DAY ONE CAVES & COVES

Morning

Puerto de la Cruz blossomed as a health retreat in the 19th century. Today, it’s in rude health as the north coast’s main town, sprawled lazily along a series of coves. It’s easy to while away a morning watching the fishing boats from its sunny promenades, or wandering under date palms and beside lily ponds in its excellent botanical garden. Don’t leave without going for a dip at Lago Martiánez, a historic water park designed by the Gaudí of the Canary Islands, César Manrique, centred on a series of serene, saltwater pools, where aesthetics and inflatables collide. After you’ve dried yourself off, the old-world Ébano Café is a fine place for a late-morning coffee under the gaze of a 17th-century church. lagomartianez.es

Afternoon

From Puerto de la Cruz, the coastal road snakes westward between forested hills and the sea. It’s a 30-minute drive to the little town of Icod de los Vinos to see its semimythical dragon tree — a bizarre, banyan-like plant rumoured to be 1,000 years old. Afterwards, escape the sunshine with a 10-minute hop up the hill to the entrance of Cueva del Viento — the evocatively named ‘Cave of the Wind’ — for a guided tour of Europe’s largest network of lava tubes. The labyrinth of tunnels, which snakes through Mount Teide, was once used by the pre-Hispanic Guanche people. Re-emerge to savour the sunset at nearby Charco del Viento, a little rocky peninsula with distant views of neighbouring island La Palma. cuevadelviento.net

Evening

Partly destroyed by lava flows in the 18th century, the little village of Garachico was subsequently rebuilt and is perhaps the most graceful settlement on Tenerife’s north coast. In the absence of big hotels and blockbuster beaches, it’s also one of the best places on the island to measure the pulse of traditional Canarian life. Terracotta-roofed houses huddle under the bell tower of the village church and a buttercup-yellow convent, while old men play dominoes and children scamper in the leafy Plaza de la Libertad. Take an evening stroll through the town before adjourning to seafood specialist Restaurante Arístides, where traditional simmered octopus and fresh fish prop up the menu. restaurantearistides.com

From left: Mount Teide, Spain’s highest peak; late afternoon in Plaza de la Libertad, Garachico