Canary islands: Los Silos/Tenerife

Unlike the South of Tenerife that is a destiny for mass tourism, the North is covered with forests around the Teide national park (Teide is the volcano in the middle of the island) as well as on the whole coastline around Los Silos. There is a lot of nature and culture as well to discover.

Hikers will love the "Rother Wanderführer" in which you can find a lot of beautiful trips for a day or longer. Beginners may want to do a day tour around Los Silos as the woods are extremely nice but also easy to walk on. Advanced hikers can of course plan a trip to the top of the Teide.

As all other canary islands, Tenerife is volcanic and thanks to the many natural valleys you can still find paradises that are covered with endemic plants which are there since primeval times and cannot be found at any other place in the world. But don't be scared if there is a lot of rustling in the boscage cause the canary islands are crammed with lizards, but not with poisonous snakes.

As the island is seated in the Atlantic ocean, a plane flight is almost inevitable, but maybe you want to use your trip for a longer retreat and help out on a local Finca harvesting oranges, bananas or avocados.

Canary cuisine is famous for its "Patatas with Mojo Rocho/Verde". An insider tip for "bon vivants" is the Orotava valley where you can find a lot of local whine and food producers who can easily compete with top level cuisine. The "Hotel Rural Victoria" in La Orotava is not only historically interesting and beautiful, it also has a very good restaurant (in which we had a private chef for a night due to the off season).

If you love culture and art, you will want to visit Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Puerto de la Cruz where you can find cool architecture and museums. It's very easy and cheap to travel around the whole island by bus so backpacking is also a good option.

For swimming we can recommend the sea basins cause the current can be extreme. Of course you find sandy beaches in the South but also loads of giant hotels. If you want to go on a tour to spot dolphins or whales, choose the eco options that are respecting the natural habitat of the animals.