Tenerife – el Teide volcano, almost like being on the moon!

Just when we had concluded that the road to Masca was #1 in Tenerife he appeared – El Teide and claimed it all! To be in Tenerife and not to enter the National Park is like being in Paris and not seeing the Eiffle Tower.

Towering over Tenerife, this nearly 4,000-year-old mountain is the highest peak in all of Spain. It can be seen from almost anywhere on the island, and we even managed to spot it from Gran Canaria :)

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La Orotava on the way to Teide

But before we write about the trip to Teide National Park, we have to confess something to you – we went there with an organized tour ;) It worked out that way, we had the opportunity, so it’s a shame not to take advantage of it, however, after each such experience we are more and more convinced to steer clear of such organized trips.

Nevertheless, one step at a time: start 8:15 at a nearby hotel. Tour participants are mostly Germans (average age 60+) and Spaniards (here the average is lowered by children, it gets loud). The guide is fluent in three languages (English, Spanish, German) and you have to give her credit for telling quite interesting stories. At the beginning of the trip we stopped in the town of La Orotava – a short walk through the old town and a 40-minute (!) break in a nearby store (under the pretext of a super view from the balcony and a museum across the street). The town is nice, with typical wooden balconies so it’s worth looking up.

Teide National Park

We then headed to Teide National Park, one of the most iconic landmarks in Tenerife, something the Canary Islands, among others, are famous for. The road led sharply uphill, and the only thought that came to our minds was how this coach would manage to drive to its destination. After all, it’s a journey of more than 3 km up from sea level!

Along the way we passed trucks carrying needles collected from the forest from time to time – this is to prevent fires, as they are highly flammable in this dry climate and a fire here is not difficult. Our first stop was at a rock that resembles a flower in its shape and at a viewpoint on Teide.

We also stopped at a cafe for a rest, where, surprisingly, there were already sliced ‘home-made’ cakes and coffee, tea waiting for us (of course, everything is charged extra) – and another half hour out of our minds (ahh those wonderful organized tours…).

Then we drove toward the crater, past the Teide summit railroad, which was just out of service. During our stay, we talked to several people who wanted to ascend or descend from the summit and no one found it working ;) Generally, they stipulate that in windy and generally unfavorable conditions, the queue may be closed without notice, so if you plan to approach the mountain on your own strength then assume the pessimistic variant that you will also face a descent along the same route. Night climbs to the top are also reportedly fashionable.

Driving on, we reach the end of the road and the best vantage points: the landscape as if from a moon, the view of the giant crater, the rocks created from solidifying lava, and the Teide peak, reigning over everything, make an electrifying impression. Anyway, see for yourself:

Teide’s active volcano?

On the way back we stopped at one more place, where after a short walk you reach the crater itself – the volcano is active but dormant so you couldn’t see the bubbling lava as it is in the movies ;) By the way, many movies were filmed in Teide National Park such as. Star Wars or Clash of the Titans.

Oh, important thing: this is a National Park and you can’t carry anything out of here (no rocks!) – we saw men armed with walkie-talkies and binoculars looking out for disobedient tourists ;)

Weather on Teide

When going to Teide, you need to be prepared for any weather. As we wrote in earlier posts – it is impossible to predict. It’s definitely cooler upstairs – long pants and a sweatshirt/jacket will come in handy. We just happened to hit almost cloudless weather, but this too is treacherous, as the sun heats up quite strongly even though you can’t feel it. Apparently, 10 minutes on the mountain in the sun is the equivalent of 1 or 2 hours on the beach at sea level, so it’s worth hiding from the sun (remember to wear a hat and sunscreen with plenty of sunscreen!). Paweł got a bit of an idea… ;)

Teide Observatory

On the way back we stopped for 1.5h for lunch (longer than the free time in the Park itself!!!). We had lunch here: a light Canarian salad with banana and typical ‘wrinkly potatoes’ – served in the shell, with salt and mojo sauces: red and green.

At least the views were interesting :)

This was not the end of the attractions for today. We took the bus towards the Teide observatory (2,400 meters above sea level) – there are more than a dozen telescopes, and each belongs to a different country. Supposedly, cities in Tenerife are required to turn off city lights between 12-6 to ensure the best visibility (supposedly, because we didn’t see them out at 5 a.m., nor did we see them out after midnight…).

Driving towards the observatory you can see Gran Canaria on the horizon.

We pass the observatory, a few serpentines and stop at a vantage point with a postcard view: clouds, above them Teide and on the horizon La Palma…. a wonderful view :)

In addition, an interesting cross-section of rocks (‘like a cake’) can be seen at the back, but the view of Teide effectively draws attention away from them.