Garachico
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All 74 photos in Tenerife 2024
Masca, Anaga and sunsets over the ocean · Dec 2023 – Jan 2024 · 74 photos
Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, between Christmas 2023 and the start of 2024: the winter light is low and clear, the north of the island is green, and snow lies on the summit of Teide. The 3,715 m volcano is the highest point in Spain, and its national park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007. The journey begins in the west of the island. The road runs through Santiago del Teide and down to the west coast. At Puerto de Santiago, the Los Gigantes cliffs, whose name means “the giants,” drop hundreds of meters straight into the ocean. On the south coast, Los Cristianos, a former fishing village, has the beaches of Los Cristianos and Las Vistas, and in the evening the sun sets into the ocean at Playa de las Américas, with La Gomera in the distance.
Santiago del Teide
The volcano’s snowy cone in the last light above dark ridges, and the green valley with farmed terraces, Teide in the distance.
Teide at sunset, Santiago del Teide, Spain 
Santiago del Teide, Spain
Los Gigantes
The rock walls seen over the rooftops of the town, and the jagged black lava shore with sparse shrubs.
Los Gigantes cliffs, Puerto de Santiago, Spain 
Puerto de Santiago, Spain
Los Cristianos
The town beach, with calm water, and Playa de Las Vistas in the afternoon, its sunbeds lined up under thin clouds.
Playa de Los Cristianos, Los Cristianos, Spain 
Playa de Las Vistas, Los Cristianos, Spain
Playa de las Américas
The curving beach at sunset, the sun sinking into the ocean and the outline of La Gomera in the distance.
Sunset on Playa de las Américas, Arona, Spain
The route follows the north coast, through Icod de los Vinos and San Marcos, to Buenavista del Norte, at the island’s northwestern tip. Also in Icod, in the Parque del Drago, grows the Drago Milenario. The age of this dragon tree is disputed, but it is the best-known specimen of its kind. In the northeast, near San Andrés, Playa de Las Teresitas has golden sand brought from the Sahara in 1973, below the Anaga mountains.
Icod de los Vinos
Old tile-roofed houses in the town center, the beach and clear water among the basalt boulders at San Marcos, and the old tree among the palms of the park.
Icod de los Vinos, Spain 
San Marcos beach, Icod de los Vinos, Spain 
San Marcos coast, Icod de los Vinos, Spain 
Drago Milenario, Icod de los Vinos, Spain 
Parque del Drago, Icod de los Vinos, Spain
Buenavista del Norte
Long Atlantic swells break on the dark rocky shore in the warm evening light.
Buenavista del Norte, Spain
Playa de Las Teresitas
The golden sand, the palms on the beach and the Anaga mountains above the bay.
Playa de Las Teresitas, San Andrés, Spain 
Palms on Las Teresitas, San Andrés, Spain
One evening, the road climbs into Teide National Park, to the Las Cañadas caldera, above 2,000 m. Sheltered from city lights, the sky here is among the best in the world for astronomy, and the Teide Observatory stands at Izaña. The moon is nearly full and lights up the slopes of the volcano. Back on the north coast, in Puerto de la Cruz, Playa Jardín, laid out to plans by César Manrique, has black sand and gardens among the rocks. Below the cliffs of La Orotava, Playa El Bollullo is a volcanic beach with banana plantations above it. Toward evening, in Garachico, the shore is made of lava from the 1706 eruption, which buried the town’s old harbor.
Teide National Park
The sky full of stars above the park, then the full moon, the slopes of the volcano and the caldera rim in its light.
The starry sky, Teide National Park, Spain 
Full moon, Teide National Park, Spain 
The volcano's slope under the stars, Teide National Park, Spain 
The caldera in moonlight, Teide National Park, Spain 
The caldera rim at night, Teide National Park, Spain
Playa Jardín
Black sand and palms in the afternoon sun, with Teide backlit above the town.
Playa Jardín, Puerto de la Cruz, Spain 
Teide against the light, Puerto de la Cruz, Spain 
A palm and the low sun, Puerto de la Cruz, Spain
Playa El Bollullo
Black sand, white surf rolling in, the rocky cove and the cliffs beside the beach, with Puerto de la Cruz in the distance.
Playa El Bollullo, La Orotava, Spain 
The cove at El Bollullo, La Orotava, Spain 
Surf on black sand, La Orotava, Spain 
Playa El Bollullo, La Orotava, Spain 
Playa El Bollullo, La Orotava, Spain 
The waves from above, La Orotava, Spain 
The cliffs beside El Bollullo, La Orotava, Spain
Garachico
The Roque de Garachico offshore, behind a wooden cross, and stone terraces on the shore in the evening light.
Garachico, Spain 
Roque de Garachico, Garachico, Spain 
Roque de Garachico, Garachico, Spain
In the morning, the road climbs into the Teno massif, one of the oldest parts of the island, to the village of Masca. In the evening, the route crosses the island to the south, to El Médano, beside Montaña Roja, a volcanic cone on the shore.
Masca
The houses on their narrow ridge between rock walls and deep ravines, with palms, agaves and a strip of ocean at the end of the valley.
Masca, Spain 
Masca, Spain 
Masca, Spain 
Masca, Spain 
Masca valley, Masca, Spain
El Médano
Sunset over the bay, with boats at anchor, the lit pier, pink clouds and the dark silhouette of the Montaña Roja cone.
El Médano, Spain 
El Médano, Spain 
Montaña Roja under a pink sky, El Médano, Spain 
El Médano, Spain
The east of the island belongs to the Anaga massif, with its laurel forests, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2015. Along the Anaga paths at Cruz del Carmen, twisted, moss-covered laurels form tunnels of branches, a remnant of the forests that covered southern Europe millions of years ago. In the evening, the journey ends in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, at the Palmetum, a palm garden built on a former landfill, next to the Auditorio designed by Santiago Calatrava.
Anaga
Mist over the forest on the El Bailadero road, sunken paths among twisted, moss-covered laurels, tunnels of branches and roots, then the ridges seen from the Mirador Llano de los Loros.
Mist on the El Bailadero road, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
The road through mossy rock, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
Anaga, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Mossy trunks, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
Sendero de los Sentidos, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
The wooden boardwalk, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
Twisted laurels, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
Tangled trunks, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
A tunnel of branches, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
The forest canopy, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
Green laurels, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
The path under arching trees, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
Steps under the branches, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
Roots by the path, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
A sunken path with steps, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
A path between rocks, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
The path under walls of roots, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
Mirador Llano de los Loros, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain 
Mirador Llano de los Loros, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
The paths of the Palmetum at night, with palms and a tunnel of arches lit in blue and pink, the city seen from above, and the white Auditorio with its roof curved like a wave.
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain 
Auditorio de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain