has a branch in the town of Valle de Guerra, which is also located in an old building dating back to the 18th century, and tells about the earlier times of the island's history.
Siam water park
This is the largest European water park, which opened in 2008. Its organizer, Wolfgang Kisling, specially studied the experience of the most famous European water parks in order to arrange everything here in the best possible way. Siam claims to be the best water park in the world. It was created in the Asian style, like Loro Park, and the king of Thailand was present at its opening, who solemnly authorized the use of such a name.
As befits an ideal water park, "Siam" presents entertainment for every taste: there is a large area designed for the smallest ("Lost City"), there are usual attractions, and there are high-altitude extreme slides with age and height restrictions. The Kamikaze slide, for example, runs through the shark aquarium. There is a large wave pool with a sandy beach, a beautiful slow river, periodically there is a real volcanic eruption.
For a fee, it is possible to buy skip-the-line access to all the rides, as well as a VIP hut for relaxation for 4 people.
Malvasia Museum
The Malvasia Museum is located in the town of Icod de los Vinos. Malvasia is the most famous grape variety from which the most famous Spanish Madeira and other wines are made. Malvasia, a sweet dessert wine made from these grapes, is also produced in Tenerife: the grapes growing on the slopes of the volcano have a special flavor. However, although the main brand is sweet wine, they make Malvasia both semi-dry and dry.
The museum is not combined with production - they will talk about the technology of winemaking here, and not show it clearly. But on the other hand, the products here are presented not from one factory, but from all wine producers in Tenerife, you can compare both prices and quality. In addition to wine, the museum shop sells local sauces, cheeses and other products.
