Culturally, geographically, and spiritually, Tenerife is a one-off. There’s nowhere else in Europe the place you swing from cliff-clasped, black-sand seashores battered by Atlantic waves to whale-visited bays, mountain wineries, and time-lost villages which might be each bit as pretty as when the Spanish rocked up 500 years in the past.
You would possibly convey a tick-list of locations you wish to go to, however a few of your finest moments are certain to be the serendipitous ones: Wandering by way of vineyards and banana plantations that stagger right down to the ocean; grabbing lunch with locals at an offbeat guachinche (rural pop-up restaurant); or consuming boat-fresh fish on an old-town plaza within the blue nightfall.
Tenerife’s status as a package-vacation occasion island precedes it, however enterprise away from the built-up southern resorts and also you’ll be shocked. The farther you attain into the wild mountains and fairytale laurel forests of the north, the extra you notice this isn’t an island that’s too well-known – slightly a spot nonetheless ripe for discovery.
La Laguna
Finest for historic strolls
La Laguna is a knockout. The previous Tenerife capital has a staggeringly well-preserved, Unesco-listed historic heart that brims with church buildings, convents, and pastel-painted colonial mansions that pop in shiny shades of blue, lemon, inexperienced, violet, and orange – all topped off by a effective cathedral. A deliriously colourful and festive metropolis, with one of many island’s hottest marcha (nightlife) scenes, La Laguna is just like the Havana of the Canaries.
That is no fluke. Based in 1496, the Sixteenth- to 18th-century Canarian mansions that wrap round courtyards, that includes delicately-carved wood balconies and oriel home windows, have been the mannequin for a lot of cities within the Americas. On Calle San Agustín, they line up as if for a everlasting photograph shoot, together with probably the most fabulous of the lot, Casa del Montañés. Down the identical avenue is the Museo de la Historia de Tenerife, a gloriously rambling, creaky-floored Sixteenth-century mansion that spells out the previous in artifacts. For gradual Canarian meals ready with natural produce, tapas, and sustainably-brewed island beers, seize a desk at Tasca 61.
Parque Nacional del Teide
Finest for volcanic landscapes
All eyes are on Teide from the second you fly into the island. Seen from the aircraft, this perfectly-etched volcano – Spain’s highest peak at 3715m (12,180ft) – appears to swallow the island complete. The pop-up impact isn’t lessened if you get nearer to its darkish summit, which is usually wreathed in clouds.
The volcano is the icing on the cake of the 189-sq-km (73-sq-mile), Unesco-listed Parque Nacional del Teide, bang within the coronary heart of the island. The journey up is breathtaking, with Canarian pine and laurel forests giving strategy to an arid, desert-like moonscape of surreal, rust-red rock formations that blaze within the gentle of the setting solar. The park’s cinematic backdrops haven’t gone unnoticed: It has appeared in movies like Conflict of the Titans (2010). Scientists are mad about its Martian landscapes. NASA’s Perseverance Rover, which looked for extraterrestrial life on Mars, was skilled right here as a result of the local weather and panorama have been so related.
The nationwide park is sensational mountain climbing nation, whether or not for a delicate stroll across the twisted lava pinnacles of Roques de García, a troublesome hike up the frozen lava flows of Pico Viejo, or tackling the large one – the full-day climb to Pico del Teide (on-line reservations solely). Hoof it up and also you’ll higher recognize the views of La Gomera, La Palma, and El Hierro effervescent up from the Atlantic, however you may also take the cable automotive.
However as astronomers say, it is by evening that the park actually shines, and if you forged your eyes to the heavens, this Starlight Vacation spot has a few of the darkest, starriest skies within the northern hemisphere with 83 of the 88 acknowledged constellations seen on crystal-clear nights. Even with the bare eye, you’ll be able to see the misty band of the Milky Method, however you’ll see extra peeking by way of one of many gigantic telescopes on the Observatorio del Teide or on one of many excursions run by Volcano Teide Expertise.
La Orotava
Finest for Canarian custom and wine tasting
Winging you again to the early days of Spanish colonization, Sixteenth-century La Orotava sits fairly in a lush valley to the island’s mountainous north, with Teide looming on the horizon. Its tangle of cobbled streets and flower-dotted plazas are immediately endearing and the environment is wholly Canarian (no vacationer tat right here).
For a real taste of the city, kick off with a wander alongside architecturally hanging Calle San Francisco, the place fantastically preserved Seventeenth-century mansions are festooned with ornately carved balconies. High billing goes to the Casa de los Balcones, with a stunning courtyard cafe the place you’ll be able to seize a espresso earlier than persevering with to close by Casa Lercaro, with its baroque wood gallery and palm-filled courtyard.
La Orotava is much less about randomly ticking off sights and extra about getting a slice of native life. Hang around at one of many old school tascas (bars) for drinks, tapas, and dominoes or purchase hand-milled gofio (flour produced from toasted grains) at La Maquina. Guests can even prepare a winery tour and tasting (attempt Bodegas Tajinaste) after which pin down a close-by guachinche for a easy, dirt-cheap feast with native wine. For an enthralling boutique sleep in a Seventeenth-century mansion, e book into Lodge Victoria.
The Orotava Valley is Tenerife’s fruit basket, with banana plantations and vineyards clambering up its slopes. The wines listed below are largely refreshing whites, made with the Listán Blanco grape, and vines are braided the normal means (a method often called cordón trenzado). It’s attractive mountain climbing nation, with an internet of trails dipping into aromatic Canarian pinewoods and views sweeping right down to the coast.
Garachico
Finest for old-school Canary appeal
Ask locals for a slice of real Canarian life and they’re going to seemingly direct you towards Garachico on the north coast. Everybody has a gentle spot for the historic streets of this charismatic city, battered by the fizzing surf of the Atlantic – however boy has it been by way of the wars. Within the Seventeenth century, it boomed as the house of rich retailers exporting Malmsey wine, however an enormous volcanic eruption in 1706 worn out its port and buried the city in lava. Freak floods, storms, fires, and a plague of locusts – actual Previous Testomony stuff – have additionally ravaged Garachico over the centuries.
At this time it’s a delightfully low-key base for exploring the north coast, with cobbled lanes, fantastically preserved Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-century colonial mansions, convents, monasteries, and church buildings to discover. Wander the waterfront the place fishers forged their traces to the sea-gazing fortress of Castillo de San Miguel, whose museum throws you in on the deep finish of Garachico’s historical past. Framed by lofty palms and Indian laurel timber, close by Plaza Libertad buzzes with youngsters enjoying, {couples} strolling, and previous males in cafes whiling away afternoons over drinks and dominoes. If you wish to swim, head for the pure lava swimming pools at El Caletón.
Excessive above all of it, Mirador de Garachico cracks open the view alongside the coast and has a bar serving native wine and placing inventive riffs on Canarian substances. Again on the town, you’ll sleep sweetly within the lovingly-restored, Sixteenth-century mansion Lodge La Quinta Roja.
Los Gigantes
Finest for diving and cliff drama
Hugging Tenerife’s western shores, the place the island’s highest cliffs drop abruptly into the wave-lashed, blue Atlantic, Los Gigantes delivers loads of drama, however far fewer crowds than you’ll discover swarming round south coast resorts. Certainly, this low-rise, white-washed city is properly chilled with a seafront promenade, the dusky volcanic sands of Playa de la Enviornment, and fiery sunsets that backlight La Gomera.
You’re right here, after all, for the giants: The basalt cliffs of Acantilados de los Gigantes, which punch 600m (1960ft) above the frothing ocean. For the most effective views from above, stroll to the tip of Calle Tabaiba to a pure lookout level.
For the full-on impact of the cliffs looming above you, nothing beats heading out on the water by kayak or stand-up paddleboard with Teno Activo. The submerged base of the cliffs teems with marine life, making this one of many island’s diving hotspots. Los Gigantes Diving Centre plunges into the deep blue to seek out stingrays, barracuda, and turtles swirling between the volcanic arches and caverns.
In 2021, Tenerife’s west coast was declared Europe’s first Unesco Whale Heritage Web site. Its gentle local weather makes it one of many world’s finest locations for whale watching. Conservation-focused excursions, equivalent to these led by CB Marítima Acantilados, virtually assure sightings of pilot whales at shut quarters, in addition to dolphins, porpoises, and – in case you are extremely fortunate – a blue whale or an orca.
Puerto de la Cruz
Finest for black-sand bays and botanical gardens
Strung alongside a rocky shoreline and necklaced with volcanic bays, Puerto de la Cruz is one among Tenerife’s most habitable and loveable resorts, because of its easygoing appeal, buzzing cafe scene, plazas, and parks. The Victorians raved about its spas, and there’s nonetheless a splash of that languor within the air at the moment, because of a boardwalk for strolling, an opulent spa enveloped in tropical gardens at Lodge Botánico, and the exceptional Jardín Botánico, with its jungle of Canarian vegetation and flowers, one-off palm assortment, and 200-year-old Australian Moreton Bay fig.
A dive into the city’s historic heart ought to start on the bronze statue of the fisherwoman at Playa del Muelle, the place La Cofradía de Pescadores dishes up recent seafood. It’s paces away from the grand, palm-rimmed central sq. Plaza Charco (“Puddle Plaza”), so named as a result of it used to flood each time a storm blew in. From right here, lose your self within the tangle of lanes within the previous fishing district of La Ranilla, now a hip-and-happening quarter, the place cottages have been reborn as artsy-cool bars and eating places, like Agora, with a reasonably terrace out entrance for vinos and tapas.
Seashore-wise, Playa Martiánez wins, with its arc of darkish sand and delicate waves supreme for attending to grips with browsing. However for those who favor your swims with a splash extra type, take a look at the huge saltwater swimming pools at Lago Martiánez, the volcanic rock imaginative and prescient of late Spanish artist, sculptor, and architect César Manrique.
Parque Rural del Teno
Finest for mountain highs
Shaggy mountains thrust up above orchards, terraces, and valleys on the island’s northwestern tip, the place the volcanic cliffs of Parque Rural de Teno rear up above the raging ocean like a dragon’s spine. It’s a nook of the island that’s nonetheless deliciously off the radar, with a dawn-of-creation magnificence about it. The world is spectacularly biodiverse, carpeted with laurel and beech forests and strawberry timber that the endangered laurel pigeon and noticed lizard each love.
On the rocky headland at Punta de Teno, the place a lonely lighthouse stands, you’ll be able to really feel the total pressure of nature, with Atlantic waves battering a black-sand seashore and jagged mountains rippling into the space. The sunsets are value lingering for. The highway is restricted (no non-public automobiles throughout daytime or on the weekends), however you will get right here by taxi, bike, or taking bus 369 from Buenavista del Norte.
The TF-436 highway that corkscrews dizzyingly as much as Masca acts as a drumroll for the insanely photogenic village, clinging to a mountaintop for expensive life and with an incredible fang of rock protruding above it. Seize a bowl of cactus-flavored ice cream with palm honey at one of many native cafes earlier than embarking on one among Tenerife’s most phenomenal hikes down the Barranco de Masca ravine to the ocean – offering you could have a allow, that’s.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Finest for carnival and tradition
Although usually neglected by vacationers within the mad sprint to the coast, the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife actually is the island’s beating coronary heart. In the event you want proof, go to throughout February’s Carnaval, a feast of all-night fiestas, parades of sparkly costumes, and Latino-style hip-wiggling second solely to Rio de Janeiro.
Culturally, Santa Cruz has the sting. It has some unmissable historic sights like Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, initially inbuilt 1498 simply after the town was conquered, with its intricately wrought wood Mudéjar (Islamic-style structure) ceilings. However the metropolis’s actual showstoppers are extra up to date. The strikingly angular, light-flooded Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA), bearing the minimalist hallmark of Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron, presents an thrilling roster of exhibitions of up-and-coming Spanish artwork. The town has its personal Sydney Opera Home within the type of Auditorio de Tenerife, a crashing white wave of an auditorium, famed for each Santiago Calatrava’s structure and its acoustics. In the event you can’t catch a live performance, be part of a guided tour of the constructing or go for a drink within the foyer cafe.
It’s a pleasure to additionally simply wander the town’s parks, plazas, and streets, the place you would possibly occur upon a sculpture by Henry Moore or Joan Miró, hang around on a restaurant terraza (terrace) on Plaza Candelaria or discover picnic fixings at Mercado de Nuestra Señora de África. With its Islamic-style arches and patios, and stalls heaving with recent fruit and greens, fish, wine, and native cheese, the market is your backstage go to native life, particularly within the morning as individuals get up over churros and low.
