The Historic Quarter of La Orotava

As you approach La Orotava along the northern motorway, you will soon begin to glimpse its lovely church steeples as a sample of the wonders that await you upon arrival. The old town is quaint and welcoming, with its maze of cobbled streets. A tour around this Historic-Artistic Site leads you to places such as the La Concepción church, the Calvario chapel, the church of San Agustín, the estate of Liceo Taoro or the former San Benito Abad monastery.

A great way of discovering the other side of La Orotava is by taking the Los Molinos route, which sets off from Villa de Arriba. The route takes you to the area's nine water mills that were built in the 17th and 18th century. Some still preserve the stone channels where the water used to flow.

Visiting La Orotava during the Corpus Christi celebrations is highly recommendable. On the occasion known as La Octava del Corpus, the square outside the Town Hall is adorned with a huge carpet representing religious symbols that are made of sand from Teide National Park, using 41 different colours. All around the square, the locals make fabulous painstakingly detailed carpets of flowers to adorn their streets.