Nestled in the North Atlantic just 60 miles west off the coast of Africa and 1,700 miles south of the UK, you’ll find the Canary Islands. Their location provides a quite moderate subtropical climate all year round, which naturally makes them an ideal place for northern Europeans to take their winter holidays. It only takes a four-hour flight from the UK to get some sun on your bones and make those winter chills seem bearable for a few more months.
The Canary Islands are the southernmost locality of the autonomous communities of Spain, with a collective population of 2.15 million people. They consist of eight major islands with the largest and most populous being Tenerife. It’s also the most popular in terms of visitor numbers and a place where I’ve holidayed with my family many times over the years.
The Canaries are volcanic in origin with an estimated 30 volcanoes sprinkled around them. Two of these are still active. In fact, in 2021 the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma erupted after 300 years of inactivity. The biggest volcano is Mount Teide on Tenerife, which is the third-highest in the world and the highest mountain in all of Spain.
The Teide National Park that surrounds the peak was the first World Heritage Site to be des…
