Teide National Park (Spanish: Parque nacional del Teide, pronounced [ˈpaɾke naθjoˈnal del ˈtejðe]) is a national park located in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

The park is centered around Mount Teide, the highest mountain in Spain (3,718 meters high). It is also the highest volcano in the Atlantic Ocean islands and the third highest volcano in the world when measured from its base on the ocean floor (7,500 meters high). Pico Viejo, another volcano within the park, is the second highest in the Canary Islands, with a peak height of 3,135 meters. Mount Teide and Pico Viejo are the only two mountains in the Canary Islands that rise above 3,000 meters.

The park covers an area of 18,990 hectares in the municipality of La Orotava. It was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on June 28, 2007. Since 2007, it has also been recognized as one of the 12 Treasures of Spain. On a ridge to the east of Mount Teide, there are telescopes at the Observatorio del Teide.

Teide National Park is the most visited national park in Spain, with over 3 million visitors each year. In 2016, the park received 4,079,823 visitors, which was a record high. In 2023, it welcomed 4,463,281 visitors, making it one of the most visited parks in the world.

Morning and afternoon coach tours are available through the park, departing from selected areas in the southern tourist towns of Tenerife. A free permit is required to visit the summit, and it must be reserved in advance.

History

Teide National Park was important to the Guanches, the original people of the Canary Islands. They believed the park was a place of worship and a gateway to hell, as recorded by Echeyde. Many archaeological sites have been found in the park, showing its spiritual and historical value.

The park was officially named a national park on January 22, 1954. In 1989, it received the European Diploma of Protected Areas, which is the highest honor given by the Council of Europe for protected lands. This recognition was renewed in 1994, 1999, and 2004. In 2007, UNESCO added Teide National Park to its list of World Heritage Sites. Later that year, people who took part in the 12 Treasures of Spain project voted to name Teide National Park the sixth treasure of Spain.

Teide National Park is similar to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park because both have volcanic features formed by magma. However, Teide’s magma is more developed and different compared to Hawaii’s. The park also shares scenic similarities with Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, United States.

Geography and climate

Teide National Park usually has a sunny, dry, and mild climate. The two main types of climates in the park are the Mediterranean climate, which has warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters, and the Semi-arid climate, which is dry with limited rainfall.

The Izaña Teide Observatory, located at 2,371 meters (7,779 feet) above sea level, measures an average annual temperature of 10.2°C (50.4°F) and nearly 3,500 hours of sunshine each year. Most summer days have completely clear skies.

Flora and fauna

The lava flows on the sides of Teide form a very thin, but rich in nutrients and minerals soil that supports many different plant species. Vascular plants, which include plants with veins for transporting water and nutrients, total 168 species in the area, 33 of which are found only in Tenerife.

Forests of Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis) grow between 1000 and 2100 meters in elevation, covering the middle slopes of the volcano. The tree line here is 1000 meters lower than in similar mountain ranges on continents at the same latitude. At higher elevations, the Las Cañadas caldera offers protection for more delicate species, such as the Canary Island cedar (Juniperus cedrus) and the Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis).

The most common plants in Teide National Park include the Teide white broom (Cytisus supranubius), which has white and pink flowers; the Canary Island wallflower (Erysimum scoparium), which has white and violet flowers; and the Teide bugloss (Echium wildpretii), whose red flowers grow in pyramids up to 3 meters tall. The Teide daisy (Argyranthemum teneriffae) is found near 3,600 meters above sea level. The Teide violet (Viola cheiranthifolia) grows as high as the volcano’s summit, making it the highest flowering plant in Spain.

These plants have adapted to the difficult conditions on the volcano, such as high altitude, strong sunlight, large temperature changes, and limited water. Adaptations include growing in rounded shapes, having a hairy or waxy coating, reducing the size of their leaves, and producing many flowers. Flowering occurs in late spring or early summer, during May and June.

Teide National Park is home to a wide variety of invertebrates, with over 40% of these species found only in the park. Seventy species are unique to the park and are not found anywhere else. Invertebrates include spiders, beetles, flies, bugs, and wasps.

In contrast, the park has only a few types of vertebrates. Ten bird species nest in the area, including the blue chaffinch (Fringilla teydea teydea), Berthelot’s pipit (Anthus berthelotii berthelotii), the Atlantic canary (Serinus canaria), and a subspecies of kestrel (Falco tinnunculus canariensis).

Three reptile species are found only in the park: the Canary Island lizard (Gallotia galloti galloti), the Canary Island wall gecko (Tarentola delalandii), and the Canary Island skink (Chalcides viridanus viridanus).

The only native mammals in the park are bats, with Leisler’s bat (Nyctalus leisleri) being the most common species. Other mammals, such as mouflons, rabbits, house mice, black rats, feral cats, and Algerian hedgehogs, were introduced to the park by humans.

Scientific landmark

The similar environments and land features of Teide National Park and Mars have made the park a perfect place to test tools that will be used on Mars to search for signs of past or present life. In 2010, a research team tested the Raman instrument at Las Cañadas del Teide. This tool was later used in the ESA-NASA ExoMars mission to explore Mars. In 2017, ESA tested planetary rovers in an area of the park called Las Minas de San José.

Sister parks

Rapa Nui National Park is located on Easter Island, Chile. In addition to the Teide National Park, other parks take part in international programs and share information with national parks around the world, including those in Central America, South America, and Europe. Through international cooperation, the Teide National Park has offered technical support to the Souss-Massa National Park in southwestern Morocco.

In popular culture

• This scenery has been used in movies such as One Million Years B.C. (1966), Intacto (2002), Clash of the Titans (2010), and Wrath of the Titans (2012).
• Mike Oldfield included a live recording of a song named Mount Teide, which honors the famous volcano, in his collection The Complete Mike Oldfield from 1985.
• There is a small chapel in the park dedicated to the Virgen de las Nieves. This chapel is the highest Christian church in Spain.
• Tenerife was the place where L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology, said "OT-III materials" were created. According to this belief, the Teide volcano, along with other volcanoes, mainly in Hawaii, was where "thetans" were cast 75 million years ago.
• On June 24, 1989, a radio program called Espacio en Blanco from Radiocadena Española announced a "UFO Alert" in Teide National Park to try to contact extraterrestrials. About forty thousand people attended this event.
• On January 8, 1998, members of a group led by German psychologist Heide Fittkau-Garthe were arrested after attempting a ritual suicide on Teide.
• The sixth movie in the Fast & Furious series, starring Vin Diesel and directed by Justin Lin, used Teide as the main setting for many of its scenes involving other worlds.
• Teide National Park is a popular place for professional cyclists to train. It allows them to train at high altitudes while also having access to sea-level areas for intense workouts. Teams such as Team Sky, Liquigas, and Team Astana have trained there.
• In 2018, parts of the American movie Rambo: Last Blood, starring Sylvester Stallone and Paz Vega, were filmed near the park.
• An episode called Land of Giants from the series Chased by Dinosaurs, a special from Walking with Dinosaurs, was filmed in the park.

Gallery

• Teide National Park
• Teide National Park
• Teide National Park
• Llano de Ucanca
• Teide National Park in winter
• Panoramic view
• Rock formations
• Rock formations
• La Tarta del Teide (Teide Cake)