Garachico

Garachico was the main port of Tenerife and the wealthiest town on the island until 5 May 1706, when a fissure opened on the slopes of Teide and lava ran down through the town into the harbour, destroying most of it and filling the port that was its reason for existing. The town never recovered its position, but it rebuilt, and what the lava left has become its attraction: El Caleton, a set of natural pools in the hardened flow along the shore, filled and flushed by the sea and used for swimming. The sixteenth-century San Miguel castle survived because the lava split around it. The old quarter behind holds convents, a plaza with laurel trees and noble houses in dark volcanic stone.

What you actually see

• El Caleton - natural bathing pools in the hardened 1706 lava.
• San Miguel castle - a sixteenth-century fort the lava flowed around.
• The lava flow - the black rock that buried the harbour, still visible.
• The old quarter - convents and stone houses rebuilt after the eruption.

When to go

Year-round; northern Tenerife is mild but wetter than the south. The pools are usable when the sea is calm and closed in swell, which is frequent in winter. Summer weekends fill them.

Honest expectations

The pools close whenever the sea is rough, which happens often, and swimming is over sharp volcanic rock. Parking in the town is limited. The north coast is cloudier than the resorts in the south.

Nearby

Icod de los Vinos and its ancient dragon tree lie east; the Teno massif is west.