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National park in Tenerife, Spain
Photo: Grombo, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Teide National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional del Teide) is Europe's most visited national park with over 4 million visitors in 2016. With an area of 190 km² it occupies the highest 10% of Tenerife's land area, one of the Canary Islands which administratively belong to Spain. It was declared a in 2007 and has since been one of the 12 Treasures of Spain.
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If there is no cloud cover, you have an amazing view all over the island, the neighbouring Canary Islands. If you are lucky, you may even get to see the African mainland. Usually clouds develop in the morning; hence, you are best advised to get to the top as early as possible.
Roques García
Rock formation considered emblematic to Tenerife, at about 1,700 m below the summit of Mount Teide. It is a volcanic formation belonging it a lineup of large rock formations all of which are remnants of the former summit known as Roques García. The 27-m-high rock pillar is composed of sedimentary rock layers, with its upper layers intruded by 2 sills of lava which made the upper part of the pillar more erosion resistant.
A good viewpoint for the sunset watching.
White Mountain
A parasitic cone of the Teide caldera, and with 2,748 m the third tallest peak on Tenerife after Pico del Teide (3,715 m) and Pico Viejo (3,135 m).
Reserva natural especial del Chinyero
Volcanic cone one the slopes of El Teide, at a distance of about 10 km of its summit. Its height above sea level is 1,556 m but due to elevation of the landscape the cone is only 60 m tall. Its last eruption occurred on 27 November 1909, and was the last volcanic eruption on Tenerife to date. An area of 2 km² was covered by lava and ash, but no humans were injured. During its previous eruption in 1706, Garachico was heavily damaged by its lava flows.
Observatorio del Teide
Astronomical observatory on Mount Teide at 2,390 m altitude, operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. Opened in 1964, it became the first major international observatory with telescopes from different countries being installed because of its superior observatory conditions. The observatory consists of multiple buildings, some of which can be visited on guided tours.
The only proper hotel at the mountain.
Closed for modernization as of October 2024.
There is a room with 3 bunk beds (and thus space for 6 people) still accessible in an emergency. 2-3 more people may fit on the floor if you have a sleeping pad. It is open 24/7, but the place is in poor condition, not being maintained nor cleaned, and there are no toilets and no water. Despite that, you can still expect it to be occupied. The situation may change when work on modernizing the Refugio starts—check the Google reviews for the Refugio for the current situation.
Probably the only holiday home available for rent within the National Park.
Chio camping site
Las Lajas camping site
By thumb
g. near Vilaflor, Chío or Camino de Chasna, it is possible to find a lift up into the Teide crater.
By car
A rental car gives the most freedom to get into and around in the park, and enables stops at the numerous viewpoints (Spanish: mirador) along the way traversing the Coronal Rural Park into the Teide…
By taxi
A taxi from the airport to the bottom of the cable lift may set you back up to €150.
On foot
Hiking into the crater can be an option, since there are numerous trails leading from the lower altitudes of the island into its higher ones.
By thumb
It is possible to see the crater by thumb. There are more than enough friendly tourists travelling the crater by car, you just have to find a convenient point where cars can stop.
By car
A car is the easiest. Sometimes streets can be closed due to snowfall—check in advance.
By bicycle
Race biking or e-bike is also not unheard of. However, there is no bike rental place in the park.
On foot
Walking is probably not the best mode of transportation if you want to get from one sight to the other quickly, since the distances are quite large.
By cable car
From the car park area the view isn't particularly special; you'll have to ascend further to the top for the real goods.
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Tenerife · International · TFS
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