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Portillo Visitors Centre for short, free, haunting Tenerife entertainment.
El Portillo Visitors Centre road sign at km 32,100 also reads Centro de Visitantes above it and can be spotted from far when approaching it with Tenerife mount Teide on the horizon. Tel.: + 34 922 37 3391 You can phone Parque Nacional del Teide Park Offices at: + 34 922 29 01 29 Fax Tel.: + 34 922 24 77 88 for special information. Portillo Visitors Centre location is at an altitude of 2100 meters. How get there?You get there from from La Orotava (direction Granadilla) on mountain road TF 21. The 2nd option is from La Laguna and the 3rd is from La Granadilla in the South. More possibilities are given in Teide excursions which include a route via Mercedes Forest and more, as well as, how to get to Visitors Centre by public Titsa bus. Tenerife tours destination El Portillo:
The photo of the luxury coach bus seen there which has Tenerife Tours written on it proves that El Portillo Visitors Centre is one of main Tenerife attractions.So do opening times b>all year round except 25th December and 1st of January and its frequent half hourly cinema shows about Tenerife Island, Canadas del Teide, the Teide crater as well as daily opening times from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Don't come later than 3.30 p.m. for not missing most of the latest show! The centre's purpose is educating about the origin of mount Teide Tenerife with its 3717,98 meters, highest peak of Spain and any Atlantic Island Archipelago. It includes information about Caņadas del Teide National Park World Heritage Centre the only alpine subtropical park in Europe and the evolution of volcanic Tenerife Island. Tenerife National Park Teide park offices' own cinema proudly present the film on how Tenerife became what it is now.
Please, note that El Portillo visitors centre is not the same as Caņada Blanca Visitors Centre by Parador del Teide Hotel. The first is about Teide geological facts and hypothesis while the 2nd centre is related to interaction with man. Nope, it's not, really, a museum. Centro El Portillo is sheer entertainment by a professional movie on Tenerife, hence, cinema in an unexpected way. Interesting were the sizes of the typical indigenous magnificent fire red Tajinaste flowers also called Bugloss or Echineum Wildpretii. You can see how tall they are compared to my almost 6 foot (1,80 m) tall friend Guenther standing beside some of them just before Visitors Centre El Portillo entrance. But, there is more to see at El Portillo's Alpine Park. I didn't spot any of the famous Teide Alpine Violets, though.
I took a close up shot of a short Tajinase Echineum Wildpretii which I could catch better with my small lens.
More typical low round bushes called White Brooms or Flixweed which produce golden yellow blooms could be seen from the centre but, without flowers. We parked our car by a splendid blooming Teide white broom where the 17 km diagonal crater of 'Circo Canadas Teide' begins when your arrive at el Portillo from the north.
My neighbors told me about El Portillo Visitors Centre in 2001, already. "It's so awesome giving much food for thought", they said.p>
Later, I forgot that it's called Visitors Centre Portillo. Therefore, I must have, often, driven past. "You'll feel haunted and intrigued afterwards, I promise", he said. The show which is a mix between a documentary and tale takes a mere 15 minutes which you see inside the building of the centre in a genuine movie theatre. Only, the popcorn seller is missing. Ha!
Photography and art of the short film at Visitors Centre are excellent.
Another feature worth mentioning was access for disabled which also included outside washrooms and toilettes. 4 awards were granted to Portillo Visitors Centre mainly for tourist merit, institutional merit and public relations. If I am not mistaken you can take refreshments at the centre as well as inquire for road maps for varied walking and hiking routes in its surroundings.
A bit more photo material is displayed in the corridors of Portillo Visitors Centre. The Spanish people at Visitors Centre reception may never forget me because I complained about a strange about 2 meter walk way kind of indoors bridge made of thick glass with supporting beams underneath shining through. It gave me the sensation of walking over an abyss with nothing under my feet. I never knew I had such a phobia... Earphones make it possible to follow the story on screen at Tenerife el Portillo cinema in different synchronized language versions. Everything shown in the film is based on most probable scientific facts.
Mountain spirit:The 'Spirit of the Mountain' of the movie of Tenerife Visitor Centre is kind of a science fiction character. He keeps you in his ban telling about Teide birth and strange volcanic activities, only 180 000 years ago, of a once estimated 6000 meters high mountainous edifice which transformed Tenerife Island, totally, and left us the much lower Teide. Don't miss the cinema show at Visitors Centre! Yet again, Tenerife Island spoils you with one more attraction at El Portillo Centre with entertainment for free. Combine a day trip to El Portillo Visitors Centre with more activities and exceptional lunch!Seeing El Portillo is part of Tenerife trips we did rounding it off with a generous late trout (trucha) lunch at Restaurant Restaurante Aguamansa when descending the same road before reaching La Orotava turn off. We each had 2 huge baked very fresh trouts with French fries, salad, beer with and without alcohol which cost less than Euros 10 per person in early summer 2008.(prices always subject to change) We also saw the only Tenerife trout farm called Piscifactoria Aguamansa (Fish Factory Aguamansa) which is on the right just after turning the next bend on our Canadas ascent at an altitude of 1100 meters a few minutes from trout restaurant Agua Mansa. Before coming up to Portillo we also visited the large pick-nick spot (zona recreativa)Agua Mansa dedicated to Mr.Ramon Caminero by km 29 mark on the same road F21 mountain road. Please, go from from El Portillo Visitors Centre to more Tenerife Attractions.
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