The Northwest of Tenerife
In complete contrast to the mass tourist resorts of the South, the Northwest region of Tenerife benefits from a moderate climate, a considerable variety of small rural villages and towns and a rugged coastline relentlessly pounded by the Atlantic waves. The area is still dominated by agriculture with banana plantations being seen everywhere.
The largest town in the area is Icod de los Vinos, a lively, bustling place where the locals work and go about their business. The main shopping streets have recently been pedestrianised and invite to a stroll. Their is a variety of quality shops well worth visiting, tapas bars and restaurants. of course, one can't mention Icod de los Vinos without mentioning the "Drago Millenario", the, according to legend, apparently over a 1000 years old Dragon tree. There are whisperings , however, that the tree may be more like around 500 years old. The town have created a small park around the tree and charge admission. A good view of the tree can also be enjoyed from the adjacent Plaza. Tour operators from the South are regularly ferrying holiday makers by bus to view the tree. Icod is the a gateway to the Isla Baja region in the far Northwest as well as to the mountain road to the South which leads through the main village of El Tanque.
A few minutes north from Icod is the beach of San Marcos with its black sand. I can get very busy here during the summer season, mainly on weekends when the locals flock there. Due to breakwaters keeping away the Atlantic swell this is a safe beach and well suited for safe swimming.
Travelling west by car, one soon reaches Garachico, one of Tenerife's prettiests towns. Cobbled-stone streets, a long promenade facing the Atlantic, quaint shops and a choice of quality restaurants invite the visitors. Enjoy a refreshing drink on the church plaza, dip into the sea water pool which was hewn from volcanic rock or stroll around town through the back streets to get a feel of the local Canarian architecture. Garachico was once destined to become the major harbour town on the island when Spanish ships regularly made landfall to and from the Americas, but in 1706 disaster struck in the form of a massive eruption of Mount Teide and the ensuing lava flow all but destroyed the harbour and buried several ships which couldn't get away in time.
From Garachico we move on along the main road to Los Silos. Almost devoid of tourists, this small town reflects the pace of life of the local population. Have some tapas in one of the small bars around the Church plaza. A special attraction is the olympic size seawater swimming pool down by the coast.
A few miles further west we reach the town of Buenavista del Norte. In the past a centre for banana growing, the village is now almost better known for its Tenerife holiday villas which are sprinkled throughout this region.
Keywords: tenerife, northwest tenerife, northwest region of tenerife
The Northwest of Tenerife