Things to do — Tenerife

The unmissable experience is the Teide ascent. The cable car climbs from El Portillo (2,356 m) to the upper station at 3,555 m — panoramic views over all the Canaries on a clear day. Reaching the summit crater (3,718 m) requires a free permit booked online weeks ahead. The night hike from Refugio Altavista (3,260 m) to catch the sunrise above the clouds is the most extraordinary experience the island offers — arguably in all of Spain.

The Anaga forests are Tenerife's second essential pillar. This rural park and biosphere reserve covers the north-eastern mountain massif in thousand-year-old laurel forest — moss-draped trees, deep gorges and ridgeline paths overlooking the Atlantic. The ridge trail between Mirador del Bailadero and Chamorga is one of the finest walks in the archipelago.

La Laguna (San Cristóbal de La Laguna), ten minutes from Santa Cruz by tram, is the Canaries' first colonial capital and the model for all the Spanish-American cities built across the Americas. Its historic centre — grid streets, cathedral, convents and 15th-17th century palaces — has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. It is also a young, lively university city with a food and cultural scene that goes well beyond tourism.

The village of Masca, reached by a hairpin road through the Teno massif, is one of the most spectacular in the Canaries: houses clinging to a cliff at 650 m, with a ravine dropping to a black pebble beach accessible only on foot (3 hours down) or by boat. The Barranco de Masca hike is one of the island's most sought-after — book a boat back from the beach.

Cetacean watching in the Tenerife-La Gomera strait is among the world's finest. Permanent resident pods of long-finned pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins and sperm whales inhabit these warm waters year-round. 3-4 hour trips from Los Cristianos or Caleta de Adeje offer near-guaranteed close-range sightings.