La Orotava is a town and a municipality in the northern part of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands of Spain. The area of the municipality stretches from the north coast to the mountainous interior, and includes the summit of the Teide volcano, Canary Islands' and Spain's highest point at 3,718 m. At 207.31 km2, it is the largest municipality of the island of Tenerife. The population is 41,255 (2013). The town La Orotava, which is the administrative centre of the municipality and also its largest settlement, is situated near the north coast, at about 400 m elevation in the Orotava Valley. It is 4 km southeast of Puerto de la Cruz and 28 km southwest of the island's capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The TF-5 motorway passes through the north of the municipality. The coat of arms of La Orotava was adopted by Alfonso XIII in 1906, the dragoons escorting the drago and the tree of golden apples refers to the mythology of the Garden of Hesperides, believed was located in La Orotava. In gastronomy, La Orotava was honored for the Denominación de Origen Valle de La Orotava or the Denomination of the Origin of the Orotava Valley (Valle de La Orotava) in wines. The historic center of La Orotava was declared Conjunto histórico in 1976 and is included in the Inventory of the European Cultural Heritage Protection and Monumental. Also noteworthy is that much of the Teide National Park (a World Heritage Site in 2007) is located within the municipality. La Orotava is also the highest town of Spain and steepest, the municipality comes from sea level up to 3718 meters the Teide (the highest peak in Spain).
History
The Guanches lived primarily in coastal areas and in the vicinity of the largest canyons and hillsides in the valley. In these places food and means of subsistence were easily found. For the Guanches, the highest peak in Spain (Mount Teide), which is situated in this township, was regarded as a place of worship.
On the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores, such as Alonso Fernández de Lugo, the people of Tenerife resisted. Tenerife was the last of the Canary Islands to be conquered, in 1496. The origin of La Orotava goes back to the 1502 when the land and water were portioned out among the men who had taken part in the conquest.
Gallery
Festivals
November 2026
Festivals this month
- No festivals recorded this month.
Rest of the year
- January: Fiestas de San Antonio Abad y la Virgen de la Esperanza, La Florida (17)
- February: Carnaval "Un Carnaval de Cine" (13)
- May: Fiestas de San Isidro Labrador, Santa María de la Cabeza y Corpus Christi (15)
- June: Ourense (17) · Fiestas patronales en honor a San Isidro Labrador, Santa María de la Cabeza y Corpus Chris · Fiestas patronales
Trails and hiking
•Camino de Chasna
•Camino Natural Anaga-Chasna (GR 131, 83.8 km)
•Mamio - Pinolere (PR-TF 35, 12.9 km)
•Camino de Santiago de Tenerife (114 km)
•Camino de Candelaria de La Orotava
•La Caldera - Casa del Agua - Pinolere (PR-TF 35.1, 6.6 km)
•Ruta del Agua (PR-TF 35.2, 2.2 km)
•Llano de los Corrales - Pinolere (PR-TF 35.3, 2.9 km)
•Camino de la Orilla del Monte - Pista de Benijos (SL-TF 81.1, 0.5 km)
•Camino de la Orilla del Monte (SL-TF 81, 3.4 km)
•Camino de Candelaria de Santa Ursula
Routes passing through Orotava, La
Famous people
•Diego Rodríguez Fernández, futbolista español
•Fernando Estévez, artista español
•Toñito, futbolista español
•Cristóbal Hernández de Quintana, pintor barroco español
•Domingo de Iriarte, diplomático español
•Luis Francisco Benítez de Lugo, noble español
•Juan Ramón García, futbolista español
•Irene González Hernández, investigadora y astrofísica española
Town hall
Alcaldía: Isaac Valencia Dominguez
Web oficial: https://www.laorotava.es/
Town hall of Orotava, La
Alcaldía: Isaac Valencia Dominguez Web oficial: https://www.laorotava.es/
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How to get there
- 🚗 29 km from San Cristóbal de La Laguna (about 20 min by car)
- 🚗 35 km from Santa Cruz de Tenerife (about 25 min by car)
🧭 Travelling around the villages of Spain: a practical guide — Opening hours, transport, money and customs, before you set off.
- ✈️ 26 km from Tenerife Norte airport (about 18 min by car)
- ✈️ 49 km from Tenerife Sur airport (about 35 min by car)
Practical info
🅿️ Where to park
- San Agustín · 0.1 km away
- Where to park · 0.2 km away
- Where to park · 0.2 km away
🏧 Nearest cash machine
- BBVA · 0 km away
- Caja Canarias · 0.2 km away
- Caja Canarias · 0.2 km away
⛽ Nearest petrol station
- Disa · 0.5 km away
- Moeve · 0.8 km away
- BP · 0.8 km away
ℹ️ Tourist office
- Oficina de turismo · 0.1 km away
- Punto de información turística · 0.2 km away
- Tourist office · 0.3 km away
🔭 Viewpoints
- Viewpoints · 0 km away
- Viewpoints · 0.4 km away
- Mirador La Resbala · 2.3 km away
🏖️ Where to swim
- Where to swim · 3 km away
- Playa Bollullo · 3 km away
- Playa Bollullo · 3.1 km away
Wall
🏛️ The town hall publishes on this wall. Residents publish their business in Services and their home or job offer in Community, for free.
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News
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Videos
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