Los Realejos is one of the most beautiful places in the North of Tenerife. Here, the beauty of the landscapes is combined with a rich historical-artistic heritage. It is located 41 kilometers from the capital, in the middle of the fertile valley of La Orotava.
Different environmental laws protect a good part of its 57 square kilometers of extension. And its two historic centers –Realejo Alto and Realejo Bajo–, unified in the mid-20th century, were declared Assets of Cultural Interest.
Los Realejos is also a unique destination when it comes to doing sports in nature, with a wide network of hiking trails, beautiful viewpoints from where you can paraglide, and wild beaches where you can practice windsurfing.
To all this, must be added a fact as curious as it is worth celebrating. Los Realejos is the municipality with the most fiestas in Spain —close to a hundred a year—, so your visit will most likely coincide with one of its celebrations.
The charming town
Before the Castilian conquest of the 15th century, the territory on which the narrow streets of Los Realejos spread out was part of the Menceyato de Taoro, the most powerful territory of the nine that made up the island of Tenerife under Guanche rule.
In the network of steep streets of the municipality, the visitor will find numerous points of interest. In Realejo Alto, the town furthest from the coast, is the house where the writer Viera y Clavijo was born in 1731. Today the building houses the town’s public library. Sharing the square with the illustrious house, is the Iglesia Matriz de Santiago Apóstol.
And already in the Realejo Bajo, there is another jewel of the royal architectural heritage: the Hacienda de los Príncipes. It was ordered to be built in the 15th century by the first governor of Tenerife, Alonso Fernández de Lugo. Around it there are other constructions of interest, but if what you are looking for is nature, the traveler will not feel disappointed.
Beautiful viewpoints and wild beaches await in this area. Playa del Socorro and Playa de la Fajana are impressive. And the protected area of Rambla de Castro dazzles. An environment full of Canarian palm groves, tabaibales and dragon trees.
Descending more and more towards the sea, the hermitage of San Pedro is discovered, built in the 18th century on top of a cliff. Also surprising is the Castro family house, an old hacienda from the 16th century, converted into a visitor center. And further on, the San Fernando fort, a magnificent example of a defensive fortress built to stop pirate incursions in the 16th and 17th centuries.