Holiday to Tenerife

Had a wonderful holiday in Tenerife.
The early morning flight had some breathtaking views of the sunrise above the clouds,

The day trip in the hire car to Mount teide was the highlight of the holiday. It is the highest point (3,718 m or 12,198 ft) on the island in the Canaries. We left the resort early in the morning at 8am to avoid the traffic , as were told by the tour rep.
This is the view on a clear day looking towaeds the island of La Gomera

The cloud line has been left below after driving for nearly an hour up the winding road .But the view is amazing , its like the clouds form a sea around the island , and above it clear blue sky !
Once we climbed over the edge of the crater and started descending into the caldera we were literally gobsmacked with the landscape.......it looked like those scenes from another world - like those that you see on the moon pictures.

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The atmosphere was a bit eerie , as we did not see any other human activity . As we parked the car off the single road crossing the middle of the volcano , we stretched our legs and the ground felt hard and soft at the same time. It was solid but was covered with these small stones that when I picked them in my hand felt very light ?

By about 11am there were numerous coaches going past towards the Cable car . we drove up to the Lower Station but the queue to the top of the mountain was too long , and were told that we still won't be able to get to the peak , from the Upper Station, unless we have a permit ! Next time we will plan it with pre booking the permits and then getting there in plenty of time.
We had a short walk nearby headed back down.

The drive back down was just as thrilling , with loads of bends and plenty of parking bays to stop and enjoy the views.
Will definitely do this again.