Just a few days ago, Volcano Teide inaugurated its new visitor centre located at the base of the Teide cable car facilities. The opening ceremony counted with the presence of Ignacio Sabaté, the director of Teleférico del Teide, in attendance alongside Rosa Dávila, the president of the Tenerife Island Council. The event also hosted various institutional representatives and professionals from the environmental and tourism sectors.
The revamped space, repurposing existing structures, features an exhibition hall, a cafeteria, a retail shop, and a service area. It will welcome visitors every day of the week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., including days when the cable car is non-operational due to adverse weather conditions.
This new cultural and leisure initiative, complementing the cable car experience, benefits from the scientific input and cooperation of the Museum of Man and Nature (MUNA) of the Island Council of Tenerife, as well as the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan), affiliated with the Government of the Canary Islands.
The permanent exhibition ‘Teide Legend: Science and Legend’ offers insights into how Teide’s resources were utilized by the island’s earliest settlers, the Guanches. It features a mummy replica and depicts the eruption that formed Teide’s summit around 1,000 years ago.
Visitors can engage with panels, video reproductions, and a short film that blend scientifically verified information about the eruption with a legend regarding the current shape of Teide’s summit. The narrative is visually brought to life by Luis Suárez, a globally acclaimed Canarian cartoonist in the comic world, with the script and text contributions from cultural heritage expert María Mengual. The exhibition’s design and layout have been crafted by Javier Martínez.
Central figures in the exhibition include Tassat, a young Guanche girl, Magec the sun goddess, Guayota the demon, Guañameñe the guru, and Achamán, the guardian protector of the Guanches, among other symbolic characters.
