PR TF 43 Garachico - Chinyero

The Casa de Piedra Art Space is a place for artists to meet, hold forums and workshops, providing them with an ideal breeding ground for creation and a venue for exhibiting the work produced in this artistic hotbed.

In few towns is it the case that a date marks the beginning of a new era. The history of Garachico is based on a natural event that marked a before and after: the eruption of the Arenas Negras volcano in 1706. This volcanic eruption buried a huge swathe of the mountainside, the town centre and its port under lava, causing great losses in terms of heritage, the economy and the population of this part of the Daute area. From this point onwards, a reconstruction of its architectural and urban layout began. The new town has remained practically intact up to the present day, although during the 19th and 20th centuries it underwent the changes typical of any developing society. Despite the destruction wrought by the volcano, it still retains some stately homes and religious buildings arranged in an urban layout that runs parallel to the coast.

Strategically located to the right side of the inlet leading towards Garachico’s former natural harbour, these days it is situated along Tomé Cano avenue, which surrounds the historical centre along the side of El Caletón. Its function was the same as that of former structures: to defend the entrance to the wide natural bay, that was buried by the 1706 eruption. It has a square layout, with a small entranceway facing south, crowned with various coats of arms. 

Small sanctuary built in the 20th century by State Forestry Workers with the help of the municipality.

Fortress that survived the eruption of 1706 and was restored in 1999 to become the Heritage Information Centre.

This park still contains the arch of the gate that provided access to the old port of Garachico in the 16th century. Here you can also see the old winepress in very good condition.

It is said that a team of oxen was hauling wood along the track when one ox fell, exhausted, to its knees. The oxherd beat the ox to force it to stand up and the other ox, in its defence, said: “hang in there my friend or our master will suffer”. The tree has five trunks, three forking from the base.

The church of Santa Ana stands on a plot of land donated in 1520 by the wealthy Genoese landowner, Cristóbal de Ponte, and it is very likely that it was named after his wife, Ana, as is usually the case in such matters. Damaged by the eruption of the Trevejo volcano in 1706, which buried a large part of Garachico, it had to be rebuilt and was endowed with furniture from the existing convents in the area. It has three naves with three chapels at the front, the largest of which is particularly spacious.

Pine tree that splits into three large trunks 60 centimetres above the ground. Surrounded by an undergrowth of fayal-brezal (Morella-Erica heath), the trunk’s girth at the base is 7.30 metres.

Group of three male palm trees. Fine looking trees surrounded by a circular parterre with heights of 6, 7 and 8 metres. Their girths are 1.45, 1.60 and 1.87 metres. Noted for their beauty and for adding character to this historic building and traditional part of the town centre. Used as the setting for various festivals.

Construction of this monastery began in 1643 on a site located on the coast of Garachico. It was dedicated to St Peter and St Christopher, after the sons of its benefactor, Cristóbal de Ponte y Hoyo. Although the building was spared the eruption of the Trevejo volcano in 1706, three years later a voracious fire razed it to the ground, but it was rebuilt under the orders of bishop Juan Francisco Guillén. It has also been battered by the sea, as in 1856, when part of the building was destroyed. Unlike the other four convents in Garachico, it was spared from the Spanish confiscation.

The Franciscan convent of Our Lady of the Angels was erected in 1524 thanks to patronage from Genoese Cristóbal de Ponte, who donated a section of his land lying next to an existing 16th century hermitage devoted to the Virgin Mary. It contains two cloisters, nowadays used by the town council, and a church with an adjacent chapel dedicated to la Misericordia (the Divine Mercy). This is the oldest convent in the municipality, and it possesses two stonework entrances with pediments and columns. 

The Montaña Chinyero volcano bears testimony to the last volcanic event on Tenerife, which occurred at the beginning of the 20th century and lasted only 10 days. This volcano is a major geological feature that marks a significant event in the volcanic history of the island.

La Culata is a coastal cliff that ended up inland, cut off from the sea by the coastal plains known today as Isla Baja. This geological feature is a visual testimony to the processes at work in the changing topography of this area over time.