One of Spains most popular tourist destinations and in itself a designated autonomous region and official nationality of Spain is the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands have become extremely popular over the last 50 years due to their beautiful beaches, fantastic diversity of geography and the warm climate that the archipelago enjoys. The Canary Islands were formed by volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago and today represent the peaks of a volcanic region hidden beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
The largest of the islands in the archipelago is Tenerife with a land mass of a little more than 2,000 square kilometers. Tenerife is by far the most popular island with regards to the number of tourists that visit each year, and is also home to one of the Canaries most famous geographic locations, Mount Teide. Mount Teide is a volcano that stretches 3,718 meters into the sky, making it the third highest volcano in the world, and one that is still considered to be active, with the last eruption happening in 1909.
At 1,660 square kilometers, Fuerteventura is the Canary Islands second largest island. With long sandy beaches, rugged, mountainous regions and an amazing diversity of wildlife, Fuerteventura is very popular with people who prefer a more nature orientated holiday. The coastlines and location of the island means that it has become very popular amongst surfers, and is also a great place to take part in big game fishing.
Often called a miniature continent, Gran Canaria is one of the jewels of the Canary Islands with its wide range of geographical aspects and micro climates. Made up of picturesque villages, sand dunes, mountains, rough coastlines, jungles and surrounded by clear blue sea, Gran Canaria is unsurprisingly frequented by over 2.2 million tourists per year. The southern end of the island sees less rain and more sun, so most tourists tend to head to the towns of San Agustin, Playa del Ingles, Sonnenland and Maspalomas along the south coast.
The forth largest island is Lanzarote, which is also the easternmost island in the archipelago. Although the island has a slightly cooler climate than the other larger islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, it is still extremely popular with tourists due to its interesting geography and beautiful beaches which include the Playa Blanca and Playa de Papagayo. One other popular destination on the island is the Cueva de los Verdes which is a 6 kilometer long lava tube created around 3,000 years ago, thought to be the second longest lava tube in the world.
Further reading – Cheap Holidays To Lanzarote