|
The mysterious Guanches who lived on Tenerife |
 If you are a visitor to Tenerife it probably won’t be long before you hear about the Guanches or even see a statue of one of their leaders, of which there are many such monuments on the island. There is a hotel in Tenerife South named after a Guanche princess in Los Cristianos – the Hotel Princesa Dácil. In La Orotava in the north of the island there is a statue of the same princess forming a decorative fountain.
But who were these mysterious people who lived on Tenerife and the other Canary Islands before they were conquered, and in many cases killed by the Spanish invaders? Many people believe that the Guanches, who were white-skinned, and blonde-haired and blue-eyed in many cases, were descended from the Berbers who live in North Africa in Libya, and in the Atlas Mountains and surrounding areas.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
The Tenerife villages San Juan del Reparo and Genovés |
 In the northwest part of Tenerife between El Tanque and Icod de los Vinos there is a section of the TF-82 that climbs the mountains whilst overlooking the sea, and it passes through two villages as it does so. Going downhill from El Tanque towards Icod the first of these is San Juan del Reparo.
You know you have arrived in San Juan del Reparo because you will see an image of John the Baptist adorning a white wall and this goes with the church that towers above. The church of San Juan del Reparo also has a typical bell tower.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
The Mariposario del Drago – Tenerife’s butterfly gardens |
 In Icod de los Vinos in the north of Tenerife, besides the attraction of the Drago Milenario thousand-year-old Dragon Tree, there is also another place that has proved to be very popular with visitors and locals alike, and that is the Mariposario del Drago butterfly gardens and centre.
The Mariposario del Drago is at the end of the road known as Avenida de Canarias that lies below the squares in the vicinity of the most famous Tenerife Dragon Tree, and so it is convenient for visitors coming to see this part of Icod. Once you have paid to enter you go into the glass-roofed building, which is full of exotic flowering plants, bushes and creepers with a water gardens included, and it really feels like some enchanted corner of paradise with all the beautiful butterflies flying freely around you
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Rare and endangered wild flowers of Tenerife |
 Whilst Tenerife with its many microclimates and different types of countryside offers a fantastic number of wild flowers, bushes and trees, many of which are endemic and found nowhere else, it also has a growing number that are in severe danger of becoming extinct.
Some wild flowers are surviving because of their looks – in other words because they are thought of as having beautiful flowers they have been taken into cultivation and are grown in Tenerife gardens and parks. Some species like this are doing well in this way but have nearly vanished from the wild.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
La Laguna – a Tenerife city of the north |
 La Laguna is second to Santa Cruz as the largest city in Tenerife and is also located in the north of the island. La Laguna is correctly known as San Cristóbal de la Laguna and is the home of Tenerife’s prestigious university and campus.
Many parts of La Laguna have cobble-stoned streets and squares and many of the old buildings have ornate balconies and colonial style Canarian architecture. Whilst La Laguna is in no way dependent on tourism for its income, and has countless local businesses employing local people, it is nevertheless a place that visitors to Tenerife would enjoy spending time in to see its magnificent buildings and enjoy its wide range of shops, bars and restaurants.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
Results 11 - 15 of 41 |
Tenerife Island