Tenerife: An Island of Eternal Spring

Discover what the Guaches – the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands – have known for centuries: Tenerife will enchant you. The Spanish island is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Teide National Park and the city of La Laguna. With a unique volcanic landscape and plant species seen nowhere else, the island is globally known as a stargazing destination.

Olympic athletes train here, taking advantage of the average temperature of 73 degrees Fahrenheit and 3,000 hours of sunlight year-round. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast, you’ll find something to do here – whether you’re a professional athlete or a casual hiker.

For Land-Lovers

Forty-three percent of Tenerife – nearly half the island – is protected nature areas. If you love hiking, biking, and trail running, Tenerife boasts 1500 km of trails.

Because of the island’s small size (2,034 square km), you can experience big elevation changes over short distances, making it a training destination for pro cyclists.

Route 040 is the most up-and-down route in all of Spain – and one of the longest in Europe. The 30 km trail starts just 12 meters above sea level on the coast, and ends at 3718 meters above sea level, at the peak of El Teide – the highest point in Spain and the third-highest volcanic structure in the world.

Some of the best trails and landscapes are in Teide National Park, Anaga Rural Park, and Teno Rural Park.

Mountain bikers will find 200 km of trails in Tenerife, many in Corona Forestal Natural Park.

Enjoy a walk through a lava tube – la cueva del viento (the cave of the wind) – formed 27,000 years ago. The volcanic rock on the island makes for great rock climbing.

Thanks to its climate and air quality, Tenerife has become a leading destination in Europe for paragliding, with over 100 sites on the island.

For Water-Lovers

An absolute must is to enjoy Tenerife’s charcos, or natural pools, around the island. Dotted along the coast, these are usually pools formed by the volcanic rock, where fresh ocean water comes in, but that are still protected.

There are 70 km of beaches – some have black volcanic sand, others have golden sand, and some are rock.

You can swim, snorkel, surf, kayak, kite surf, and scuba dive. Underwater, you can spot barracudas, manta rays, sea horses, turtles, dolphins, and whales.

People come to Tenerife from all over the world for whale and dolphin watching. It’s home to a stable colony of bottlenose dolphins and about 400 pilot whales.

Outside the ocean, you can go canyoning – repelling down waterfalls. Or try something called coastering – which has elements of canyoning, ziplining over the coast, and rock climbing a set route, like via Ferrata.

The History, Food and Culture of Tenerife

On top of all these natural wonders is getting to experience the history, food, and culture of Tenerife. Tenerife blends Guache culture – originally from North Africa – with that of the Spanish conquistadors, and mixes with the Americas.

It’s a place of contrasts—lush forests with stark volcanic rock, ocean exploration with high altitude. That combination—and the ability to see so many different landscapes in such a small space—makes it a special place for nature lovers to enjoy year-round.

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