Canary Islands Sightseeings

The Canary Islands are part of Spain but they're located much closer to Africa than the Spanish mainland. The seven islands are in the Atlantic Ocean, 1,350 kilometres south of the Iberian Peninsula. Their nearest neighbour is Morocco (95 kilometres east of Fuerteventura) and the climate is wonderful all year round with temperatures rarely falling below 18C in the winter and rising above 24C in the summer.
They call the Canaries "The Land of Eternal Spring". The sub-tropical climate is regulated by the Gulf Stream and Trade Winds and any time of year is a good time to visit with guaranteed sunshine, virtually no rainfall and non-stop tourist activity. Small wonder that 11 million international tourists migrate to these shores each year!

The volcanic crater of Mount Teide, the major landmark of Tenerife, was designated as a national reserve in 1954 along with the Taburiente crater on La Palma. Teide is the third tallest volcano in the world (after two in Hawaii) and its 3,718-metre peak is the highest in the whole of Spain. The Caldera del Taburiente on La Palma is the world's largest erosion crater with a diameter of nine kilometres and a depth of 770 metres. Lanzarote's Timanfaya Park was declared a national reserve in 1974 and the island as a whole, which has one of the most extraordinary volcanic landscapes on the planet, has been designated a globally-protected "Reserve of the Biosphere" by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).

The island has eerie fields of petrified lava, beaches of black volcanic sand and vineyards growing in the very bowels of volcanic craters. This is a place where restaurants grill meat on volcano-powered barbecues! The fourth national reserve is to be found on Gomera where an ancient laurel forest lies at the heart of the 10,000-acre Parque Nacional de Garajonay.

La Palma is probably the most beautiful and unspoilt of the "big five" but don't expect the near-perfect climate of the other islands. It's lush, green.and often wet! The island is located 200 kilometres to the west of Africa and the nearest land west of it is Brazil.

Tenerife and Gran Canaria, at the centre of the archipelago, are the liveliest tourist resorts. Both offer frantic beach activity and an all-night party scene but get away from the most popular package holiday centres and you'll be able to enjoy the islands' wealth of natural beauty far from the madding crowds.

Gran Canaria is like a giant horticultural centre where thousands of exotic fruits, trees and crops flourish. There are banana and coffee plantations, fields of sugar cane and tobacco, date palm forests and orange groves. Papayas, mangoes and avocadoes are all produced in this island of contrasts. It stretches just 40 kilometres from north to south but offers dramatic volcanic mountains, tropical forests, desert areas and golden beaches.

Fuerteventura is believed to be the oldest of the islands and has the longest beaches in the archipelago. It's not the place for all-night ravers but the island is a perfect holiday destination for families, couples and nature lovers seeking a relaxed winter sun holiday. Whatever you're looking for from your holiday, as long as you choose your island carefully you'll find it in the Canaries. There are bustling seafronts lined with high-rise hotels and non-stop entertainment centres; you'll find gay bars, all-night clubs, foam parties and fish and chip shops.

The islands are also a paradise for lovers of nature and water sports enthusiasts. The Canaries are home to some fascinating indigenous animal and plant life and the local waters provide some of the world's richest hunting grounds for deep-sea fishermen. Shark, tuna and marlin are all to be found in abundance here. Most tourists prefer to hunt for a glimpse of the bottle-nosed dolphins and pilot whales which you can often see around the islands.

La Palma is one of the Spanish Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean 200 kilometres west of the coast of Morocco. This is widely regarded as being the most beautiful and unspoilt of the five main holiday islands. Tourism development has been strictly controlled.you won't even find a McDonald's here! If it's bangers and mash and all night foam parties you're after, you'll be better off in Tenerife. The island is just 30 kilometres across at its widest point and less than 50 kilometres long. Flying time from London is four hours; there are also air connections to Tenerife, Gran Canaria and mainland Spain.Unlike the livelier islands in the archipelago, La Palma doesn't depend on tourism for its survival. There are no bustling seafront promenades lined with high rise hotels, no Ibiza-style nightclubs to attract the attention of the British tabloids.in fact there's little to do here at all except enjoy the peace and natural beauty of the place. The island is popular with Dutch, German and, to a lesser extent, British visitors who come here for walking holidays or to simply "chill out" away from the madding crowds of Spain's busier holiday spots.

And talking of chilling out - don't expect the near-perfect climate that you'll find on the neighbouring islands. La Palma is much greener and wetter than the "big four" (Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Fuerteventura). It can rain here for several days at a time and visitors expecting a cloudless sky will be disappointed by frequent grey skies and mists.It's a common mistake to believe that the Canaries, because they're part of Spain, are in the Mediterranean. In fact they're in the Atlantic - the nearest land west of La Palma is Brazil! Consequently you must expect decidedly chilly seas in the winter and often rough waves. La Palma, needless to say, doesn't attract a wealth of Baywatch babes.

But nature lovers and eco-tourists will fall in love with this very "untouristy" tourist destination which offers a fascinating landscape of volcanic mountains, rugged cliffs, black beaches and lush tropical vegetation. Relax on one of the volcanic beaches (if there's more than 50 people around you, you'll know it's a local fiesta!). Explore the island on foot, sample some delicious Canarian cuisine and the local wines or stroll through the narrow alleyways of the charming town of Santa Cruz. The island is divided into three main tourist areas the "busiest" of which is Los Cancajos on the east coast, near the airport. The resort (but remember we're not talking Torremolinos or Benidorm here!) has a few bars and restaurants and several hotels which, in general, are cheaper than the holiday accommodation available on the west coast.

The mountainous ridge which splits the island into two sections provides an impressive backdrop to Cancajos; to the east you can see Tenerife and the small island of Gomera. Get up early enough and you'll be able to enjoy some truly spectacular sun rises.
Puerto Naos and Tazacorte on the west coast enjoy a warmer climate. The majority of holiday accommodation here is provided within self-catering apartments.

There are banana boats, aqua parks, foam parties and entertainment galore. And there are magical discovery trips to see the whales and dolphins which inhabit these waters, the ancient dragon trees which have grown here since the Ice Age and the stunningly beautiful cliffs of Los Gigantes. All this and much, much more awaits you on the island of Tenerife.

Gran Canaria lies at the heart of the Spanish Canary Islands, 210 kilometres west of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean. They call it "the miniature continent" because few places on earth can boast such a diversity of landscapes within such a small area. It stretches just 40 kilometres from north to south but offers dramatic volcanic mountains, tropical forests, desert areas and golden beaches. The natural beauty of this island together with its year-round sunshine and wealth of tourist facilities make it one of Europe's most popular holiday destinations. Gran Canaria is 1,250 kilometres south of mainland Spain (about four hours flying time from London) and enjoys an "eternal spring" climate with average temperatures ranging from 18C in the winter to 24C in the summer. Tourism is focused on the main resort area of Playa del Ingles in the south of the island - the gay capital of the Canary Islands and a paradise for all-night partygoers of all sexual persuasions. But there are quieter resorts and villages which are ideal for families and couples looking for a more relaxed type of holiday.

Las Palmas, in the north, is the capital of the Canary Islands and is the only place in the archipelago which has a real city feel to it. In stark contrast with Playa del Ingles, Las Palmas is a bustling metropolis, steeped in history and retaining a distinctly Canarian character. This is the island's cultural and commercial centre where you'll find an excellent range of quality shops, restaurants, museums and historic buildings reflecting the architectural influences of five continents.
Gran Canaria is like a giant horticultural centre where thousands of exotic fruits, trees and crops flourish in the sub-tropical climate. There are banana and coffee plantations, fields of sugar cane and tobacco, date palm forests and orange groves. Papayas, mangoes and avocadoes are all produced in this island of contrasts.
The south is famous for its desert sand dunes where camel trekking is always a firm favourite with holidaymakers.

In the centre you'll find the snow-covered mountain peaks of Pozo de las Nieves and Los Pechos, both rising to nearly 2,000 metres. Well away from all the tourist trappings of the south, there's the village of San Bartolome de Tirajana, hidden inside a volcanic crater and only accessed by narrow mountain streets. There are tiny and virtually unspoilt villages to visit, beautiful valleys, cliffs, caves and canyons. You can go on a jeep safari to explore the impressive volcanic interior, take a boat ride to see the dolphins or simply stick with the foam parties and frantic activity of Playa del Ingles. Gran Canaria may be small but it's big enough to accommodate most tastes.

Fuerteventura is one of the Spanish Canary Islands, located just 100 kilometers off the coast of north Africa. It's the second biggest of the islands, after Tenerife, and has the longest beaches in the archipelago. The island is a paradise for sun, beach and watersports enthusiasts. It's not the place for all-night ravers but Fuerteventura (or Fuerte as it's affectionately known) is perfect for families and couples seeking a relaxed winter sun holiday. The island is widely believed to be the oldest of the Canary Islands. It's strange form - a cross between a leg of mutton and Marge Simpson's hairdo! - was created out of a series of volcanic eruptions many thousands of years ago. The first tourist hotel was built here in 1965 followed by the construction of the airport at El Mattoral heralding the dawn of a new era for the island. Fuerteventura, with its 3,000 sunshine hours a year, was placed firmly on the world stage as a major European holiday destination. The island is on the same latitude as Florida and Mexico and temperatures here rarely fall below 18C or rise above 24C. There are no less than 152 beaches along its coastline - 50 kilometres of fine, white sand and 25 kilometres of black volcanic shingle.

The summer Trade Winds and winter swells of the Atlantic make this a year-round surfers' paradise. Sailors, scuba divers and big game fishermen are all drawn to these clear blue Atlantic waters where whales, dolphins, marlin and turtles are all common sights.

Much of the interior, with its large plains, lavascapes and volcanic mountains, consists of protected areas which can be best be explored in a 4x4 or (for the more daring) with a cross-country motorbike. The island's colourful past can be traced in a variety of ancient buildings, monuments, archaeological sites and museums. The first settlers are believed to have arrived here from North Africa - the word Mahorero or Maho is still used today to describe the people of Fuerteventura and comes from the ancient word 'mahos' meaning a type of goatskin shoe worn by the original inhabitants. They lived in caves and semi-subterranean dwellings, a few of which have been discovered and excavated revealing relics of early tools and pottery.

In 1405 the French conqueror John de Bethencourt took the island and gave his name to the capital, Betancuria on the west coast (Puerto Rosario took over the mantle as island capital in 1835). The name of the island itself is believed to have come from Bethencourt's exclamation "Que forte aventure!" (What a grand adventure). A less romantic explanation is that the name simply means "strong wind". Whatever the truth of the matter, Fuerteventura still offers the modern day visitor plenty of adventure. Here you can go shark fishing, kitesurfing, explore beautiful blue lagoons and volcanic hills.or just lie back and soak up the sun on some of the best beaches in Europe.

Lanzarote is one of Spain's seven Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean 100 kilometres west of Africa and about 1,000 kilometres from mainland Spain. The island has been destroyed and reborn out of a series of volcanic eruptions which have created one of the most extraordinary landscapes on the planet. It's an island of bizarre beauty; few places on earth can offer so many extraordinary sights within such a small area. International tourists flock to Lanzarote to enjoy the island's unique combination of spectacular volcanic caves and craters, wonderful beaches and year-round sunshine. The island's airport serves many of the major European cities (flying time from London is four hours) and connects with the other islands in the Canarian archipelago. There are ferry connections with nearby Fuerteventura and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (200 kilometres to the south west) With an average year-round temperature of 22C, Lanzarote is a favourite escape for northern Europeans seeking winter sunshine.

But this is an island which offers so much more than sunshine. In 1987 Lanzarote was declared one of the six universal models of sustainable development by the World Tourism Organization and in 1994 it was declared a Reserve of the Biosphere by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).

Here you'll see sights which are not to be found on the popular Costas of the Spanish mainland - fertile agricultural fields amid eerie formations of petrified lava, beaches of black volcanic sand and vineyards growing in the very bowels of volcanic craters. This is an island where restaurants grill meat on volcano-powered barbecues!

Lanzarote, which includes the small islands of La Graciosa, Alegranza, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este y del Oeste, is just 60 kilometres long and 20 kilometres at its widest point. Small it may be.but it boasts some of the world's greatest and strangest natural treasures. The famous Cueva de los Verdes is a huge chasm within an eight-kilometre long volcanic lava tunnel formed by an eruption 5,000 years ago. This incredible cave system, which once provided refuge against pirates and slave traders, connects the Corona volcano with the sea.

Here you'll also find one of the island's top tourist spots - the Jameos del Agua which are a spectacular combination of natural and manmade architecture. Lanzarote's most famous son, the artist and sculptor Cesar Manrique, sympathetically created an extraordinary visitor attraction out of volcanic passages and underground grottoes.