Nature in Tenerife

Natural parks, volcanoes and unique biodiversity of Tenerife. Explore Canarian nature with CanaryRoutes.

• Puerto de la Cruz Botanical Garden — The oldest botanical garden in the Canaries — founded by King Carlos III in 1788 to acclimatise tropical plants, with over 3,000 species from around the world
• Palmetum of Santa Cruz — Europe's most important palm collection — 12 hectares built on a former landfill site with over 800 palm species from around the world
• Mariposario del Drago — Butterfly House — Tenerife's tropical butterfly garden — hundreds of exotic species fly free among tropical plants next to the Millenary Dragon Tree in Icod
• Parque García Sanabria — The largest urban garden in the Canary Islands — 7 hectares in the heart of Santa Cruz with an exceptional open-air international sculpture collection
• Anaga Rural Park — A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve at the northern tip of Tenerife — the world's most extensive laurel forest, dramatic ravines and timeless rural villages dating back 20 million years
• Teide National Park — UNESCO World Heritage Site and Spain's most visited national park — the Teide volcano at 3,718 m, the Las Cañadas caldera and one of the world's finest stargazing skies
• Roques de García — Tenerife's most iconic volcanic formations — 8-million-year-old rock spires in the heart of Teide National Park with direct views of the volcano
• Montaña Amarilla Natural Monument — The yellow volcanic cone of the south coast — a unique ochre-coloured tuff formation unlike anything else in Tenerife, right on the sea at San Miguel de Abona
• Montaña Roja Special Nature Reserve — The red volcano above El Médano — a protected 171 m cone beside Tenerife's finest natural beach, nesting ground for the critically endangered Houbara bustard
• Barranco del Infierno — The most famous hiking trail in southern Tenerife — a protected ravine with laurel forest, 400 m walls and the only permanent waterfall in the south of the island
• Chinyero Volcano — The last volcano to erupt in Tenerife — the 1909 lava flow remains intact among the pine forest, accessible via a beautiful circular trail in the west of the island
• Malpaís de Güímar — Tenerife's most extensive lava field — a 10 km² Special Nature Reserve in the southeast with unique endemic flora and views over the Güímar Valley
• La Ensillada Special Nature Reserve — A spectacular nature reserve at Tenerife's northwest tip with unique ecosystems, endemic flora and panoramic views over the Cliffs of Los Gigantes.
• Cliffs of Los Gigantes — Europe's highest coastal cliffs — vertical walls of up to 800 m dropping straight into the Atlantic on Tenerife's northwest coast, with dolphins and whales in the waters below
• Mirador de Chipeque — The most spectacular balcony over the Orotava Valley — at 1,700 m among the pines and Teide, with bird's-eye views over Tenerife's most fertile valley
• Mirador de Jardina — The first balcony over Anaga forest — panoramic views over Tenerife's oldest massif and the laurel forest from the road climbing from La Laguna
• Mirador Cruz del Carmen — Anaga's most iconic viewpoint, with a hermitage, visitor centre and breathtaking views over the laurel forest and Tenerife's north coast.
• Mirador de Cherfe — The balcony over Masca ravine — vertiginous views over the deepest canyon in the Teno Massif, Teide on the horizon and Tenerife's west coast
• Mirador La Garañona — A secret balcony among century-old pines of the Corona Forestal — privileged views over the Orotava Valley and the north coast from the heart of Teide's pine forest
• Mirador de las Narices del Teide — Teide's volcanic wounds exposed — the spectacular viewpoint over the 1798 secondary craters and the black lava flows that descended to the sea on the southwest flank
• Mirador Archipenque — The closest land viewpoint to the Cliffs of Los Gigantes — near-frontal views of the black volcanic walls and the Atlantic from the southern end of Los Gigantes
• Mirador de La Ruleta — A silent balcony inside Teide National Park — views over the Las Cañadas caldera and the lava fields from one of the park's least-visited viewpoints
• Mirador Pico del Inglés — Tenerife's most spectacular 360° viewpoint — at nearly 1,000 m in the heart of Anaga, with simultaneous views of Teide, the Atlantic, La Laguna and the laurel forest in every direction
• Corona Forestal Natural Park — The largest natural park in the Canaries — 46,000 hectares of Canarian pine forest around Teide, home of the blue chaffinch and a paradise for hikers at 1,000 to 2,000 m altitude
• Llano de Ucanca — The great interior plain of Las Cañadas del Teide — a volcanic plateau at 2,100 m altitude that feels like another planet, with Teide behind and the Roques de García alongside
• Punta de Teno — Tenerife's westernmost tip — a volcanic headland with a historic lighthouse, crystal-clear waters and the finest views of La Gomera and La Palma.