40 FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS 013ISLAND INFORMATION

island connections

A concise resource to help you make the most of your time in the Canaries

Guide to the Canary Islands

Tenerife

Teide National Park

The highest peak in Spain, at 3,718m, is one of Tenerife’s greatest attractions. It is possi-ble to hike to the top, and also to catch the cable car. See: www.telefericoteide.com.To access the summit of the volcano, Pico del Teide, you need to obtain a free permit in advance, issued by the Admin-istration Office of the National Park, which you can download at www.reservasparquesnacio-nales.es. If you choose to walk all the way up, you may want to stay the night at the refugio Alta-vista. For others, there is plenty of exploring to do at lower lev-els, and an excellent visitor’s centre in El Portillo. For Teide National Park Tourist Office call: (0034) 922 356 000 / (0034) 922 922 371.

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, the vibrant, bus-tling capital city of Tenerife, is located on the northeast coast. It has a variety of interesting museums and art galleries, a well maintained historical cen-tre, and an important commer-cial port. Its pedestrian streets contain numerous shops, res-taurants and cafés, some in impressive xVI and xVII cen-tury buildings, a list of nota-ble landmarks and attractions, and a tram service. See: www.santacruzmas.com

La Laguna

La Laguna, a university city, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. It has a lively night life and a thriving cultural scene. Its xVI/xVII century historical centre is a stunning example of elegant Canarian architecture, with

pedestrian areas housing his-torical buildings, lovely cafés and shops.

Puerto de La Cruz

The town of Puerto de la Cruz was a popular tourist desti-nation long before the south was. It’s attractive and busy town centre has maintained its picturesque fishing-village charm. It also boasts many volcanic black sand beaches, plus Playa Jardín and Punta Brava, the salt-water Lago Martiánez complex, a spec-tacular botanical garden and the prestigious, award-winning Loro Parque zoo. See: www.loroparque.com.

La Orotava

One of the prettiest towns on the island, La Orotava also gives its name to the whole valley, which has a very pros-perous history. The town cen-

tre has beautiful old man-sions reflecting the wealth of the past. The Concepción Church in La Orotava is the finest example of Baroque architecture in the Canaries, and the streets are lined with impressive xVII and xVIII cen-tury mansions.

Anaga Rural Park

The Anaga rural Park occupies much of the mountainous mas-sif in the northeastern corner of Tenerife. This is a steeply-sloping area with exceptional natural and cultural treasures, and amazing landscapes. At El Bailadero, you’ll find the Mon-tes de Anaga Hostel, with facil-ities for guests with reduced mobility: www.alberguestenerife.net

Güímar

This northeastern town is best known for the ethnographic park which was developed by Thor Heyerdahl. The pyra-mids are a complex construc-tion, astronomically orientated according to the winter and

summer solstices. See: www.piramidesdeguimar.es

Playa de Las Américas

Currently Tenerife’s main tourist destination, this area has spectacular views of La Gomera. There’s a big night-life scene which attracts younger tourists, but it’s also some-where you can relax, eat, and go sailing, whale and dolphin watching or golfing.

Los Cristianos

Once a little fishing village, Los Cristianos began as a tourist destination for ailing Swedes who came to enjoy some rest and recuperation. There’s still a fishing fleet, so fresh fish is a local speciality. From the port you can take a ferry to La Gomera, La Palma or El Hierro. The two main beaches offer safe swimming with disabled access.

Costa Adeje

Costa Adeje is an upmarket area of South West Tenerife which is popular with Euro-pean, russian and national tourists. There are various lux-ury hotels and some very nice, small white sand beaches.In the foothills above these towns you will find three great places to visit. Siam Park (The Water Kingdom), recently declared the best in the world, has something for everyone, from beach lovers to adrenaline freaks. See: www.siampark.netAqualand, on Avda. Austria, a water park with a dolphin show. See: www.aqualand.es. The Jungle Park, at Urb. Las Aguilas del Teide, is great fun for kids of all ages. See: www.aguilasjunglepark.com

Los Gigantes

The town of Los Gigantes, which lives mainly from tourism but on a much more modest scale than Playa de Las Americas or Los Cristianos, is overlooked by the towering cliffs. There is good diving and a small harbour with endless excursion boats for either fishing or whale and dol-phin watching. See: www.todo-tenerife.es/es/article/show/616/maritimos.

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Well, here we find ourselves, in the beautiful Canary Islands, situated in the Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Spain and north-west of Africa, directly in front of the coast of Morocco.The Canaries have what‘s considered one of the best climates anywhere on the planet thanks to the fresh trade winds (los Alisios), the Gulf Stream, which cools its coasts during the hotter months, and the warm influence of the Azores anticyclone in winter, making the Islands the perfect destination for tourism all year round.The islands offer a great variety: El Hierro is lush in the north and more barren in the south; La Gomera and La Palma are green and verdant; Tenerife is arid in the south but gracefully green in the north; Gran Canaria has pine forests and incredible mountain ravines; and Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are dry with roll-ing hills and kilometres of white-sand beaches.

From mountains to beaches - we have it all

Tenerife’s magnificent El Teide volcano

The islands are fragrant with the aroma of the oleander bush

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