Tenerife, a good choice in the Canary Islands

And it's time for another post with a special dedicatory :) This time the post goes to my dear friend Mario (who's stationed in London) hopping to inspire him to take a few vacation days on the beautiful Spanish island of Tenerife!

Being the biggest one of the seven islands of the Canary Islands archipelago, Tenerife has much to offer to the tourists. At the top are for sure the very good beaches: Las Americas and Los Cristianos in the South of the island, Las Teresitas near Santa Cruz de Tenerife (the capital) and also the ones with the black sands near Candelaria.


Also favoring this island as a travel destination are it's location close to Europe and it's weather - since it's warm and sunny throughout the all year it's not that difficult to find good holiday deals if you choose carefully your dates making sure to get smaller fares both in flights and hotels.


Besides the beaches Tenerife also has to offer the tourists a few magical places. The first magical spot are the peculiar rocky formations called Acantilados de Los Gigantes (in English, Cliffs of the Giants) near Puerto de Santiago. In the East end of the island this amazing vertical walls next to the ocean reach heights of 500 meters above sea level.


Another exquisite view are the mountain peaks near the village of Masca. Not very far from the sea this place has some kind of a micro climate. The lower temperatures and high humidity levels cause dense clouds formations that transforms what should be a normal mountain view in something worthy of a movie scenario.


Finally the Volcano mountain called El Teide is also a mandatory visit. The views in the mountains and plan-alts are marvelous and on the way to the top you pass through several picturesque villages like the one above, Vilaflor. Like in Masca also here the height of the mountains (above 2500 meters) lowers the temperatures so a sweater might be a good idea.

As usual one final thanks to Open Galleries for the Tenerife photos.

Mario, I hope you like it and do call me before you go ;)

La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Back to Tenerife to present you two more photos. This time, taken on the second city of the island, San Cristobál de La Laguna, classified by UNESCO as World Heritage and more often simply called, La Laguna.
The colonial architecture was the main reason that justified the distinction. The narrow streets you'll find there are filled with very old buildings, that create an atmosphere absolutely unique.
Definitely another place to visit is the local Cathedral. Also in the same plaza (La Plaza de la Catedral) is a garden that goes all around the Cathedral and that is well worth a look. In the photo above, right in front of the Cathedral, is one of the magnificent Dragon Trees they have there...

Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Hi again! Today, some photos of the capital of the Canary Islands, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. A city with a fine architecture which presents to the tourist some kind of a mixture between old and new. Bellow, a photo of an ancient building in one of the city main plaza, La Plaza de España.
Just a few meters away is this beautiful old church (photo bellow) with a funny wooden balcony that goes all around the lower building and a very high tower that dominates the view from the surrounding areas. It's name, La Iglesia de La Concepción, Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
Also a note (and photo, of course...) to the colored city trains. Circling through the majority of the old part of the city, side by side with the numerous colonial buildings dated as far as the XV century, a nice touch of modernity that fits perfectly.
The advice - don't miss the chance and reserve some time for a ride in one of them, after all, it's always a nice way to view the city...

Candelaria, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Another place you should visit when in Tenerif is the village of Cancelaria (just a few miles south from the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerif). In the center of the location you'll find the plaza where is located the Church of Cancelaria (in Spanish, La Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria).
The Church is magnificent. Above is a photo of the main entry and bellow one detailed view from the beautiful altar you can find inside.
Another thing to see, again in the main plaza, are the nine bronze statues dedicated to the Guanches Kings (prior to the Spanish, the old inhabitants of the island).
One extra word of advice for the traffic to get there, since it's very close to the capital, try to avoid the rush hour...

El Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

El Teide is a volcano that with it's 3718 meters is also the largest mountain on the Canary Islands. The peak of the mountain is called Pico Del Teide and, about 2000/2500/3000 meters above sea level, there are some enormous plateaus filled with small vegetation and volcanic rocks that makes that area absolutely unique...
All the area around the volcano is part of the Nacional Park of El Teide (in Spanish, Parque Nacional del Teide) and, if you can, I would advise you to take the road that passes through the south entry of the Park. From there the view of Pico del Teide is absolutely dazzling (see photo bellow).
A little word of caution for those who intent to go up there - even in the summer consider taking a jacket or a sweater - the place is a bit more colder then the rest of the island...

Los Gigantes, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

And off we go to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean - to Tenerife, the largest of the seven Canary Islands (in Spanish, Islas Canárias). The place I'm showing bellow is located on the west coast of the island. It's called Los Gigantes.
The principal attraction there are the tall rocky mountains (going from 500 to 800 meters) that you can see behind the marina. In fact the village got it's name exactly cause of them. Translating to English, Los Gigantes are The Giants...
Besides the amazing view which by itself makes it worthy going there you can always descend to the village. It's a cute spot and next to the marina you'll find some nice restaurants and cafes.