The Orotava Valley is one of the most beautiful corners of northern Tenerife: a green amphitheatre that drops from Mount Teide down to the sea, with banana plantations, grand old houses with Canary pine balconies, and the volcano always in front of you. We live here, and this is what we recommend to guests who stay two or three days.
Day 1 · The historic old town of La Orotava
La Orotava's old town is a designated Historic-Artistic Site: cobbled streets climbing the hillside, Canarian courtyards and stately homes from the 17th and 18th centuries. Start with Casa de los Balcones, with its Canary pine-wood courtyard, and continue up to the Church of La Concepción, one of the loveliest in the archipelago.
Climb up to the Jardines del Marquesado (Jardín Victoria), with its white mausoleum and viewpoints that open onto the valley and Mount Teide. It's a leisurely morning stroll. If you come in June, it coincides with the Corpus Christi Carpets: tapestries of flowers and volcanic sand that cover the streets of the town.
Day 2 · Mount Teide and Las Cañadas
From the valley you reach Teide National Park in 20-30 minutes by car. Get an early start: in summer the summit clouds over from midday onwards. The Roques de García trail (3.7 km loop, easy) is the most photographed, with the Roque Cinchado and the walls of La Catedral.
If you want to set foot on the summit of Mount Teide (3,718 m) you need a free permit for the final 200 metres; it's best to request it weeks in advance. Even if you don't go all the way up, the cable car and the Las Cañadas viewpoints are well worth the day. On the way down, stop at a viewpoint to watch the sea of clouds.
Day 3 · Coast, gardens and nature
On the third day, head down to Puerto de la Cruz, 15 minutes away: the Botanical Garden, the Lago Martiánez seawater pools by César Manrique, and a seaside old town for eating fresh fish. If you prefer forest, the Anaga massif (laurel forest, about 50 minutes away) has trails through laurels and mist that feel like another era.
And if you just want to switch off, there's no need to go anywhere: the green north is best enjoyed slowly, with a short trail in the morning and the afternoon in the garden.
Eating in the north: guachinches and Canarian cooking
Northern Tenerife is wine country, and the guachinche is its dining room: homely, seasonal spots where you eat unpretentious Canarian cooking —potatoes with mojo, pork, chickpeas, island cheese— with the house wine. Ask us which ones are open when you come; they change with the harvest.
Where to stay: inside the park
Our recommendation, of course, is to stay in the valley rather than at a coastal hotel: you gain time for Mount Teide and you sleep surrounded by nature. At Hacienda Verde you have three independent rural houses inside a 17,000 m² ethnographic park, 20-30 minutes from Mount Teide and 15 from Puerto de la Cruz.
The Orotava Valley is best enjoyed unhurried: a day in the town, a day on the mountain and a day on the coast. If you have questions about the trails or the dates, write to us — we know the terrain.
José Martín
Host of Hacienda Verde. He has spent years welcoming guests and exploring the Orotava Valley and Mount Teide.
