We had booked tickets for the cable car up the Teide first for the 22nd of December, but it was canceled due to bad weather and we learned that even the road over the mountains was closed for days because of the snow. We changed our tickets to 31st of December, hoping for the best. And that’s exactly what we got — the best weather possible!!!
El Teide is an active volcano and with 3,715 m the highest point in the Canary Islands. If measured from the sea floor, its height of 7,500 m makes it the third-tallest volcano in the world! From around 160,000 years ago until the present day, the stratovolcanoes of Teide and Pico Viejo formed within the Las Cañadas caldera. The last eruption was in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the Santiago Ridge.
The Guanches believed the mountain to be the place that housed the forces of evil and the most evil figure, Guayota. Many hiding places found in the mountains contain the remains of stone tools and pottery, which have been interpreted as ritual items to counter the influence of Giayota.
It was already a beautiful drive up into the Las Cañadas caldera, where the station of the cable car lies at 2,356 m.
When we finally reached nearly the top of the mountain at 3,555 m, we could admire the view from the little plattform. Sadly, the two tracks leading around the top were closed due to ice and snow. For the climb to the top we would have needed a permit, which problably was also not available under this conditions.
The German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt stopped in Tenerife during his voyage to South America in June 1799 and climbed Teide with his travelling companion Aimé Bonpland and some local guides. This excursion confirmed the volcanic origin of basalt.
Back down, we had still time and good light to admire the landscape of the Las Cañadas caldera from different lookout points.
Teide National Park is a useful volcanic reference point for studies related to Mars because of the similarities in their environmental conditions and geological formations.
We came past