Hacienda de las Palmas

Visiting the Hacienda de Las Palmas de Anaga reveals one of Tenerife's most impressive yet least-known historical sites. Located in the Las Palmas Valley, within the Anaga Massif, it has been declared a Site of Cultural Interest. The first documented references date back to 1610, although the main house was built in 1730, when this enclave was a key agricultural center, particularly associated with viticulture.

The hacienda is laid out in a U-shape, with a single story and a large central courtyard that serves as the heart of the property. The thick walls of stone, lime, and mud, the gabled and hipped tile roofs, and the original paving speak of a rural architecture designed to last. Features such as the dragon trees in the courtyard, remnants of grapevines, the kitchen with ovens carved into the stone, and clearly separated areas for the main living spaces and service quarters are still preserved.

This place wasn't just a house: it was the heart of an isolated agricultural estate, inaccessible by road, from where the wine was transported down to natural docks like Roque de las Bodegas or Tamadiste for export. Around the main house remain workers' dwellings, granaries, outbuildings, wine presses carved into the rock, cisterns, and other elements linked to traditional rural life.

Adjacent to the estate is the hermitage of San Gonzalo de Amarante, built in the 17th century. Its exterior is austere, but inside it preserves a unique Baroque coffered ceiling and was for years the religious center of the valley.

Walking here is to understand how Anaga was inhabited for centuries. There is no artifice or spectacular restoration: there is stone, landscape, history, and dignified abandonment. A place to be savored, one that explains, without words, what life was like in one of the harshest and most beautiful territories on the island.