Guided visit to the Teide Observatory, at Izaña

The Teide Observatory is at Izaña, at 2,390 m, where the municipalities of La Orotava, Fasnia and Güímar meet, a few minutes from the northern entrance of the National Park. It is run by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and can be seen inside on a daytime guided visit, lasting an hour and a half, sold by Volcano Teide from €21 per adult. From 8 to 16 years it is free; under 8 do not go in.

Izaña, the mountain of the solar telescopes

Astrophysics in the Canary Islands began here in the early 1960s: the first telescope, from the University of Bordeaux, was working in 1964. Today it is above all a solar observatory, with some of the best solar telescopes in Europe, among them the 1.5 m GREGOR. It also has night-time, robotic and remote-controlled telescopes. Helioseismology, the study of the Sun's interior through its vibrations, was born at Izaña in 1979, and the first brown dwarf, named Teide 1, was detected from here.

An hour and a half inside the site

The guide gathers the group at the barrier and you drive in in your own cars to the car park they indicate. The visit begins with an explanation of the Canary Islands sky, the observatory's telescopes and the IAC itself. Next comes an astrophysics workshop at the visitor centre and observation of the Sun with portable solar telescopes that the guide sets up outside. Then you go inside a night-time telescope, usually the Carlos Sánchez or, if it is not free, the IAC-80. The solar telescopes are not visited inside, so as not to interrupt the scientific work. Photos can be taken in the areas visited.

If there are clouds, the route may change. With snow or ice, especially in winter, the visit may be cancelled on the same day; in that case the amount is refunded.

The barrier at km 1 of the TF-514

You can only get there in your own car or with transport sold by the same company: there is no bus, a taxi has to wait outside and bicycles are not allowed in. You climb the TF-24, the La Esperanza road, and at around km 37 take the TF-514; at its km 1 is the outer barrier, at about 2,390 m. The company estimates an hour by car from Puerto de la Cruz, an hour and a half from Santa Cruz and two hours from the south. Arrive 30 minutes early and do not ring the bell: the staff will tell you where to wait. If you arrive late the visit is shortened, and if it has already started you cannot join; to change it, the phone is 922 010 444. The public toilets are 10 or 15 minutes' walk from the car park: use them before you start.

Who should think twice

There are stairs, gravel paths and quite a lot of walking, so the company does not recommend it to people with reduced mobility, or with anaemia, heart or respiratory problems. At the observatory there is no medical assistance and the nearest hospital is about 90 minutes away. Bring your ID card or passport and the booking voucher, a cap, sunglasses, sun cream, water and a warm layer, with closed shoes. Inside, no smoking or eating, and you must stay with the group at all times.

At km 0.5 of the TF-514, before the barrier, the Izaña viewpoint gives a view of the volcanoes inside and outside the caldera. After that, the El Portillo Visitor Centre is a few kilometres away, already inside the park, and the cable car about 17 minutes.