San Andrés Festivals in Tenerife

This traditional ceremony takes place on the evening of 29 November. Young and not-so-young adrenaline-seekers clamber onto wooden boards and slide down the steep street of Calle del Plano in Icod de los Vinos. Adding to the whooshing and crashing of the boards is the sweet smell of young wine. Under the moonlight, grape harvesters pop open their wines from the latest vintage in a ritual that also takes place in many other towns and villages.

On that very night in Puerto de la Cruz, the celebration known as "Los Cacharros" (roughly meaning "the clutter") involves tying cans and tins to a piece of metal wire and dragging them along the streets. Young people and tourists gather in the square named Plaza del Charco to throw piles of clutter and old objects that hit the ground with a clatter which can be heard all around the streets. The square also hosts the "Castañada" or chestnut fest, during which you can taste some of the Island's typical products: chestnuts, wreckfish, gofio bread, sweet potatoes and wine.

  • Where: Icod de los Vinos and Puerto de la Cruz.
  • When: 29 November.