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The magic and majesty of Tenerife’s Mt Teide |
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Written by Steve Andrews
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 In many ways the island of Tenerife is Mt Teide, because without it then there would be no island here. So it seems fitting that as you approach Tenerife by air the lofty peak stands out clearly and majestically, especially when it is covered in gleaming snow.
Mt Teide, or Pico del Teide, as it is also known, is a dormant volcano that is said to be 600,000 years old and it is also the highest mountain in all of Spain standing 3717 m above sea level and approximately 7000 m above the adjacent seabed. About 150,000 years ago on Tenerife as it then was, an immense explosive eruption occurred creating Las Cańadas, a large caldera at just over 2000 m altitude.
The summit of Mt Teide has a number of small active fumaroles emitting hot sulphur dioxide and other gases and the whole place is like something from a distant past or vene from another planet. The barren rocky slopes of Mt Teide have rocks carved by erosion and time into bizarre shapes and the flatter plains look more like the Moon or Mars. It is not at all surprising in view of this that Planet of the Apes was filmed at Mt Teide on Tenerife.
 Teide is actually a modern name given by the Spanish, but originally the native Guanche people, who lived on the island of Tenerife prior to the Spanish colonization and conquest, called it Echeyde (or Echeide). Echeyde, in the Guanches legends, was where Guayota the god of evil and his evil spirits lived.
 Tenerife’s Mt Teide, and the area surrounding it including the whole of the caldera, are protected in a national park known as the Parque Nacional del Teide. The national park is a location that naturalists, geologists and ramblers will love and it really is like nowhere else in the world. Geologists will be fascinated to see the pumice and black obsidian and other forms of volcanic rocks that give strange otherworldly colours and shapes in the landscape.
Access to Tenerife’s Mt Teide is by a public road running across the caldera from northeast to southwest. The excellent public service TITSA runs a once daily return bus (number 342) from Puerto de la Cruz to Mt Teide, and another service, again once a day only, from Playa de las Americas (number 342). Buses leave at 9.15 am and reach Teide by around 11.30 am and return at 4pm. They take travellers as far as the Parador de Turismo (tourist centre and hotel) and also stop off at the cable car (Teleférico Teide) and the El Portillo visitors centre. The tourist centre is very near the Roques de García, and one of these - the Roque Chinchado - is also known as the “stone tree,” due to its peculiar shape.
 The cable car (Teleférico Teide) goes from the roadside at 2356 m most of the way to the summit, reaching 3555 m. Access to the summit itself is restricted, however, a free permit, is obtainable from the National Park office in Santa Cruz, C/ Emilio Calzadilla, 5 - 4th floor, and is required to be allowed to climb up the last 200 m.
 Mt Teide’s unique environment is noted for a large number of endemic plants including the broom Retama del Teide (Cytisus supranubius) the red-flowered Viper’s Bugloss (Echium wildpretii), or Tajinaste rojo as it is known in Spanish, and the pretty lilac-purple flowered Teide Stock (Erysimum scoparium). Tenerife lizards (Gallotia galloti) are common around the tourist centre and bask and run about in the hot sunshine. The Canary Blue butterfly (Cyclyrius webbianus) is also a common sight as are the plentiful honeybees and hives are looked after in the area to produce the unique Teide honey.
 Lower down, the middle slopes from 1000–2000 m are clothed with forests of the Canary Pine (Pinus canariensis) and often these Tenerife natural forests are shrouded in thick cloud, which allow lichens to form on the trunks and branches. The Old Man’s Beard lichen (Usnea articulata) can be seen festooning the trees in some of the forests on the way up the road to Mt Teide.
 The visitors’ and tourist centres provide restaurants, shops and a wealth of information of interest, including an exhibition in the latter centre of texts, artefacts, models, maps and photographs all about the Canarian and Guanche shepherds of Tenerife who once used the area in summer for their goats.
In winter and early spring on Tenerife the peak of Mt Teide is often covered in snow, which gleams brightly in the bright sun, and although the snow lies on the rocky slopes the air is very warm and it is easy to get sunburnt so bring a hat and sun protection. At night it often goes below zero up there and so the animals and plants that live on Mt Teide are adapted to tolerate the extremes in hot and cold.
The commanding and magical-looking peak of Mt Teide can be seen from most areas of Tenerife island and many people feel drawn to want to visit it. Mt Teide is definitely amongst the places that area “must-see” on Tenerife and a visit is sure to provide a unique and memorable experience.
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Tenerife Island 
