What to do in the Canary Islands in May

May is the bridge between spring and summer, one of the best times of year for hiking and walking along the trails of the Canary Islands, stopping at viewpoints and contemplating the colourful scenery of the islands. The perfect month for enjoying nature, the beaches with their calm waters and the islands’ good temperatures, averaging 20°C. These dates are also ideal for enthusiasts of traditional fiestas, like the romerías, or pilgrimages, that are held on all the islands.

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The Canary Islands have multiple trails on which you can get good use out of your walking boots. Paths where you can forge your way through a wide diversity of beauty spots and contrasts. In a few kilometres, the altitude can change radically, and with it the scenery, the fauna and the flora found along the multiple routes available, which are adapted to all levels of difficulty.

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Flowers are one of the symbols of spring, and especially of the Día de la Cruz, or Day of the Cross, which is held every 3rd May. This festival has long-standing roots in the archipelago, above all in the capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz, in the tourist town of Puerto de la Cruz and in Santa Cruz de La Palma. The towns are decked out with crosses made of beautiful flowers, arranged along streets, squares, boulevards and around doorways, practically artworks, comprising a gorgeous, joyous spectacle for which prizes are awarded every year. All this is complemented with fiestas involving dancing, craft shows and romerías.

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The Lotus hillebrandii plant, known in Spanish as corazoncillo de La Palma, is an endemic plant in the Canary Islands which blossoms in May. And it does so in spectacular style, in the form of small yellow clusters that grow by the pine forest of Caldera de Taburiente National Park, in La Palma. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, this natural space contains a huge diversity of animal and plant species.

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One of the most important days of the month and the year is 30th May, Día de Canarias, which commemorates the anniversary of the first session of the Autonomous Community Parliament. A date that gives rise to a host of cultural, folklore, sporting and social events on all the islands. A day for asserting the sense of belonging and identity of the Canary Islands, and the best excuse for trying the most delicious dishes and enjoying the music of the revelry and traditional dances, when people dress up in the typical costume, called traje de mago