10 things you can only do in the north of Tenerife
1. SEE UFOs
There are those who think that you won't be able to do that in Tenerife or anywhere else (me, for example). But the act itself of going to look for it, stocking up on some snacks, transporting a wine from the area and climb to a height to see if one appears It can be just as fun even if the protagonist is so elusive that he doesn't even exist. And why in Tenerife? Because ufologists , those people whose greatest merit is to have given themselves a name of scientific resonance (well, and who see UFOs) mention the island all the time, the Teide National Park and to its shores in their reports of sightings.
The clear night skies, so appropriate for stargazing, also have their share of responsibility in this. The peak moment of ufology in Tenerife occurred in June 1989, when a radio program managed to bring together nearly 40,000 people in the National Park waiting for an extraterrestrial contact . Everyone on the island passed by, natives and foreigners, but the aliens did not appear.
See UFOs
two. STEPPING ON WORKS OF ART
the neighbors of La Orotava fill the town with carpets of flowers and colored sand from the canyons of Teide and flowers in June, during the corpus festivity (the Thursday after Corpus Sunday actually) . The rugs, which have a Guinness record for earth murals , occupy a wide route through the town, culminating in a tapestry of about a thousand square meters in front of the Town Hall and compose religious paintings and decorative forms so complex and realistic that it is difficult to believe that they are made of an ephemeral and elusive material such as the local sand. After the procession and the mass, the children are in charge of trampling the work that the local artisans have been doing for a month.
Stepping on works of art in La Orotava
3. SEE DRAGONS
What remains of the dragons are the dragos , fed by the blood of Ladon, a huge 100-headed dragon slain by Atlas in Greek mythology. He was in charge of guarding the Hesperides, the paradise islands, which were located precisely here. the canary dragon , the spectacular endemic species of red sap like the blood of a dragon, can live for hundreds of years and has its oldest representative and held in Icod de los Vinos. The Guanches adored them and today's tourists come to do the same: they have made it one of the most photographed attractions on the island. The situation of the dragon trees in the center of the cities is another proof of their sacred interpretation or at least of the appreciation that they have. In La Laguna, for example, they crown the main squares, such as the Cathedral and the Adelantado.
Thousand-year-old dragon tree of Icod de los Vinos
Four. REACH THE HIGHEST
Mount Teide reaches 3,718 meters and in Spain you cannot climb to a higher place. Reaching its peak is a walk among rocks surrounded by the 168 natural species that grow in the rocky nooks and crannies (58 of them only occur in the Canary Islands). The other view of the volcano is the one from the flat land of the island , even more impressive, since, in addition, it usually has a crown of clouds. Clouds at your feet if you climb to the top or clouds like Teide magnets if you look at it from below: you choose.
Mount Teide reaches 3,718 meters
5. THROW YOURSELF INTO THE VOLCANO
Or at least explore its interior. To see a volcano from the inside it is not necessary to be the main course of a sacrifice to the gods or the protagonist of a song by Carlos Berlanga. In Icod de los Vinos they have 17 visitable and underground kilometers of volcanic tube: the cave of the wind . It is the largest volcanic passageway in the European Union and has hidden treasures in the form of terraces, potholes and whimsical and paunchy lava formations.
The cave of the wind in Icod de los Vinos
6. MEET A VEGETABLE PHOENIX
The canary pine It is almost a miracle and the reason why life abounds in the interior of the Canary Islands: it is capable of regenerating itself after a fire. It occupies 60 percent of the green surface of the archipelago and, although it is the emblem of La Palma and is found on all the islands (in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote only in the form of cultivation), the north of Tenerife is unique to get lost in its shadows. The island has most of the 70,000 hectares that this species inhabits.
Long live the shade of the Canary Island pine!
7. SEE SCULPTURES THAT ARE NOT SCULPTURES
Lava from Teide fills the northern coast of Tenerife with capriciously shaped volcanic rocks , as if sculpted to participate in an open-air exhibition that would occupy half the island. There are those who only care about admiring its twisted natural beauty and there are those who associate rocks with anthropomorphic suggestions or with forms of lions and other animals.
Teide's lava seems sculpted to participate in an outdoor exhibition
8. USE THE GUACHAPP
Guachapp is the mobile application that helps you decide which guachinches to visit: it geolocates and rates them. Guachinches are a (commercial) species also endemic that was born in the patios of the wine producers, who sold the bottles in their own homes and offered something to nibble on to the tasters, so they wouldn't roll down the steep slopes of the vineyards. It has evolved into short menu restaurants and recipes which tend to be traditional or at least use local products. In an authentic guachinche the atmosphere is rural, the food is homemade and the views long.
9. DRESS UP AS A WIZARD
Of all the possible ways to dress as a magician (from informal attire to Tamariz to David Copperfield's puntablanquismo) the one proposed by Tenerife is the one that requires knowing fewer tricks. It's really enough to know drink, eat, dance and sing a little . It is the traditional peasant (and peasant) costume that is used during the most typical and deep-rooted festivals of the Tenerife towns. In addition to parading through the streets on ox-drawn carts, you attend the magicians' dances, for some of which attire is essential. The good news is that anyone willing to rent one is instantly a part of the party. In June there is in La Orotava, in July in San Cristobal de La Laguna and Puerto de la Cruz and in August in Garachico.
10. NOT HAVING TO CHOOSE BETWEEN SEA OR SWIMMING POOL
The natural pools of Garachico They are cubicles with almost sculptural walls totally self-managed by lava (which shaped them) and the Atlantic Ocean (which is responsible for filling and emptying them based on tides). On days when it is not very crowded you can take over one of its mini reservoirs just for you. You have views of the Castillo de San Miguel and you are one step away from Garachico , one of the most authentic towns on the island, where children play football in the street and everything else happens very slowly around the gardens and the Town Hall square.
*You may also be interested...
- The 25 photos that will make you want to live in the Canary Islands
- 46 things you have to do in the Canary Islands once in your life
- Canarias in five basic dishes
- A trip to Tenerife without setting foot on the beach - Unusual trips in search of Masonic temples in Tenerife - Tenerife: a slow-burning volcano - All articles by Rafael de Rojas
Natural pools of Garachico