A week in Tenerife

A week on the island of Tenerife gives you enough time to sample the variety. A stay wouldn't be complete without a day on a beach and an evening spent eating freshly caught fish, while day-trips provide the chance to see whales and dolphins or ancient pyramids.

The most spectacular excursion is to Mount Teide and its national park, with magnificent views over the Canarian archipelago and the chance to do some hiking. Kristina Pentland from travel publishers, Rough Guides, explores the best of what Tenerife has to offer.

Pirámides de Güimar
The pyramids present an enigmatic snapshot of ancient history. Built by the native Gaunches, they were long dismissed as a pile of stones heaped by farmers clearing the land, until archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl helped reveal their significance.

Close inspection revealed three pyramidal constructions, each at least 100 metres long and made of carefully squared stones laid out with considerable geometric exactitude.

The structures point to the location of the sun during the winter and summer solstices and the stairs up each flat-topped pyramid face the rising sun. Now carefully rebuilt to what is thought to be their original form, a platform and series of walkways allow visitors to inspect the pyramids "" there's no climbing allowed.

On the beach
Unwind, soak up some rays, read a book and go for a paddle. Tenerife has few natural beaches along their rocky coastline but a few have been made on Tenerife using imported sand from the Sahara.

The beaches of the popular southern resorts, Las Americas and Los Cristianos, tend to be crowded affairs offering various water sports, though quieter, more secluded options are easy to find.

Eat seafood in Los Abrigos
Pick whichever freshly caught fish takes your fancy in the restaurants of Los Abrigos, a village famous for its seafood.

Visit Parque Nacional del Teide
Dramatic lunar landscapes and Spain's highest peak make a visit to this national park a must. Set inside an enormous crater at the centre of the island, the Parque Nacional Las Cañadas del Teide dominates a bleak and sun-baked volcanic desert.

Used as a set of Star Wars, the harsh landscape is often familiar to many of the 3.5 million annual visitors, many of whom come to take the cable-car up Pico del Teide (3718m), the colossal peak at it heart.

This information has been extracted from Tenerife & La Gomera DIRECTIONS (1st edition), written by Christian Williams, published by Rough Guides.