This archipelago of islands lie just off the coast of mainland Africa. There are ten islands in all with the largest being Tenerife and the smallest is Montana Clara. The climate and the beaches are the main natural attractions for the twelve million tourists who travel here every year. Most of these visitors will stay on Tenerife where the Teide National Park is located. Also on this island is the Spain’s highest mountain and the worlds’ third largest volcano. The climate here is sub tropical and in the summer the days are longer and hotter then those during the winter. Many people will make their Tenerife holiday an annual event.
It is said that the original inhabitants once worshiped dogs. They treated these dogs as holy animals and even mummified them. Today, Tenerife is the most populated island of Spain with over 865 thousand inhabitants. All of the Canary Islands are volcanic in origin as they rose from the Jurassic ocean crust. Spain has thirteen national parks and four of these are found on these islands and this is more than any other autonomous community.
It has been documented that before the aborigines came to these islands, it was inhabited by the giant lizards and rats. When they were visited by the Carthaginians under Hanno the Navigator, they claimed to have seen ruins of great building on these island. This tells us that there must have been other inhabitants before the Guanches. The economy here is base on tourism which make up about thirty-two percent of the GDP. Tobacco and bananas are grown here and exported to American and Europe. Although economists are concerned about their resources, there are also other agricultural resources of potatoes, sugarcane, grapes, dates, lemons, oranges and onions to name just a few. Holidays to Canary Islands is full of history and adventure. You could say there is something for everyone here and that would be true. Here you can relax in the sun, dance the night away or surf, bike, hike, water ski and attempt sailboarding on your next trip here. In recent years both scuba diving and underwater photography have given biologists new insights on the marine life around these islands. These island see five different species of ocean turtles with the most common being the Loggerhead turtle which is now on the endangered list. The Short finned Pilot whale is also seen here and so are Bottlenose dolphins.
