El Teide and Don't Be Afraid of Heights

Let's go, volcano "El Teide"... hell yeah, let's do this. But wait, how do we get there?

Having a car, this is obviously the easiest and most straightforward choice. However, that means driving up to El Teide on a long and windy road for roughly one hour. The road goes up and up, and I would have to look left and right, down the slope, while driving. Not exactly ideal for someone afraid of heights!

We started in Puerto de la Cruz, in the north of Tenerife, and made our way via the TF-312 and later the TF-21, passing La Orotava, a beautiful town nestled in the hills in the north, in case you're ever thinking of buying property there.

This is the view that had me gripping the steering wheel a little tighter.

On the way up we passed many trees, and luckily some of them blocked the view down to the ocean, which eased my panic a little. At least I didn't have to look straight down a valley right next to the car the entire time.

We passed several beautiful small villages and stopped at a few miradores (viewpoints), including Mirador de la Bermeja and Mirador de Mataznos.

After roughly one hour, we arrived at El Teide. I'll admit, I was firmly gripping the steering wheel the entire drive, sweating clean through my t-shirt.

Worth every white-knuckled minute of the drive.

It's absolutely stunning. You shouldn't miss the El Teide experience if you ever visit Tenerife.

Would I do it again? That's a big NO. I've seen it once, and that's enough for me. I won't be doing that drive up to El Teide again. Too much height for me!