As much as I love the beach (which is a lot!), I always feel the urge to explore after spending a day or two lying on the sand. So I really enjoyed this guest post about  visiting Teide National Park, which sounds like the perfect complement to a Tenerife beach holiday!

What’s your reason for looking at Tenerife holidays this year? Is it the sunshine hours and the appealing temperatures? The sandy beaches and the azure waters? The chance to top up your tan while recharging your batteries?

Tenerife isn’t just about sun, sea and sand and if you’re heading to this fantastic Canary Island this summer, it’d be great to explore beyond the resort you’re staying in. Of course, spending a week or two relaxing and soaking up the sun is a great way of unwinding and forgetting the troubles of work and suchlike, but when there’s so much more to see, wouldn’t it be more enjoyable to spend a day or two discovering more of the island you’re visiting?

With so much on offer to appeal to all members of your family, you can be sure to find something to suit. Whether it’s the aquaparks or the marine parks that take your fancy, or you’d like to appreciate the natural beauty of the volcanic landscapes, you can.

The Teide National Park dominates the centre of the island of Tenerife and is a great way to enjoy a day away from the coast. Home to Mount Teide – the highest mountain of Spain and her islands and the third largest volcano in the world, the national park provides endless natural beauty and breathtaking vistas that would be perfect for your holiday snaps.

A World Heritage Site since 2007, the Teide National Park attracts thousands of visitors every year and, with the help of telescopes half way up the volcano in the Observatorio del Teide, it attracts astronomy fans as well as nature lovers.

If you carefully plan your visit, you can gain a permit to climb the dormant volcano or, if your legs won’t hold up to the clamber, a cable car operates to take you to the top. While the air will be considerably thinner (after all, you’ll be over 12,000 feet in the air), it’s a must if you want to admire the breathtaking panoramas.

Add a visit to the Teide National Park to your Tenerife holiday this year and venture away from the beaches for a taste of the sparse, lunar-like wilderness.