Las Lagunetas

Las Lagunetas offers you a landscape made up largely of woodland, dominated by gently rolling hills and deep ravines. The surrounding vegetation, comprising mostly pine trees, plays a key role in supplying the aquifers and preserving the soil thanks to its symbiotic relationship with the trade winds.

In addition to its pine forests, you will find the ecosystem known a monteverde, which comprises macaronesian heathland and laurel forest, and a number of endemic flowers such as geraniums. The forest of Aguagarcía contains an interesting sample of an ancient laurel forest.

Municipality: El Rosario, Candelaria, El Sauzal, La Matanza, La Victoria, Santa Úrsula and Tacoronte

Expanse: 3,800.1 hectares (9,390.3 acres)

How to get there:

There are several ways of getting there. From the town of La Esperanza, head up towards the mountain along Calle Grano de Oro, which starts at the Town Hall and goes past the church of Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza. The street ends at a roundabout, where you must take the Madroño Goteras path. Follow that path for about 800 m (875 yards) and you will come to the Protected Landscape of Las Lagunetas.

From El Ravelo, take the paved street of Calle Lomo Piedras that heads up towards the mountain and leads you to Las Calderetas, which is a recreational area inside the Protected Landscape of Las Lagunetas. There is another paved road that drives through the Protected Landscape of Las Lagunetas in the municipality of Santa Úrsula. That road is called Camino Pino Alto, which starts at the TF-3114 in Tamaide and ends near the Leoncio Estévez School.

There are also several dirt tracks that set off from La Matanza, La Victoria and Santa Úrsula towards the mountain which will lead you to this protected nature area. However, these trails require all-terrain vehicles and should only be taken when the weather is good.