Tenerife is a medley of picture-postcard villages, high-octane viewpoints and otherworldly landscapes. And nowhere more so than in Teide National Park. On this full day tour, you'll wind your way up the slopes of Mount Teide volcano, where an optional cable car ride can take you to the summit. Juana, one of our expert local guides, says, ‘Teide National Park and the surrounding Corona Forestal Nature Reserve together account for one third of Tenerife's land mass – the extent to which the volcano dominates our island is indescribable.'
Dramatic volcanic landscapes await as you venture into Teide National Park to see the showstopper itself – the 3,700-metre Mount Teide. As you climb, you'll pass through four different climate zones, which create an ever-changing kaleidoscope of terrains, flora and fauna. And because of its geological importance, the park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Juana says, ‘The park boasts a variety of camera-grabbing landscapes. There's the scorched earth of the lava fields, the jagged rock formations of Roques de Garcia, the Mars-like badlands around Montaña Rajada and the pine forests of the Corona Forestal.'
As an optional extra, you can avail of the cable car service to just below the summit of the volcano. From this altitude, weather permitting, you can enjoy head-spinning views over Tenerife and the rest of the Canary archipelago jutting up from the Atlantic. Alternatively, you might get to see the famous ‘sea of clouds' that often hovers beneath the summit.
