Best Viewpoints in Tenerife: 15 Miradores Worth the Stop

Tenerife is a volcanic staircase, and its reward for climbing any of the steps is a view. The island's miradores (viewpoints) turn an ordinary drive into the highlight of the day — here are the fifteen best, grouped so you can plan a route.

The north coast

The north has the greenest scenery and some of the most dramatic clifftop drops:

• Mirador El Lance — perched above Los Realejos, with a patchwork of banana terraces falling away to the Atlantic.
• Mirador de la Garañona — a clifftop lookout between El Sauzal and La Matanza with sweeping ocean views; on clear days you can see the whole north coast.
• Humboldt Viewpoint — the famous stop on the TF-21 between La Orotava and Santa Úrsula, 320 m above the coast, named after the naturalist who praised the valley's scale.
• Mirador San Pedro — on the Rambla de Castro trail in Los Realejos, overlooking untouched cliffs, palms and laurel forest.
• Mirador Los 500 Escalones — carved into the Punta del Hidalgo cliffs, reached by 500 steps that end in a dizzying view of the sea and the Anaga coast.

Anaga: the green mountains

The ancient laurel forests of Anaga hide some of the island's most beautiful lookouts:

• Mirador de Jardina — at the entrance to the park, with the whole city of La Laguna spread below.
• Mirador Risco Amogoje — a quick roadside stop on the TF-134 on the way to El Bailadero.
• Mirador de Benijo — the classic Anaga viewpoint, overlooking the wild black-sand beach of Benijo.

The west and the south

The west coast shows off the island's most vertical scenery:

• Mirador Archipenque — in Puerto de Santiago, the best viewpoint over the Los Gigantes cliffs, 600 m of rock falling straight into the sea.
• Mirador de Atalaya — above Garachico, framing the town's historic harbour and colonial streets from above.
• Punta de Teno lighthouse — the island's westernmost point, a lighthouse on a volcanic headland; the sunsets here are legendary.
• Montaña Roja — a short, easy climb to the crater of a red volcano beside El Médano, with the whole south-east coast at your feet.

The volcano

Nothing on Tenerife beats the views from the mountain itself:

• Mirador de Chipeque — at about 1,400 m near La Esperanza, the panorama runs the whole length of the island, from Punta del Hidalgo to Buenavista.
• Mirador de Masca — above the famous gorge, with the village and the sea framed in one impossible shot.
• Teide National Park — the entire park is a viewpoint; stop anywhere along the TF-21 and you'll be photographing Spain's highest peak.