Narices del Teide Viewpoint

Look up from the car park and the vents sit in a row high on the flank of Pico Viejo, dark openings that gave the place its name: Teide's nostrils. Through the summer of 1798 they poured out lava, and the flows still lie where they stopped, black and jagged against the older, paler ground.

The eruption is close enough to read. Cross the road and you can walk in among the crater formations and see how the rock set as it cooled.

The evening is the other draw. The car park fills for sunset, the temperature drops hard once the sun has gone, and after dark the sky over the park turns into a stargazing ground, with organised tours coming up to the viewpoints for it.

• There are no toilets and no drinking water at the viewpoint, and none nearby. Bring water with you.
• It gets bitterly cold at sunset, and the wind chill makes it worse. Bring layers, a hat and warm socks.
• Cars come and go all the time, so a space usually frees up if you wait.
• The summit of Teide needs a time slot booked ahead. A late slot means coming down in the dark, so carry a head torch.

You arrive by car. The TF-38 crosses the southern side of the park between Boca Tauce and Chío, and the car park sits right beside the viewpoint, about 15 m from it, so the view starts as you open the door. The car park is laid with setts. A guidepost and a trail map stand a few steps on, at the start of the walking trails.

The nearest bus stop is Boca Tauce, about 3.3 km away in a straight line. Without a car, that is a long way to cover on foot.

Best: late afternoon into sunset, then after dark for the stars.

Low sun rakes across the lava flows and picks out every ridge, and the high, dry air of the park keeps the night sky clear. Sunset is also when the car park is busiest.

Avoid: the middle of a summer day.

The lava field is bare rock with no shade, and the sun at this height is fierce.

The viewpoint lies inside Teide National Park, and the park's rules apply from the car park onwards. Keep to the marked paths when you cross the road into the crater formations; walking off them damages the lava ground and the plants that grow in it. Leave rocks, lava fragments and plants where they are, as taking them is prohibited. Flying a drone in the park needs authorisation from the park authorities.