Route to the Teide
This is a must stop for all of you who are visiting Tenerife.
Since I was staying at the Costa Adeje, south of the island, I traveled from south to north along the TF-21 road in a rented car, from Vilaflor to Icod de los Vinos, crossing Las Cañadas. It is amazing to see how the landscape changes as you go up.
First you pass the forests of the Corona Forestal Natural Park, the biggest protected natural reserve of the archipelago (more than 46000 hectares).
When you pass the 2700 meters above sea level, the landscape drastically changes and the greenness is substituted by an arid landscape, almost lunar, composed by rocky formations, volcanic cones and craters.
Along the road you encounter different viewpoints that allow you to contemplate the majestic landscape that resulted from the eruptions of the Teide Volcano, which has an altitude 3,718, the highest peak of the country and named World Heritage by UNESCO.
The first three stops are: Boca de Tauce, Zapatilla de la Reina, Mirador de la Ruleta. Afterwards you reach the most famous place of Las Cañadas: Roques de García, from where you have a spectacular view of de Ucanca and where the Parador Nacional de Turismo is found.
2362 above sea level is the next stop, Tabonal Negro, a landscape formed by a sea of dark lava and obsidians. Here is the detour that takes you to the cable car that in 10 minutes travels 2.5 km and leaves you at the base of the crater.
I wasn’t able to go up because of the wind so I continued to the last viewpoint, Minas San José, the landscape I liked the most, since it is a vast extension of white color that looks like sand.
Following the TF-21, you start to go down to the northern part of the island, crossing once again the Corona Forestal. At times it looks like a sea of clouds, like cotton between the trees.
This trip is really worth it and it has impressive landscapes.
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