National Park Teide (Tenerife) is considered one of the most populartravelers places in the Canary Islands. Its area is almost 19 thousand hectares. In 2007, it entered the list of UNESCO heritage sites. The most interesting are the local landscapes, various archeological monuments, which in their time played a very important role in the history of local natives, as well as the volcano of the same name.
The capital of the island is the city Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Its population is only a fewmore than 200 thousand inhabitants, therefore to the status of a megacity it is still far. Nevertheless, it is the largest on the island. The first mention of the settlement was recorded in 1492, and during the 16th century the former fishing village acquired the status of an important sea port.
Since 1783 the city has already become significantadministrative unit. However, even now all its sights can be visited on foot throughout the day. Among the most interesting are the churches of St. Francis (the 17th century) and the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepcion (16th century), a memorial to the victims of the Civil War, and a wooden cross erected by the first Spanish settlers and which is now a symbol of all the Canary Islands.
It will be especially pleasant to visitSanta Cruz de Tenerife lovers of relaxation in a mild climate, who want to get out of the bustling streets of big cities. Whatever it was, the most popular among tourists were the natural attractions of the island, one of which is the Teide volcano, along with the national park of the same name. More details about them will be discussed later.
Several thousand years ago in the territory of the presentthe Aboriginal tribe - Guanches. The Teide volcano was the place of their worship. This name in Russian translates as "devil" or "hell." The aborigines believed that within him the evil spirit was imprisoned by the Supreme God. This is the reason for such an ominous name. Currently, Teide refers to sleeping volcanoes, but in the past eruptions have happened repeatedly. The last of these dates back to 1909.
Teide National Park is located in the caldera of Las Cañadas del Teide,which arose several million years ago. It should be noted that this is the largest protected area in Tenerife. It was founded in 1954 for the purpose of saving local animals, plants and volcanic landscape, in connection with which it is considered a reserve. Almost immediately after the opening, the Spanish authorities appropriated it as a national one. A lot of observation platforms for tourists have been built on the territory, from which unique landscapes on the island are opened. Each of them has a special stand containing information about what the visitor sees, as well as a brief scientific and historical reference in Spanish, German and English.
Teide National Park has a unique flora, many representativeswhich is not found anywhere else in the world. There are 168 kinds of flowers on its territory. Every plant here is unusual and beautiful in its own way. On the slopes of the crater, as well as along the perimeter of the reserve, forests from Canarian pine grow. Its amazing feature is the ability to self-recover from fires.
As for the fauna, it is not so diverseand is rich. Its representatives are mostly small animals, as well as canary canaries, eared owls, lizards, pigeons and crows. All of them are considered indigenous inhabitants of the park. The only local aborigines among mammals are bats. All other animals that were encountered here were imported from the mainland in due time.
One of the main attractionsreserve is the eponymous volcano. In this regard, it is not surprising that excursions on the Teide are very popular. Their cost is an average of just over 100 euros per person, without taking into account the price for the funicular. In order to climb on it, an adult needs to pay 25 euros, and a child - 12.5 euros. Despite this, many tourists argue that you can not go to Tenerife and yet not to visit the highest point of the entire Atlantic, which is at around 3718 meters. From here you can see unique views of the archipelago.
Another attraction that can boast of Teide National Park, are local rocks.They contain a large proportion of copper, so they differ in their original greenish tinge. It should be noted that most of the local postcards and booklets depict one of these high rocks against the background of the volcano.
На территории парка находится гостиница "Parador", in which many tourists stop before their further journey. Because of the large number of people wishing to book a room here is recommended in advance. There is an information center in the reserve, where you can watch a documentary film in various languages about the history of the reserve, its pedestrian routes and sights. Among other things, here is one of the largest observatories on the planet, research on which has been conducted for 40 years.
Teide National Park operates around the clock, and the entrance to histerritory by car is free. You can also get here by issuing an excursion, or by buses that go to the reserve from several cities on the island.