When anyone mentions Tenerife’s newest attraction, Siam Park in Costa Adeje, they usually rave about how adrenalin pumping the ‘Tower of Power’ ride is, or which of their mates screamed the loudest when being thrown around like rag dolls inside the ‘Dragon’. What few mention, probably because they’re mesmerised by looming giants’ heads, raging rapids and water chutes which rise vertically into cloudless skies, is how beautiful the place is.

The landscape on the hillside above Tenerife’s south coast has been transformed into a mini Far Eastern paradise which holds as much of an attraction for people who enjoy strolling through enchanting surroundings and chilling out under cyan skies as it does for thrill-seekers wanting to push their fear factor levels to the limits.

Anyone who’s visited Thailand will recognise the craftsmanship which has gone into constructing perfect replicas of traditional Thai buildings, right down to their elegantly curved ‘ngaos’ (decorations on the corners of buildings), or the bejewelled sculptured elephants, symbols of good luck, half hidden in the park’s lush, tropical foliage. Wooden walkways traverse serene lily ponds filled with golden carp and lazily winding rivers.
But the pièce de résistance has to be Siam Playa; a blindingly white sand beach lapped by azure waters. It’s as if someone cut a chunk out of Phuket’s coast and plonked it down on a hillside in Tenerife. The big difference with this beach is that it’s got its own wave making machine capable of producing waves up to three metres in height, but more normally they stick to the not quite Tsunami sized, metre high waves.
It’s a wonderfully tranquil spot to stretch out to either recover from tackling the rides or simply just for a bit of deserved R&R.

However, if the idea of an inland beach might seem a bit bizarre, think about this; when the view on one side is a tropical lagoon bordered by palm trees and a Thai palace and on the other is the island of La Gomera, who cares.