Tenerife

Away from the soulless concrete of package holiday Babylon, the rest of Tenerife dazzles. With towering cliffs, black sand beaches and primeval forests, the island’s geography – including El Teide, Spain’s highest mountain – is varied and fascinating. You can climb El Teide by cable car, which ascends from the steamy lower edges to a chilly 4,000ft in eight minutes. Below, the national park of Las Cañadas is the lava-strewn moonscape used to film Star Wars.

To the west stand the spectacular cliffs of Los Gigantes; to the north, the lush, glorious hiking country of the Orotava Valley where vineyards, banana plantations and native dragon trees abound. Two towns, pretty La Orotava and beachside Puerto de la Cruz, are good bases for exploration. Orotava, at the foot of a volcano, has streets lined with well-preserved colonial architecture; its lower edges merge with charming Puerto de la Cruz.

The capital, Santa Cruz, has broad avenues and leafy squares dotted with sun-baked colonial architecture. Lush tropical gardens like García Sanabria are a cool escape, while the shady Las Ramblas promenade is the city’s main pedestrian artery. Close to the historic port and waterfront area, which is due to be redeveloped like Barcelona’s Rambla del Mar, the new curves of Calatrava’s Opera House on Avenida Maritíma signal the beginning of a cultural sea change, with concerts staged almost every night. Hot on the heels of this cultural renaissance, the new Oscar Domínguez Institute of Modern Art and Culture opened in 2006. Just along the coast, Playa de las Teresitas, with its yellow sand from the Sahara, is a lovely place for a dip.

Local history

The island’s first known inhabitants were the mysterious Guanches who are thought to have crossed over from North Africa in 200 BC. They lived peacefully until the Spanish colonisation of the islands in the 15th century when they were slaughtered wholesale by General de Lugo’s invading troops. Tenerife is still divided into the nine Guanches tribal districts.

Local politics

Even the merest mention of the genocide of the Guanches - a race more prevalent on Tenerife than the other islands - was prohibited during the Franco dictatorship. Now, families with Guanches surnames such as Bencomo or Orama are being encouraged to show pride in their ethnic roots and many Guanches words, known as guanchismos, permeate the local dialect of Spanish.