Montaña Pelada

The Montaña Pelada Natural Monument will grant you the opportunity of seeing how a volcanic cone is formed from an underwater eruption. As you explore its 1.5 square kilometre (370 acre) expanse, you will come across a variety of plants coexisting peacefully in this slice of countryside, including psammophiles (which have adapted to living in the area's sandy soils), euphorbia and Canary Island spurges. They each boast their own exotic air. Listen to the sea breeze billowing across the sand dunes, whispering the history of the hundreds of centuries they have witnessed, and relive the childhood excitement of finding a fossil dune that shows how the ocean level has fluctuated slowly over time.

Municipality: Granadilla de Abona

Expanse: 152.7 hectares (377,3 acres)

How to get there:

To get to Montaña Pelada take the TF-1 motorway and turn off at the San Isidro exit, onto the TF-64 towards El Médano. Drive on until you come to the town of El Médano, where you will notice that the TF-64 disappears into Avenida de José Miguel Galván Bello, which goes all the way to the dock. When you get there, turn left and carry on towards the area of La Jaquita and El Cabezo, along Avenida Juan Carlos I. At the end of the road you can park and enter the protected nature area on foot, across the La Barca ravine.

You can also reach it from the other side of the mountain. To do so, take the exit signposted as Polígono Industrial de Granadilla-Acceso B and drive towards the ITER (Renewable Energy Technology Institute). A number of dirt tracks branch off from this road and lead to the nature area you are looking for. These tracks are in rather poor condition, so we recommend you avoid going in a vehicle that is not suitable for all kinds of terrain.