Santa Cruz de Tenerife
San Andrés is an active fishing village about seven kilometres from Santa Cruz, that has managed to maintain its village character. The streets are lined with simple houses impregnated with the salt air. La Torre de San Andrés is at the end of the promenade. It is a military fortress that was armed until 1878, but now it is half in ruins.
The TF-121 road that leads to the Las Teresitas beach, also leads to Igueste de San Andrés, a village set in a valley that grows tropical fruit.
You will recognise the village by the tracks cut into the mountain and the bridges over the ravine. The village church is devoted to San Pedro.
In the upper part of El Roquete, by the valley's rock wall, you can see El Semáforo, which used to be an auxiliary building of the port of Santa Cruz.
You can get to the picturesque hamlet of Taganana, set in a beautiful and rugged valley, from San Andrés by taking the road that leads to El Bailadero, or from La Laguna, over the Monte de Las Mercedes.
The El Bailadero look out offers a magnificent view of Taganana, which is a Guanche name that means "the rocks".
The church of Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, Patron Saint of Taganana, is one of the oldest in Tenerife. A fuller description is given in the section on Historic Sites.
The villages of Portugal and Asona are close to the main centre. Carrying on toward the Taganana coast you get to Roque de las Bodegas and its beach.
Close by is the hamlet of Almáciga, where there is a small church devoted to Nuestra Señora de Begoña, and further along, you come to Benijo.
From here, a path takes you to El Draguillo and Las Palmas de Anaga, a hamlet with fine examples of traditional Canary Island architecture, such as Las Casas Principales and the church of San Gonzalo.
The property was built in the second half of the 17th century and still conserves some outstanding features, like the moulded ceiling, despite its general state of neglect.
Further into the Anaga mountains, you will find the hamlet of Chamorga, with barely a hundred inhabitants. You can get there along the TF-123 from El Bailadero. This is a route that will take you to many interesting sites such as the Anaga Rural Park and the Cabezo de Tejo Look out. The area is famous for its floral wealth.
There are other hamlets near Chamorga, like Lomo de las Bodegas and Las Casillas. From Chamorga, at 550 metres above sea level, you can walk to the hamlet of Roque Bermejo in just over an hour. There is a small beach at the mouth of the ravine.
If you follow the road from El Bailadero, towards La Laguna, the TF-136 and the TF-138 will take you to the villages of Roque Negro, Afur and Taborno. Taborno is right up on the ridge of the mountains, next to Roque de Taborno.
