A WALK ABOVE THE CLOUDS

Echeide or Echeyde, that’s the name the aboriginal Guanches gave to Mount Teide. It’s the symbol of the island, a protective father that watches over Tenerife and wraps it up in a sea of clouds. It is also the sleeping place of the feared Guayota. In this national park, different eruptions have traced whimsical shapes in diverse tones offering an extraordinarily beautiful view where one has the feeling of being in another planet.

But Teide, like any other good host, is generous and rewards visitors from the very moment they set off to the park. Whether from the south or the north, both routes give travellers images full of changing magic and contrasts as one passes from one bioclimatic layer to the next. On the way up, villages bid farewell as the number of houses thin down to give way to the forest, where Canaries pine trees, solid and elegant, stand along with the local wildlife.

There are many lay-bys and viewpoints on the side of the road to stop and enjoy the views: the vibrant ocean from the south, the endless sea of clouds and the green valleys from the north, until you finally reach the slopes of Teide. It welcomes travellers clad in its best clothes, ornamented with brooms, wallflowers, and tajinastes which are covered in colourful flowers in spring or with a majestic white cloak in winter. The Tarta, Roques de García, Llano de Ucanca welcome you calmly, proud and confident such a great experience will never be forgotten.