First of all I visited the Mt. Teide, the highest mountain in Spain. You can ride a cable-car to the summit. And I had an unrivalled view on the lunar-like landscape. You can see all the colours of different types of rock, orange, green, rust, black and beige.

For good photographers a must, to eternalise this fascinating view in pictures. I’m not a good photographer, so I tried to put these colours in my mind for ever.
And, believe it or not, on this bald peak I found vegetation. It was a kind of daisy flower, growing in bushy clumps, very cute.

I drove around, visited all the traditional rural towns and hillside villages, but for fun you should go out in Puerto de la Cruz. It’s said to be better for the older people, like I am, and it exceeded all my expectations. It was a quiet, cool space, that’s what people told me. And there were right! I had a relaxing evening there.

The northern coast was bordered by steep cliffs, but the southern part was for the tourists. It was not because this part was hotter, but rather the infrastructures were more developed. The beaches, made of black volcanic sand, were gorgeous and the ocean was wild and refreshing.

I walked along the ocean and sometimes I was completely alone. Wonderful! If you ever plan an unforgettable vacation, you should go there.

In February 1999 my friends and I decided to book flights to Tenerife as we wanted to spend a great time at the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Before the trip we had created extraordinary costumes for our participation in that special event. We really enjoyed having parties in the streets, dancing to music of Caribbean rhythms, drinking Sangría and meeting people from anywhere. There were many interesting bands and orchestras playing in the streets. The atmosphere was just brilliant! I guess you can imagine we did not sleep too much. My personal highlight was DJ Armand Van Helden´s performance at the Santa Cruz Dance Carnival on Monday of Carnival.

Tenerife is a fantastic vacation place for nightlife in general. We liked the evening programs in our hotel in Playa de las Americas a lot. In the week after Carnival there was a karaoke show for everyone, and me and my friends sang a song which was originally recorded by the Spice Girls.

Playa de las Americas is the perfect location for going out. We spend a lot of time during the nights in the clubs. My favourite one was Tramps, the most popular night club of the island. I admit it was not cheap at all. However, some of our Canarian friends knew one of the guys working there, and so we got entrance and at least a few drinks for free. One night we were not into dancing that much, so we decided to spend some time at Brannigans, a small pub where the DJ played Indie music most of the time.

If you still look for a place where to spend your next party vacation, do not hesitate and a book a flight to Tenerife – it is a real nightlife paradise.

My hotel was located in Playa de las Americas, this is in the south of the island.

I was shocked, because my first impression of the south was like an desert. If the trees and plants don´t get water from the resorts, then nothing would grow up there. But it looks very nice.

The name of our hotel was “Los Hibiscus”, a very nice location. There you can find a swimingpool and the rooms are with balcony. The beach was only 10 minutes away from the hotel.

The beach has black sand, but at some bays they put white sand, so it looks like classic beaches. Because of historical reasons, the island arised by volcano activities, the sand has it´s black colour.

At my first night I found some cockroaches, but you have to know, they live here longer then any human and are very shy. It´s pretty normal in these warm regions to see cockroaches.

At my second day of the holdays i made a dolphin tour, and it was very nice. Included in this dolphin tour is a shipping near the stone coast at Los Gigantes a very huge (500 meters high) mountain at the coast. After some minutes we saw many dolphins. This was my highlight of the travel to tenerife island.

Me and my family enjoy staying at Puerto de la Cruz. The town has a long tradition as a tourist center, well known for its relaxing atmosphere. During the daytime the sand beach and the lush, tropical gardens of the city invite for some hours of sunbathing and swimming. In the evenings the restaurants in the area around Plaza del Charco offer good food and family entertainment.



One of my familie´s favourite passtimes is hiking and we find Tenerife to be an ideal place for this acitvity. The Anaga mountains in the northeast offer many romatic hiking paths that we enjoy because of the breathtaking scenary and the untouched nature. Hiking is popular on the island and guided tours can easily be arranged. We have always felt safer on the guided tours and of course there is the benefit of getting explanation about local vegetation and wildlife.

The Pico Teide is with about 3,700 meters the highest mountain in Spain. Hiking here is for experts but there is a cable car that takes visitors up to a station near the mountain top. The view from here is fanastic. You can see all of Tenerife but have a view also over the Atlantic ocean and the neighboring Canry Island.



While on vacation on Tenerife, a trip to the island´s capital of Santa Cruz is a must. There are many historical sights that remind us of the island´s ancient history and it´s native inhabitants, the Guanches. Many parks offer the opportunity to relax and downtown we find the best shopping on the island.

This photo I made in Playa Jardin, the beautiful beach in Puerto de la Cruz in the North of Tenerife.

Unfortunately I don’t know how the name of this flower is, so if you know it, please make a comment!

There are different possibilities to hire a sailing yacht with skipper for a group of friends or the whole family.

There are different sport marinas on the isle of Tenerife where you can dock with your own sailing yacht and fill up your water and fuel deposits. One of these marinas is situated in Radazul a few kilometres from Santa Cruz.

On a sailing cruise ahead Tenerifes coast you can get a new perspective of this beatiul piece on earth. You can take a bath in hidden bay’s, which can hardly be reached without a boat or a yacht.

If you want to live a little adventure during your holiday on Tenerife you have the possibility to take a sailing trip to one of the surrounding isles like La Gomera or La Palma.

Tenerife and the whole Canary Isles are an adequate territory for sailing holidays and sailing cruises. Near the sport marinas you can find lots of hotels and holiday-apartments.

Nearly all the german shops are situated in the Canary Center, which is a shopping passage. Beside noble boutiques and other shops you can find here as well physiotherapists, traditional healer and medical consults (Deutsches Ärztehaus).

The visitor can find a large variety of products, articels and services and can be attended in german or english for better understanding.

In the Canary Center there are as well shops selling arts and crafts, lace and other souvenir articles. As well a jewelery is situated in the Canary Center. Who wants to enjoy german gastronomy can try different specialities in a tipical gourmet shop in the Canary Center. A health food shop and a pharmacy are situated near all this shops. Another healthy shop ist Zumeria Brasil, where you can get many different kinds of fruit juices and milk shakes.

Another shop to mention in the Canary Center is the bakery Millo. They offer original german bread with different kinds of corn like spelt or sunflower seeds and many more.

Other german and even english products you can buy in Supermercado 2000 next to the Canary Center. If you want to make a shopping tour and get some special products as german saussage and bread you can make a trip to the Canary Center in La Paz in Puerto de La Cruz. Next to this shopping center you can find plenty of hotels for your next holiday in Puerto de La Cruz on Tenerife.

Hotel Tigaiga and the garden exist since 1959. The surface area of the subtropic garden amounts more than 4.000 m². In this little paradise you can find blooming flowers in nearly all the colours, plenty of palm trees, aquatic plants and much more. The different plants have their origin as well in the Canary Islands as in nearly all other continents and countries of the world.

A guided tour through the subtropic garden is organized once a week on clients request. Don Cristobal, a graduate biologist, guides the guests through the garden and informs about origin and special characteristics of the different plants.

The hotels employees are caring about this big variety of plants and palms with a lot of love. Mrs. Ursula Talg, one of the owners of the hotel, is specially responsible for the subtropic garden. The surface with all this subtropic plants has grown over the years and nowadays it is impressioning uns with tall palm trees and blooming flowers. The Hotel Tigaiga owns more palmtrees than hotel-beds.

A visit in the subtropic garden of hotel Tigaiga is not only possible for hotelguests and everybody interested in plants can visit this garden. If you wish to visit the subtropic garden you can contact with the reception staff of Hotel Tigaiga and will shurely be attendy kindly and guided through the subtropic garden.

Book directly online: Hotel Tigaiga ****

Dive and Sea Tenerife chose a variety of different locations which best match your experience level so that you can enjoy your diving experience. You can visit dive sites in the north as well as in the south of Tenerife. The diving school provides quality equipment for you to use on your dive.

Dive and Sea Tenerife offer Scuba Diving Courses for beginners and advanced divers.
One of the most popular courses is the open water course. With this level you can dive anywhere in the world up to 18 m of depth.

The courses offered range from Discover Scuba, open water, advanced, rescue diver leading through to your dive master, specialities and ERF. Dive and Sea Tenerife also offer Dive packs at very competitive prices you can find a huge amount of courses and activities in the Dive and Sea Tenerife diving school. You can start your diving course from only 10 years old.

Dive and Sea Tenerife also offers Snorkelling trips, Boat excursions, and Boat Taxis to interesting locations along the coast of Tenerife.

If you are interested in booking a diving experience in Tenerife, you can find more information and details about prices and courses on the homepage of Dive and Sea Tenerife:

www.diveandseatenerife.com

The Official Test Centre is situated in the South of Tenerife, in El Médano. The centre stocks equipment from nearly every major windsurfing brand. The equipment is available to test for all the key disciplines from wave to crossover and from freestyle to freeride.

Equipment in the Offficial Test Centre

In El Médano the surfing conditions are ideal and you can find three superb sailing areas. On the beach of El Médano you can enjoy realistic coastal freeride conditions. One of Europe’s best wave sailing arenas – El Cabezo – is situated as well in El Médano.

The OTC (Official Test Center) provides equipment from more than 18 important windsurfing brands. You have the opportunity to test all kind of equipment for different disciplines before you decide which one to buy.

In the OTC you can test the equipment and enjoy a relaxing holiday surrounding.

For more information,
email: info@otc-windsurf.com,
phone +34 922 179 401 or log onto: www.otc-windsurf.com

This Park is like a botanic garden and a zoo. Herre you can find many attractions beside a huge variety of animals. Early Loro Parque has been a zoo for lots of species of birds an parrots, some of them in danger of extinction. Nowadays it is one of the most famous and visited tourist attractions on the isle of Tenerife.

If you visit Loro Parque you can get immersed in the fascinating world of animals and also some exotic flowers and plants. One of the highlights in this zoo are different animal shows, which you can enjoy in Loro Parque. The latest attraction is a show with Orcas, who have been braught to the zoo in 2006. As well you can enjoy a great show with dolphins, sea lions and parrots with their trainers. Another thing you should not miss in Loro Parque is Planet Penguin. Here you can see different species of pengiuns. A special part has been formed into a perfect habitat for some of them. The climate of the Antartic has been formed with tons of ice and snow. You really feel like in the Antartic if you see how its continuately snowing.

one of the orcas in Loro Parque

Dolphin show

Sea lion

Penguins in Planet Penguin

In Loro Parque you can observe lots of animals, a very special habitant of this zoo ist a white tiger.

White tiger

The whole surface of this park is more than 135.000 m². In Thai Village, an originally thai village has been built inside Loro parque, you can buy some souvenirs and other things. It’s easy to get there, from the center of Puerto de la Cruz you can take a train for free, which is bringing you to the entrance of Loro Parque.

Here you will find more information: www.loroparque.com

Now, you have a chance to discover a mystic place, which is situated closer to you than you could ever think.

“The Forgotten Village” of Masca on the Isle of Tenerife is set in the north western part of Tenerife, just in the heart of the Teno Mountains. Its extraordinary character is stressed by the fact that until 1991 there were absolutely no roads to get there. Masca is an idyllic place, where the time has simply stopped.

It is a must especially for walkers and hikers or those who seek for traditional atmosphere of little tapas bars, tiny churches and cosy huts.

You may choose from the wide range boat tours from Masca to Los Gigantes (Cliffs of the Giants). This natural phenomenon is a very popular tourist attraction due to its beauty and scenic situation.

The coast offers excellent diving and fishing conditions.

In the Los Gigantes Town you will find some great pubs, restaurants, cafes and resorts. There is also a wide choice of diving excursions and watersports.

It is worth pointing out that you may take sailing lessons in a sailing club which is based there.

Around 3000 people live in this lovely village that is situated in a wonderful landscape with a lot of wonderful flowers.

The climate up in the mountains is very clean and fresh. Thats why the village is very suitable for a sanatorium.

Vilaflor is the starting point for several very interesting walking tours to the Paisaje Lunar or the Cañadas.

Above the village one can see some very big stone pines. Some of them have a hight of up to 45 meteres. Its really worth a visit.

One can also see very interesting stoneformations of vulcanic origin.

Even though there is low rainfall in Vilaflor and the surrounding regions, people practice very intensive agriculture. One can see very picturesque terrace fields on both sides along the road towards San Miguel.

Worth a visit is also the church Iglesia de San Pedro Apóstol, build in the 16th century on an older chapel. What is very interesting is the cross with Jesus sitting next to it. Its very recommendable to visit this church while being in Vilaflor.

A really nice sight near Vilaflore is the Parque Natural del Teide.

Particularly, the southern part of the island has very easy access to water. In the major tourist resorts of Playa de las Americas, Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje, you will find some of the island’s most spectacular beaches.

It is worth pointing out that several of them gained a reward of the European Blue Flag for their clear water and clean sand.

In Los Cristianos you will find two main beaches and several smaller ones, which are situated close to the hotels. The Los Cristianos beach is suitable especially for children. Additionally, it posses plenty of playgrounds and guarantees a great family atmosphere.

Playa de las Americas posses probably the most famous beach on the whole island of tenerife: Playa de Troya. It has not only shallow water and a great selection of restaurants and bars, but also many water sports options, particularly surfing due to large waves, which appear when the sea is more rough than usual.

If you would like to snorkel or to have some good fish on lunch, you should definitely spend some time on the coast of Costa Adeje with its small and rather stone beach: La Caleta.
This is also a perfect place to rest from other tourists, as a little known cove with a sandy beach: Playa de la Enramada is situated just between Las Americas and La Caleta.

However, Playa Jardin, which is a black beach close to Puerto de la Cruz town, belongs to the most famous on the whole island.
The black colour of the sand has the volcanic nature. Few people know that a direct skin contact with the black lava sand has an anti-rheumatism effect.

In consequence of Tenerife’s evolution, only a few natural beaches were formed. Due to the increasing number of tourists, the growing demand for public beaches appeared. Beaches created by men are the constant element of Tenerife landscapes. Created around the tourist resorts, they are of the best quality and cleanliness, with access to restaurants, bars and water-sports.

Playa de las Teresitas is one of the best beaches situated near by the capital Santa Cruz. The extraordinary thing about it, is the fact that its sand was importet directly from Sahara.

One of the latest attractions in northern part of Tenerife is the Lago Martianez and the Martianez Beach in Puerto de la Cruz, which is being developed and modernized since the end of year 2007. The beach offers perfect conditions for surfers.

The unique combination of spectacular landscapes, live music, sunny weather and first of all the great fun is common for this island.

Additionally, a lot of festivals promote folk and rural traditions. For example “romeria” festival is a well-known-way to honor different patron saints. It is a pilgrimage of folk music and traditional Canarian clothes and what is more, of colorful oxen-drawn carts.

One of the most popular traditional “romeria” festivals takes place in Tegueste, a municipality of the northern part of Tenerife in Santa Cruz de Tenerife province.

The Romería de San Marcos in Tegueste is a famous traditional festival, which main aim is to honor Saint Marcos. The festival promotes, but first of all conserves and cultivates old Canarian traditions. That is why; it is a great and unique opportunity to experience some of time-honored activities, Canarian dress, wonderful folk music and dance of traditional folk groups.

If you would like to experience a great atmosphere and to find yourself in the middle of a colorful and traditional festival, where the locals know exactly how to celebrate, the Romería de San Marcos would be perfect for you.

The Teno-range in the west of Tenerife and the Anaga-mountains are a famous destination for active holiday makers and those who like hiking and exploring.

The visitor finds many small original villages, which escaped from the mass tourism because of their location far away from the popular beaches and the big cities. One learns about the roots of civilization of Tenerife and can enjoy the intact landscape and meet the autochthonous people living there.

We explored the moste interesting and charming places of the island to give you some usefull tips.
One of the most beautiful beaches, called Playa de las Teresitas, is situated in the north-east of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of the island. Playa de las Teresitas has been created artificially with sand from the Sahara desert, you can enjoy a safe bathing pleasure as well adequate for children.

In the south of the island of Tenerife you can find different natural sandy beaches at El Medano and artificially created ones in the tourist resorts like Las Americas and Los Cristianos.

La Tarta:

The most important place of this beautiful village is the small plaza at the church. The whole hamlet is devided into parts and distributed to several mountain sides.

Masca is well-known for its tasty onions, potatoes and garlic but also the yame-fruit, plam juice, citrus fruits and goat chees are delicacies.

Furthermore especially the type of construction of the houses is very conspicuous because of the way they are built into the mountain side.

One of the most famous hiking-tours begins in the middle of the village and leads trough the barranco, which means canyon, to the sea – it takes about 6 hours bidirectional (descent and ascent)

Indeed, it is celebrated only all five years, then, however, the whole island stands during two weeks under the sign of the celebration of the patron saint.

In a church parade the patron saint of the island, Nieves, is carried from the chapel into the city center.

Part of the celebrations are performances like the traditional minuet at the Plaza de Santo Domingo in the commune of La Guancha which aductes the spectator in the world of the 18-th century with original costumes, music and folcloric dances. The absolute climax of the celebration is the dance of the dwarfs.

The splendid gala to nominate the annual carnival-queen is among the most impressive moments fullo of rhythm, colours and fun without limit.

Thousands of joyfully celebrating dressed ups are dancing on the streets and enjoy themselves till the early morning hours.

The carnival of Tenerife is a great spectacle, which you should’nt miss in any case, surely you will be impressed.

In San Lorenzo, Adeje and Arona you can find a lot of lookout points ofer a rugged area with canyons and isolated mountain paths with a magnificent panorama view over the south of the island, which is a famous sunbathing area with beaches.

The regions we mentioned for you are a paradise for nature lovers. But also climbers and mountaineers.
Under mountaineers and hikers Tenerife is a very popular destination. Guided groups and individual hikers find accommodation in mountain cottages, small mountain hotels, youth hostels.

Guided holidays for hikers can be booked in advance in internet.

Tenerife has a surface of 2.068 km² and a population of approximately 800.000 inhabitants. In the language of the aborigines called “Guanches” Tenerife means “snow-covered mountain”.

The “Pico del Teide“, the highest mountain of Spain, situated on the isle of Tenerife, divides it into two climatical different parts:

The north is very fertile and abundantly covered by vegetation, while the south of the island is very dry and similar to a desert. Therefore, sometimes Tenerife is called the “island with the two faces“.

The volcanic landscape in the middle of the island covers two thirds of the whole island. The peak of the vulcano Teide reaches a height of 3.178 metres. He is the highest mountain of Spain and the third highest volcano of the world after two in Hawaii.

Almost all inhabitants of Tenerife live distanced from the sea in the valleys, near the area of agriculture like in La Orotava
.

The so called queen of the Canary Islands guarantees temperatures of over 20 °C in winter as in summer with many sunny days to take a sunbath. Over all the south of the island is well known for nearly any cloudy or rainy day. Most beaches are situated near the holiday centres like Los Christianos or Playa de Las Americas.

The holiday-maker has a lot of hotels and a perfect tourist infrastructure with appropriate restaurants, amusement parks and much more on his disposal.

It is a quite special experience for every tourist to visit Santa Cruz during the carnival time the months of January and February. Thousands of people dressed up with colourful costumes dancing and celebrating on the streets of the capital of Tenerife.
The carnival is accompanied by Salsa, Merengue and Samba rhythms. The carnival of Santa Cruz is after the one in Rio de Janeiro the most popular worldwide.

So, you see, you have many possibilities to escape from the cold winter months in Germany.

The wonderful mild and pleasant climate all over the year is one of the biggest advantages of the archipelago. In winter hardly less than 18 degrees and more than 27 degrees in summer.

You can book a typical holiday package in the south of the isle in tourist resorts like Los Christianos and Playa de las Americas. An alternative is to spend your holiday in a nice country house offered by rural tourism in the area of Puerto de la Cruz in the north of Tenerife.

Stylish typical canary accommodations are offered far away from the hustle and bustle in country houses and fincas on the countryside of Tenerife.

You find a great supply of different private holiday cottages and holiday dwellings in all regions of the island. With a rental car or with the public transport system you can discover many beauties of Tenerife.

One can watch dolphins and whales on the Ocean between the two islands Tenerife and La Gomera, neighbouring island.

The Loro Parque, a wonderful zoo in Puerto de La Cruz, sustains over 1.000 different kinds of parrots is a visit worth.

For active holiday makers who like hiking and exploring the isle of Tenerife has a lot of wonderful mointain pathes to discover.

One of the most popular destinations in Europe is Tenerife, primarily for it’s pleasant climate and spectaclular landscape.

If you visit the isle of Tenerife, at least you should taste something from the traditional cuisine.The small idyllic restaurants offer a varied and palatable kitchen with ingredients like fish, seafood, meat, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other kinds of vegetables combined with exquisite spices and fresh herbs.

Primarily fish, the paella, the different Tapas, the goat’s cheese, potatoes with a salt crust are very popular. As well as tortilla, the Alioli dip, Empanadas and the Canary fish-soup.

So take the opportunity to taste some tipical canary dishes when you make a stop during an exciting excursion on Tenerife.

Within a few minutes, anyway one comes from a climatic zone by car into the next one.
So for example it can happen that you start from the Puerto de La Cruz in the north of the island with cloudy weather and you drive in direction to Bajamar or Tacoronte, only a few kilometers, and you will find sunshine there.

The complete northeast of the island of Tenerife is formed by a rugged area. The massif rises steeply up from the Atlantic, which is forming the precipitous coast. The range of Anaga is abundantly covered with vegetation for the most part and sometimes veiled by clouds.

Places you should visit are the botanic garden and the Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz, or the small idyllic mountain village Masca situated in the romantic range of Teno.

Another highlight of Tenerife are the historical centers of La Orotava and La Laguna. For who is interested in winegrowing culture, the wine museum in El Sauzal in the north of the island, would be interesting to visit.

In the most sunny month of the year is July with an average of 10.6 hours of sunshine a day. There highest temperature with 25 °C are reached in the month of August. The water temperature reaches the highest temperature of 23°C in September and October. The islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma and also Gran Canaria form also part of the Canary Islands and are known to have the warmest climate of the whole seven islands. The islands arose by volcanic activities approximately 5 – 7 millions years ago.

The mountains of Anaga and the range of Teno are geological the oldest area of the island of Tenerife. The Pico del Teide is with 3.718 meters of altitude the highest mountain of Spain.

In the variety of vegetation you find numerous species of plants, which are found only in the Canary Islands. The best known plant is surely also the Canary dracaena called Dragon tree. The oldest example of a Dragon tree can be found in Icod de los Vinos.

Party time is in full swing in the northern Tenerife resort of Puerto de la Cruz, which is in the middle of its annual July fiestas.

The main festivities pay tribute to the Gran Poder and the Virgen del Carmen, the patron saints of the town.

A wide range of typical activities are organised in the course of the month, but the undoubted highlight comes on the second Tuesday of the month – this year July 17 – when the Virgen del Carmen (pictured above) is paraded through the narrow cobbled streets before being loaded on to a boat and taken out to sea.

The day draws huge crowds, as witnessed in the picture below, with families camping out overnight around the little harbour to ensure they get the best places.

It’s a typical Canarian family day, with all generations joining in the fun.

Similar celebrations are held all over Tenerife at around the same time but few are as spectacular or as moving as the processions in Puerto.

In addition to her many duties, the Virgen del Carmen is the patron saint of fishermen and the local fisherfolk consider it a great honour to be chosen to carry the enormous statute down to the harbour for her annual outing.

As they stagger and sway through the streets under the weight of the figure, the fishermen are hemmed in by hordes of onlookers desparate not only to see the spectacle but also to try to touch Carmen for luck.

As Carmen arrives at the harbour to be carried down to the water’s edge, the temperature of the occasion rises sharply as her progress is marked by the singing of Ave Maria.

It’s a moment charged with high emotion for the by now tens of thousands of people packed around the harbour, clinging to the sea wall or watching from the crowded balconies of the surrounding high buildings.

The statue is eventually lashed to a simple fishing vessel that looks as though it will sink under the combined weight of Carmen and her enormous entourage (see below) and the party edges its way through scores of tiny boats packed into the harbour as tightly as proverbial sardines.

The Faro club in Costa Adeje is developed around a lighthouse and has a level of sophistication more usually associated with exotic night spots in the south of France or the Miami strip.

It offers an eclectic mix of music and art in sumptuous and relaxing surroundings.

It will act as a venue for live concerts and art exhibitions as well as providing an exciting night time experience for holidaymakers after a day on the beach.

The Faro has a special Zen terrace where clubbers can chill out and watch the sunset before picking up the pace as the night wears on and the tempo increases.

The Faro can be found between Playa Puerto Colon and Playa Fanabe on the island’s west coast.

Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz has a list of species that includes Orca killer whales, dolphins, sea lions, tigers, jaguars, sharks, alligators, chimpanzees and flamingos.

Virtually every important member of the animal kingdom is represented here. You’ll need a whole day to do it justice and still you will want to go back again the next day!

Many of Loro Parque’s inmates have been rescued from private owners. Others have been donated by other zoos who thought Loro Parque could offer them a better environment.

Many of the animal enclosures – there are few cages here – mimic natural habitats. For example, a virtual jungle has been created for the gorilla enclosure, housing six male gorillas and occupying 3,500 square metres

The Penguin House is a wondrous place, reproducing the climate of the Antarctic in the finest detail, even producing 12 tons of ice and snow a day for the enjoyment of the 250 penguins accommodated there.

Loro Parque shows are as spectacular as anything you’ll see in Florida, separately featuring the killer whales, dolphins, sea lions and parrots.

Loro Parque came into being over 30 years ago, initially specialising in the breeding of rare parrot species to prevent their extinction. They have since gone on to rescue and protect scores of other animals.

The new online ticketing system aims to speed up the admission process by cutting down on queues at the ticket kiosks.

Tickets can be purchased through the park’s website, www.loroparque.com.

The system operates in three languages, English, Spanish and German, and the online transaction is carried out through a safe server.

Loro Parque already operates an extensive ticket sales network with many tourists able to purchase tickets in advance through their tour operator or hotel.