Every morning from our breakfast table at the hotel we had a magnificent view of the Pico del Teide.
Sometimes the mountain was covered in clouds, sometimes it stood out in sharp contrast to the clear blue sky and on one morning we even saw snow at the top of it. The Pico del Teide is 3710 meters high and is located in the Teide National Park Tenerife. It is, in fact, a composite volcano with almost completely bare slopes. The volcano last erupted in 1909.
The unusual landscape became a National Park in 1954 and was declared UNESCO World Natural Heritage in 2007. The area is controlled by gamekeepers, who regulate the masses of tourists.
Hiking is only allowed on designated hiking paths. There are guided tours that lead away from the main road. A hike to the top of Pico del Teide requires a special permit that has to be applied for in advance. Only those who would like to take the cable car Teleférico del Teide up to the station that is about 150 meters below the summit are allowed to do so without a permit.
We took our hire car to the National Park. We planned to take the cable car to get up the mountain. After we parked the car in the massive car park at the lower terminus we abandoned this plan. The queue was insanely long!
But the National Park has lots of interesting spots where visitors can learn about the volcanic landscape. I was deeply impressed by the different types of landscape –big, open sand plains, rough and rocky terrain and everything in between can be found here.
The way back from the sunny Teide was particularly diverse. First, we disappeared in a thick soup of low hanging clouds and then all of a sudden it was pouring down. A trip to this National Park is definitely worthwhile – we will certainly come back again.
Alice Ford
I was just here and hiked to the top. It was truly breathtaking. I just love this park, I am glad you got to experience it as well. I hope you explore more.
Mei and Kerstin
The landscapes of the Teide National Park really look stunning! Maybe the queue would be less long if you went earlier in the morning? Too bad that it rained when you were on your way down. We hope the hike wasn’t too dangerous when it rained!
Navita
Teide National Park sounds fascinating and happy to learn about a new destination. Did not know that there is UNESCO World “Natural” Heritage category too and lovely that this is one of them. Terrain seems very unique for sure. Control is need to preserve the places and nice that they have designated hiking paths.
Jing
What a great way to enjoy breakfast with that view. I wonder what would be the difficulty level of hiking Pico del Teide if you’re not taking the cable car route. The different land forms are indeed amazing.
krupa
Never heard of this place before though we love visiting national parks. We are adding up this in our queue now to visit. Thanks for sharing.
Michael Hodgson
Nice photos … did you take them all? Would love captions to give me a bit more detail about what I am looking at. You indicate you planned to take the cable car but bailed due to the long lines. Do you recommend arriving earlier? Where in the park can you go without a permit? You mention you had a view of Tenerife from your hotel … wow! That would be cool. What hotel?
Amy
It is a great mix of landscape, and the view of Pico del Teide over breakfast would be a perfect start to the day! Would love to take the cable car up for sure. Great photos, an interesting place to visit I am sure.
Carol Colborn
We canceled our November trip to the Canary Islands. I didn’t know there is a national park with a volcano! Thought it was just composed of beaches.
Dana Howard Freeman
Great photos of the terrain. I haven’t been here yet.