Tenerife, a striking island visited by millions of visitors every year. But step beyond the tourists resorts and you’ll find an island that is extraordinarily diverse. If you are planning a holiday to Tenerife here are 18 amazing facts that you might not know about this amazing country, how many do you know? Can you add any of your own?
- Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands.
- The Tenerife flag is the same as Scotland’s, this is because St Andrew is the patron saint of the island.
- 43% of the entire Canary Islands population live on the island.
- The canary bird was named after the islands, not the other way around.
- Every year the island attracts over five million tourists.
- You will always find a spot to lay your towel with a trip to El Medano – Tenerife’s longest beach stretching out just over two kilometres.
- In Tenerife and the rest of Spain, Tuesday the 13th is considered to be unlucky, not Friday 13th like in many countries around the world.
- Tenerife and the rest of the Canary Islands have a different time zone to the rest of Spain, as they use GMT. If you listen to Spanish radio on holiday it will give the time out as ‘its half past three in the afternoon, one hour less in the Canaries’.
- Many of Tenerife’s beaches are not natural, but man-made due to the islands volcanic nature. You will find the natural ones have characteristic back sand.
- The popular holiday destination Playa de Las Americas can be reached by both of the international airports: Reina Sofia in the south of the Island and Los Cristianos. Los Rodeos airport north of the island is near the tourist resort of Puerto de La Cruz.
- Two of the biggest attractions on the island are Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz and the volcano Teide – the top of which is more than 3,000 meters above sea level.
- Tenerife’s Teide National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the second most visited park in the entire world. Do you know where the first most visited park in the world is? Answer below.
- Due to its colossal size, Mount Teide is known to cast the largest sea shadow in the world.
- The island’s famous Thai themed Siam Park, is the biggest water park in Europe and offers one of the highest waterslides in the world.
- Siam Park currently holds seven world records. These include the world’s largest Thai building outside of Asia, the largest man-made wave in the world (approximately 3.3 meters), increased diversity in slides and TripAdvisor’s 2015 Traveller’s Choice Winner of the world’s best water park. Do you know what the other three world records? Answer below.
- The ‘Wind Cave’ (La Cueva del Viento) is the largest volcanic tube in Europe measuring 18 kilometres in length. It is one of the ten longest lava tubes in the world and holds a myriad of underground passages.
- William Shakespeare mentions Canarian wine in two of his works, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV. Every year he was given a barrel of Tenerife’s Malmsey wine as part of his salary.
- We are led to believe that there were originally three islands with the mountain ranges Teno, Valle San Lorenzo and Anaga. With all the volcanic activity, at some point, the areas all merged together and became Tenerife as we know it today.
Answer to number 12 – the first most visited National Park in the world is Mount Fuji in Japan.
Answer to number 15 – the statue of the world’s largest dragon, increased elevation within the lazy river (up to 8 meters) and the world’s first green water park.
If you want to check out these facts for yourself we have some fabulous deals on cheap breaks to Tenerife. Click here to take a look for yourself.
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