Teide National Park

The ground looks like another planet: lava fields in rust, ochre and black, cinder slopes and bare rock running up to the cone of Teide. The likeness is close enough for science. In 2010 a research team tested the Raman instrument for the ESA–NASA ExoMars mission at Las Cañadas, and in 2017 ESA trialled planetary rovers at Las Minas de San José.

Life holds on up here all the same. In May and June the Teide bugloss throws up spires of red flowers up to 3 m tall, higher than a person, and the Teide violet grows right to the summit, the highest flowering plant in Spain. Of the park's 168 plant species, 33 grow only on Tenerife.

Measured from the ocean floor, Teide rises some 7,500 m. The Guanches worshipped here and called the mountain Echeyde, the gate to hell. On a ridge to the east stand the telescopes of the Teide Observatory (Observatorio del Teide).

• Cold at the top: even in summer it is much colder up high than on the coast, and the summit can be snowy. Bring warm layers.
• No signal: mobile coverage drops out at altitude. There is free Wi-Fi by the information booth.
• Water and toilets: there is no drinking water nearby, so fill up before you come. The nearest toilets charge a fee.
• Sun: the open lava has no shade and the sun is strong at this height. Bring a hat and sunscreen.

Most visitors drive up. The roads climb from the coast through forests of Canary Island pine and then come out onto bare lava, and the park is seen largely from the road and its viewpoints, with stops for photos along the way. The drive across from the Anaga forest in the north-east passes through completely different landscapes in a few hours, and the winding roads draw motorcyclists and the professional cycling teams that train here at altitude.

Without a car, morning and afternoon coach trips run through the park from selected tourist towns in the south of Tenerife, and a bus stop, Teleférico del Teide, serves the cable car. There is free parking, including a paved car park, alongside paid parking. For the summit, the cable car takes you up and the final walk to the peak is on foot.

Best: May and June, when the Teide bugloss is in flower, and early or late in the day, when low light brings out the colours of the lava.

Avoid: midday in high summer out on the open lava, and winter days after snow if you plan to go high.

The park is sunny and dry for most of the year and most summer days are completely clear, so the season decides the flowers and the cold more than the weather.

Teide National Park is protected land: a national park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Natura 2000 site. The final walk to the summit of Teide requires a free permit, booked in advance. Elsewhere in the park, keep to the roads and marked paths, and leave rocks, plants and animals where you find them: 33 of the plant species here grow only on Tenerife, and many of the invertebrates live nowhere but the park.