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Truly terrific Tenerife

Tenerife, the largest of the seven Canary islands, is known for its scenic beauty, cuisine and vibrant nightlife

PLENTY TO OFFER The volcanic island that evolved out a massive eruption 3.5 million years ago, saw us spoilt for choices when it came to food, entertainment and things to do

A holiday to the Spanish Canary Islands of Tenerife isn’t really on top of most travellers’ wish lists. Except the Queen’s, of course, who is said to be a regular visitor. It wasn’t her but an open ended invitation from an old friend that prompted our travel group to make the trip down.

Trip down I write, because Tenerife, a part of the Canary islands, isn’t really part of mainland Europe. A good three and a half hour journey from Barcelona finds you at an island off the west coast of Africa where Casablanca and the mainland of Africa are hardly an hour away.

Tenerife is a volcanic island and as history tells us, evolved out a massive volcanic eruption 3.5 million years ago.

It forms the largest of the seven Canary islands, with Gran Canaria, La Palma and Lanzarote being some of the more prominent ones.

We were enlightened about this by my friend and our de-facto tour guide as we made the long drive from the North Tenerife airport to our destination, Playas De Las Americas in South Tenerife.

One of the benefits of us choosing the wrong airport to alight at meant we got to enjoy the long drive from the north to the south of the island. I doubt if there are more scenic drives in all of Europe; the road takes you along the coast giving you a clear idea of the topography of the island.

The landscape is such that it extends from the sea steadily upwards; meaning that any spot on the island has a view of the sea and the coastline.

As we enjoyed the drive, we also caught a glimpse of Mt. Teide, the volcano and the highest mountain in the islands.

Tenerife derives its name from the mountain where ‘Tene’ means mountain and ‘ife,’ white. The long drive also brought out clearly the demarcation between the north and south of the island, the north being cooler and greener and the south being hot and dry.

The south is the region which attracts tourists, and with over nine million tourists visiting Tenerife every year, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.

With good reason, as we found out, for the south will remind visitors of a miniature Las Vegas. Luxurious hotels, bars and shopping malls align the streets which are mostly thronged by British tourists.

One particular hotel, the Hotel Marco Antonio, stands out with its Roman architecture and is said to be the same hotel that Mark Anthony frequented on his trips to Tenerife with Cleopatra.

Our next few days in Tenerife saw us spoilt for choices when it came to food, entertainment and things to do. Food certainly wouldn’t be a problem for anybody travelling from India as the area has a large Indian population, comprising primarily of members of the Sindhi community.

One restaurant worth trying is Krishna Tandoori in Playas Americas, which serves delectable chicken pakoras.

Authentic Spanish food is available across the island as well; paella, the Spanish delicacy (saffron flavoured rice with meat and vegetables) along with Sangrilla make for a delicious combination.

A visit the volcano of Mt.Teide is a must-do for tourists. It occupies the centre of the island, and with its dark brown rugged terrain, it stands out in complete contrast to the rest of the island.

The mountain also gives you the opportunity of taking a cable car right up to the top of the volcano, an experience which as we found out was memorable, yet scary.

The dark brown soil from the volcano lends its colour to the sand on the beaches.

The adjoining streets next to the beach are where most of the activity happens, with pubs, restaurants and shopping arcades lining the coastline.

Each of the different beaches of Tenerife has a unique attraction – if it is water sports at the Fanabe beach, it’s the dolphin boat-ride at Las Gigantes and parasailing at Playas De Las Americas.

All the hectic activity meant that we had only one day left on the island.

And with just a day to go, we had three options — we could either visit North Tenerife and spend the day shopping, visit Loro Paroque, the largest animal and bird park of the islands or be extremely adventurous and opt for a day trip to the neighbouring island of Las Palmas.

Considering we had more women than men in the group, it is little wonder that we ended up spending the day shopping in North Tenerife and visiting the town of Puerto de la Cruz and the island’s capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

As our holiday came to an end, what remained etched in memory was everything about Tenerife…from its scenic beauty to its cuisine and its vibrant nightlife.

USEFUL INFO

How to get there: Fly into Tenerife from Barcelona or Madrid. Make sure you choose the right airport depending on where you have accommodation.

Where to stay: Guest houses and 3star hotels ranging from 50-70 Euros per night are available across the island.

Commuting: Taxis are easily available though it maybe more economical to rent a car for the day.

When to go: Tenerife has perfect weather throughout the year. Though it might be worthwhile to schedule your trip for late February or early March, as it coincides with the carnival held at Santa Cruz.

SUDHIR SYAL

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