We get carried away when we see anywhere with water on the Canary Islands and tend to forget that most of the folk who come here have rivers, streams and waterfalls up to their eyeballs at home. So, whilst visiting hikers are amazed by the volcanic landscapes of Teide National Park and the arid planes and ruddy cones of Lanzarote, we gush about damp tunnels on La Palma and lake-like reservoirs on Gran Canaria.
Despite being one of the ‘greener’ islands, Tenerife is lacking in the surface water stakes. Living here we’re deprived of rivers and streams. Most of our water lies hidden out of sight, underground.
This is a long-winded way of saying that the area around the Erjos Pools is one of our favourite walking areas partly because it’s one of the few places to see ponds on Tenerife that look natural.
The pools live a troubled life – in recent years forest fires have twice robbed the ponds of the important flora that surrounds them. A drought a couple of years back didn’t help their cause, or that of the local wildlife.
But these man-made excavations keep bouncing back and when they do, the water fowl and dragonflies return as if by magic. Agricultural terraces once filled this landscape and whilst there are a few ‘fields’ still being worked, most of the terraces now look like long, green steps up the hillside. It’s not an unattractive feature.
Looking back across the pools whilst walking in this area on a clear day is still one of our favourite vistas on Tenerife.
The photograph was taken on our Into the Valley walking routes.
Jack is co-owner, writer and photographer for Walking Tenerife and the Real Tenerife series of travel websites as well as a contributor to lots of other places. Follow Jack on Google+
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