Founded at the start of the 17th century as the harbour of la Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz was initially inhabited by fishermen. Its importance when the harbor was enlarged to enable an increasing demand for banana exports. The real growth of Puerto de la Cruz was associated with the development of tourism. Puerto de la Cruz was Tenerife´s top tourist resort till the lated 1970s. Despite it is not the most authentic place in the island, there are a good number of interesting buildings and attractions which make it an interesting visit.
Loro Parque
This zoo is well-managed and organized, with a fantastic collection of well cared for animals and flora. The top highlight of the park was once the parrots (loro in Spanish) but today a family of killer whales has become the children´s favorite.
You can find all details and offers to visit Loro Parque in didicated article.
Lago Martiánez
The beaches in Puerto de la Cruz are not amongst the best on the island and they are rather exposed to the sea, which complicates swimming. This explains the construction of the Lago Martiánez, one of the top creations of renowned architect, and artist Cesar Manrique. The Lago is an artificial lake which consists of five islands and different salt-water pools along with lush gardens. This is a good place to enjoy swimming in Puerto de la cruz.
Jardín botánico
The botanical gardens in Puerto de la Cruz are a must-visit for gardeners. Founded in 1788 it was meant to serve as a base to study plants from the Americas as well as Asian plantlife (we could imagine connections with the botanical gardens in Madrid and its research efforts) Today it occupies more than 2 hectares and it showcases an interesting collection of both native plants and flowers as well as imported. The botanical gardens are located in the southern part of Puerto de la Cruz.
Churches
The Parish church de Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia is the most imporant church in Puerto de la Cruz. The church contains an interesting barqoeu high altar.
The fishing chapel of San Telmo. Built-in 1629 and restored in 1968 it holds a statue of Saint Pedro Gonzalez Telmo, the saint of fishermen. The statue is a copy of the original one, destroyed in a fire in 1788.
A walk in the old district of Puerto de la Cruz
This is the part that shows the essence of what Puerto de la Cruz used to be prior to the arrival of tourism. The docks brought the first revolution to El Puerto with the trade of bananas and wines from the island. The small beach of the dock, the sculpture of the fisherwoman. There are still colorful houses in the streets Mequinez and Calle el Lomo. You may want to continue
Temperatures range from 65F in winter to 75F in August (highest averages) . You can expect rain in November with up to 12 days of rain but even then rain levels are below 35 milimeters for the month. from October till March you could expect rain 7-8 days each month.
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La Orotava has a very interesting historical district, the most interesting one in the island after the one in San Cristobal de la Laguna. When the sky is blue mount Teide provides the perfect landscape scenery on the back of La Orotava.
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