Isle of Tenerife

The north of Tenerife is renowned for its magnificent forests that start at altitudes of around 400 metres and climb to a level of 2,000 metres at the foot of the equally magnificent Mount Teide, at 12,194ft, the highest point on Spanish territory.

Mindful, however, that there aren’t nearly as many trees on the island as there used to be, the island authorities have announced a programme of reforestation that will see over a million trees planted in the coming months to cover an area of over 60 hectares, roughly the area that 150 football pitches would occupy.

The trees will be of two ancient species common throughout the Canarian archipelago, the Canarian pine and laurisilva.

The forests are important to the ecosystem of Tenerife, helping to prevent soil erosion and drawing moisture from the clouds to replenishing the island’s network of water underground water reserves.