The amazing Tajinastes Rojos in Tenerife 

We just came back from a wonderful 11-day trip to Tenerife. It was our first time on this Canary Island. During wintertime it is a popular tourist destination for people from the UK and Germany. We preferred heading there off-season between two public holidays (Ascension Day and Whit Monday). That's when room rates at Tenerife are pretty low, temperatures are still enjoyable and the Tajinastes rojos (Echium wildpretii) are in full bloom at Teide National Park.

These endemic plants are truly out of this world. The Tajinastes rojos can grow as high as 3 meters (10 feet) and each of these cone-shaped flowers is made up of hundreds of tiny red and blueish blossoms. Their bloom usually takes place between mid May and mid June, but when we arrived at Tenerife on May 18 many of them were already at their peak. We were told that this was due to some periods of unusual warm weather in February and March 2023. So our timing was just perfect.
The ceaseless buzzing of the bees and the view at 2,400 m with Spain's highest peak, the active volcano El Teide (3,715 m), in the background was truly amazing. And we even felt lucky twice. Because fog is something that rarely happens while these flowers are in bloom, at least not that high up at the Caldera. This kind of weather is common there during wintertime only, when also snowfall will happen.
During spring and summer the cold ocean currents and the trade winds help concentrate the fog at the Anaga mountain range in the northern part of the island. That's where the mystic laurisilva cloud forest grows. We had some moody weather there too, so please stay tuned - more images will be coming up soon in our brandnew Tenerife image gallery!
And in case you missed it, do not forget check out our image of the month dedicated to the Tajinaste Azul in Gran Canaria, the neighbouring island.

Image data: focus blended ISO 100; Canon EF 16-35mm 1:4 L IS USM at 24 mm with adapter at the Canon EOS R5