Stargazing with a 20 Inch Telescope and Teide Sunset

Two separate experiences in one evening, at two different sites. First the sunset: a viewpoint high above the cloud layer, a glass of sparkling wine, and the volcanic landscape turning from ochre to deep red as the light goes. Then the sky takes over. At a second observing site, accredited professional astronomers work a 500 mm Sky-Watcher Stargate GoTo telescope — a 20-inch mirror that gathers four times the light of a 250 mm instrument. A digital eyepiece adds what the eye cannot do: nebulae and galaxies appear in colour on screen, while you see the real object through the eyepiece itself.

1. 1

   Teide National Park

   1.5 hours

   Our guide meets you at a viewpoint on the TF-38, inside Teide National Park, at almost 2,000 metres above sea level. You are welcomed with a glass of sparkling wine and taken to the best spot for the view, where you watch the sun go down onto the sea of clouds that sits below the park. Your guide explains the volcanic landscape around you — the lava fields and mineral colours that shift from ochre to deep red in the last half hour of light. You reach the meeting point in your own car.

2. 2

   Teide National Park

   1.5 hours

   After sunset you follow the group in your own car to a second site on the TF-21, deeper inside the park. Accredited professional astronomers guide the observation through a 500 mm (20-inch) Sky-Watcher Stargate GoTo telescope: galaxies, globular clusters and nebulae, the cloud bands of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn. A digital eyepiece puts the same view on a screen, where deep-sky objects appear in colour.

• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.