From black-sand coast to Spain’s highest peak

Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, and Mount Teide stands at its centre: at 3,715 metres the highest peak in Spain, rising from a caldera some 16 kilometres across. The mountain divides the island in two. The south is dry and reliably sunny, with the resort beaches of Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas and Costa Adeje. The north is green, terraced and often under cloud.

Distances are short, so both sides fit into one stay. A drive of about an hour from the coast leads through Canary pine forest and above the cloud layer into the national park. In the north-east, the old university town of La Laguna and the port capital Santa Cruz sit side by side, joined by a tram, and beyond them begin the steep, forested ridges of the Anaga peninsula.

The food is plain and good. Small wrinkled potatoes boiled in heavily salted water come with red and green mojo sauces, fish is grilled whole, and goat’s cheese is served warm from the griddle. In the northern hills, look for guachinches, family-run rooms that open to sell their own wine with a handful of home-cooked dishes.