Azulejos II Viewpoint

Step out of the car and the rock beside the lay-by is green: a mineral green shading into blue, with streaks of pink, in a caldera that is otherwise black, brown and grey. Hot volcanic fluids once worked through these outcrops and changed their minerals, and the colour is what they left behind.

Information boards at the lay-by explain what you are looking at. Teide is in view from the same spot, so one frame holds the coloured rock and the peak together. It works as a stop on any drive through the park, and it rewards a slow look more than a quick photo.

• The lay-by holds six to eight cars; when it is full, there is a second car park about 540 m away.
• There is no drinking water nearby, so bring your own.
• The nearest toilets are paid ones, about 600 m away.
• The lay-by is open ground with no shade; bring sun protection.
• In winter the high road through the park can carry ice and snow.

The viewpoint is a lay-by right on the TF-21, the road that crosses Las Cañadas in Teide National Park, so most people arrive by car and look out over the rocks from where they park. If the lay-by is full, a second car park lies about 540 m away.

By bus, the nearest stop is Parador del Teide, about 570 m away in a straight line. The stop for the Teide cable car (Teleférico del Teide) is about 4 km off.

Best: early morning or late afternoon, when a low sun brings out the green in the rock.

Avoid: the middle of the day, when the light falls flat on the outcrops and day-trippers crossing the park fill the roadside stops.

Low light gives the colours depth, and the lay-by is easier to get into outside the hours of heaviest traffic.

The viewpoint lies inside Teide National Park, a protected area. Keep to the lay-by and marked paths, and leave rocks, minerals and plants where they are: taking anything from the park is prohibited, and the coloured outcrops are altered rock that crumbles easily. Driving off the road is not allowed.