Home | Travel | Air Travel

Canary Islands High Altitude

By: Mark Bartley

Read More About Air Travel

The seven main islands of the Canaries all have coastlines scattered with various types of beaches. They range from areas with natural, black, volcanic sand to places that are maintained by the municipal councils with imported sand from the north African deserts, that tourists tend to prefer. The coastlines that are washed by the waves of the Atlantic Ocean also have sections with steep, dramatic cliffs, especially on their western sides.

On Lanzarote there are two main mountain ranges which both peak at over 600 meters, which may not seem that much but for an island that is only a few miles across at its widest point, some of the tracks, roads and footpaths that lead to the summits can be very steep.

In the south of the island is the Ajaches mountain range. The Timanfaya National Park stretches from the centre of the island in the southern half to the western coast and is a designated UNSECO Biosphere area where public access is quite limited. It is also known as the red mountains due to the colour of the volcanic rocks that cover the landscape. There are roads across the park, but public cars are not allowed to use them, the only access being by reserve coaches. Tourists who have experienced the 16 kilometre route rate the experience as one of the most memorable during their visit to the island.

Volcanic activity is still measurable and scientists have even created artificial geysers that show the volcanic heat that is quite close to the surface. Although there is still a slim possibility of volcanic eruption, the volcanoes have been very quite since the last major episode in 1730 when 30 craters appeared across the island and many villages were covered with thick lava. In the park an architectural point of interest is the Visitor Centre designed by the architect Cesar Manrique. Here you can also have lunch in the El Diablo restaurant or Devil's Diner. Almost a million tourists visit to the park every year.

Further to the north of Lanzarote is the Famara Mountain range which also rises steeply from the west coast. Here is one of the island's most spectacular viewpoints, the Mirador del Rio, also designed by Cesar Manrique. He originally envisaged the building to be a top quality restaurant that provided staggering views across to the island of La Graciosa. The Mirador sits at an altitude of 470m with views down to the Atlantic just over half a mile away. It really is an impressive sight, which is more than can be said for the cuisine offered by the restaurant which has never quite lived up to Manrique's ambitions.

On Gran Canaria the mountains reach even higher, three times higher in fact with the Pico de las Nieves being the highest point at over 1900m where the Roque Nublo, a rocky outcrop, marks the top of the mountain. If you have the strength to cycle to the top of the Pico de las Nieves then you'll be treated with an exhilarating downhill ride home of over 20 kilometres.

Finally the Canaries highest peak and in fact the highest peak in Spain as a whole is Mount Teide on Tenerife. This mountain top is much higher than anything else in the Canaries at over 3700 metres. It also ranks as the third highest volcano in the whole world. A cable car assists visitor's journeys to near the top of the peak, but if you want to make the final trip to the very top on foot you'll need a special permit, arrangeable in a local tousits office before you get to the mountain. The authorities have imposed this restriction deliberately to keep visitor numbers and erosion down. The landscape up there is truly breathtaking and anyone who enjoys remarkable views should make an effort to plan ahead and make the trip to this amazing place.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

The selection of flights to Tenerife is extensive so travelling to any of Mark's recommended locations should be quite cheap all year round.

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Air Travel Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From - Home | Travel | Air Travel
Sign Up for a free account.
Our other websites
All about SEO
Beauty Tips Forum
Submit Articles
Member Login
Link Us
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
Sitemap
New Stuff
About Us
Developer
Good shopping portal
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

counter easy hit

Powered by Article Dashboard