Highway to heaven.
Perhaps it is that sensation of noticing the warmth of the heart of the Earth. That idea of being closer to the origins of the ground we walk on. It is a feeling, a perception, a heartbeat, something sometimes difficult to decipher. But almost all of us feel an inexplicable connection to volcanoes and volcanic lands. It is perhaps the reason, one of the reasons, why Tenerife was the favorite destination of the Spanish in 2019 (according to Tripadvisor) and it is the reason why we always want to return to the island.
Now more than ever. We need to plant our feet on this earth, feel its strength, its goodness and its beauty, Also your call. We need to feel closer to a wild, brutal, original nature that opens our eyes and gives us hope. That is why we return to Tenerife. To its black shores, to its dips in puddles of petrified lava, to its ancient potatoes, to its wines, the highest in Europe.
Socorro beach in Los Realejos.
We return to the island directing our own path, marking our destiny and choosing our exits and stops. The surface of Tenerife makes it perfect to enjoy at the wheel and go through every corner, although now we delight in the least known.
However, and without wanting to contradict ourselves, no visitor to the island can flee or avoid Teide. Neither La Laguna, World Heritage Sites by Unesco. As much as we want to get lost, skipping these stops would be sacrilege, an affront to Tenerife. **You have to start from the top, almost touching the sky. **
Touch the sky with your fingers.
We start in La Orotava to fuck “one of the most impressive roads in Europe”, the TF-21, word of the book The 1001 highways of a life. From the green valley to the pine forests and the lunar landscape at the foot of the volcano. Where you can stop, if you want, to go up to the summit by cable car. Or we continue, to Vilaflor. Total, just over 60 kilometers that will seem more to you due to the diversity of the landscape, but they will be short.
A PRIVILEGED CORNER
Now we will tour perhaps the most beautiful, sinuous and steep 6 kilometers of the island: the road that goes from Masca to Santiago del Teide. Located at one end of the Massif of Teno, Masca is, for many, the most beautiful town on the island, at least one of the most authentic despite its small size due to the conservation of a rural traditional architecture. From there, the TF-436 will take us through impossible curves, in a well-paved road with the necessary viewpoints to lift your eyes from the steering wheel. It is an area for hiking, adventure, perforated ravines by rains for hundreds of years, the greenery. You'll want to park the car and hit both legs.
A stone wall: Los Gigantes.
Then we will continue. The sea calls us. But from above. In the cliffs of Los Gigantes, 600 meters above that ocean where if you are patient you will see whales and dolphins appear. From Los Gigantes, Los Cristianos or Puerto Colón the boats of sea sighting.
STOP THE TIME
In Garachico they say that time stops. The clock stops ticking in this town that was reborn from its ashes after being swallowed by the eruption of the Trevejo volcano in 1706. Possibly it is this past that leads us to enjoy this corner of the island in a different way, more slowly, more calmly, that here and now that guides us lately.
Tenerife, as an island, always looks out to sea, but here even more so: you look out to Rock of Garachico, to the ponds of the Caleton, one of the most envied bathrooms. It looks at the sculpture of the Japanese Kan Yasuda, that frames that sea. And then, dry, we look inside: at its 20 churches, its charming accommodation, its excellent cuisine, the Castle of San Miguel, the Puerta de Tierra Park.
View of Garachico.
From that paradise, even with the clock stopped, back to the car and two destinations, two paths, two possibilities, one for each day: the silos, surrounded by his laurel forest, Y The tank, preferred location for paragliding take off . Both good starts entering the Teno Rural Park.
LOOKING FOR PEACE
Playa de las Américas is, without a doubt, one of the most popular destinations in Tenerife. But we will use it only as an output box. The destination is the other UNESCO World Heritage Site that we can never miss: San Cristobal de La Laguna. We ran off the highway and we look for the TF-28, the forgotten road some say. 103 kilometers that practically cross the island discovering us small towns, very authentic. Far from typical postcards. A road to travel slowly. Many cyclists choose it for a reason. You will not get bored and they will multiply the possibilities of stopping to discover the local gastronomy. Although you should arrive hungry at La Laguna. Hunger literally and metaphorically. Wanting to walk through the cobbled streets with colonial history, wanting to listen to stories about the island, this island that, after a handful of kilometers it has revealed multiple faces, many versions and diversions. That is why we always want to return to Tenerife. Now more than ever.
The whole island is full of gastronomic secrets.