Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, and is a popular year round holiday destination.  It is also host to one of the biggest Carnivals in the world outside of Brazil... Every year, Tenerife hosts what is claimed to the second largest carnival in the world: the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.  Like other carnivals in catholic countries across the world – including the undisputedly most famous Carnival in Rio de Janeiro – The Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife traditionally began on the day before fasting for lent commenced, with impromptu feasting making sure that meat was used up – no doubt accompanied by the last wine to be imbibed before the Lenten period.

The tradition of feasting soon developed into a full-on fiesta for the peasant classes, a rare privilege that in a break from the norm was for the workers rather than the nobility – it was considered unseemly for aristocrats to party with commoners with such abandon.  To bypass these social mores, some of the more adventurous youth of the privileged classes struck upon the idea of donning masks to hide their identity, thus allowing them to participate in the revelry: the tradition of the Mascarillas was born.  The Mascarillas are now one of the many colourful groups that participate in the annual Carnival.

The Carnival has been themed since the mid -1980’s, with a retrospective history of the Carnival being the main theme in 2010.  The Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and associated events takes place quite early in the season – between the beginning of February and the start of March – and so if you will be visiting the island a little later in the year, be assured that there are plenty of other attractions to keep you busy. Alongside the usual water parks, go Karting and on the water activities like paragliding that you expect in a Mediterranean holiday destination, Tenerife is host to some UNESCO World heritage sites of natural beauty. 
These have been protected in a series of National Parks, such as the Teide National Park which encloses the volcanic Mount Teide, and several rural parks and nature reserves. Tenerife holidays are offered by many of the package providers like Thomas Cook, so it is relatively straight forward to research your options for visiting this interesting island. Prepare yourself for the carnival atmosphere during your flight, though there are plenty of relaxing activities awaiting tourists along the coast too!