Orotava

Orotava is a municipality belonging to the Spanish province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands). Situated in the north of the island. It occupies much of the Orotava Valley in the foothills of Mount Teide. In this valley there are also the towns of Puerto de la Cruz and Los Realejos.

It has an area of 207.31 km ² (being the largest island of the municipalities) and a population of 40,644 inhabitants (INE, 2007). The altitude of the capital is 390 meters, but the town goes from sea level to 3718 meters from the summit of Teide, located within the municipality, therefore, it is the highest in Spain (although the highest village in the country is Valdelinares in the province of Teruel, at 1692 masl). Much of the Teide National Park belongs to the municipality.

The main population center is Orotava or “La Villa”. But the population is spread among many cores which are: Perdoma, San Antonio, Benijos, Barroso, Florida, Pinolere and Aguamansa.

Monuments and places of interest

Religious buildings

Church of Our Lady of Conception (National Monument). The building was built in the second half of the eighteenth century.
Church of San Juan Bautista in the neighborhood of Farrobo in Villa de Arriba. It was secreted as a parish in 1681.
Hospital of the Holy Trinity and Church of San Francisco.
Church and former Convent of Santo Domingo de Guzman. Today the monastery is the home of the Spanish-American Craft Museum.
San Agustin Church and former Convent of Our Lady of Grace (Casa de la Cultura).
Cemetery Orotava.

Other buildings

La Casa de los Balcones or Fonseca.
La Casa de los Balcones

Houses like those of Lercaro, Zarate-Machado, Mesa, Monteverde and Ponte Franchy are distributed around the old town of Ruta de los Molinos. Orotava has a network of water mill ditches formed by high wooden arches as well as stone and mortar. The falling water makes them work, using the slope of the hill where the Valley is located.

At its peak, the route came to have a total of thirteen mills, for those on foot there are ten, but now only three remain in operation.
House Torrehermosa.
City Council (City Hall).
Taoro Liceo de (ex Falansterio of Taoro).
Victoria Gardens

Plaza de la Constitution (which was called in earlier times “the Avenue” and is known as the Villeras as “kiosk”).

The Gardens of the Fifth Red Marquesado or “Victory Gardens” were designed to accommodate the pantheon of D. Diego Ponte, Marques de la Quinta Roja, also known as the Grand Lodge Mason Taoro.

This cemetery was built by his mother, Mrs. Sebastiana Castle, in response to his refusal to be buried in the local cemetery. It is a terraced garden, built by on the slope. There are crossed paths going upwards through the various terraces. The drawings that trace the paths are the representation of the energy channels, including so-called energy centers or chakras, typical of the oriental culture and embraced by the Freemasons.

The mausoleum was designed and built in France by the Neoclassical artist Adolph Coquet.
Casa Dona Chana.
Plaza de Alfaro Franchy (popularly known as “the Plains”).
Square Casanas.
Plaza de San Francisco.
Playa del Bollullo.
Playa de los Patos.
Playa del Ancon.

Local festivals
Making a carpet of flowers
Tapestry of land in the central Plaza del Ayuntamiento

Fiestas del Corpus and San Isidro Labrador

Held in late May or June, Thursday through til Sunday, depending on the timing of the Corpus. The main events are:

Thursday: Carpets and rugs. On Thursday following the Sunday of Corpus, carpets of flowers are made in the streets of the old town that show religious scenes and motifs ornamentals.

You can also admire in the town square, a large mat made of earth and sand from the Canadas del Teide. This carpet covers the entire square and took an entire month to make. (Currently holds the Guinness World Record for largest tapestry of land in the world). At night, a procession takes place along the route marked by the floral carpets and ends in the town square with a religious act.
Friday: Baile de Magos. This is a dance in the streets and village squares, in which all participants wear the typical dress or suit of Orotava known as a “wizard.”

Sunday: Pilgrimage of San Isidro Labrador. A procession and traditional festival of the patron saint of Orotava.

Other events taking place during these festivities are: The rise of the holy pilgrimage girl and the blessing of the animals.

The network of water mills in Orotava, from the Villa, to the top of Villa de Abajo is called gofio. Of the “thirteen mills” (actually there are twelve mills and a sawmill) there were only a few preserved, with only three still in operation and has stopped using the water to make way for new technologies.

Wine. The municipality of La Orotava there are many wineries. It produces red wine, white or pink. The main grape varieties are ready listan black and white, but there are others such as Malvasia and Pedro Ximenez. The winery is located in the district La Perdoma.