Las Vueltas - Taganana

The path of Las Vueltas used to be, until very recently, the only way of access between Taganana and Santa Cruz and La Laguna. The track starts left of the Casa Forestal (1), on the TF-12 at a place known as "Casas de Las Cumbres" along a stepped unpaved path. It goes up through a thick mass of vegetation (mainly tree-heath and wax-myrtle) towards a cave on the right hand side.
From here, it starts coming down through a growing mass of laurel forest and you will find natural springs as well. Here and there you will see traces of the original cobblestones along the famous bends (according to tradition, as many as the days of the year). The vegetation then starts becoming more scarce and one you may now admire beautiful views of the coastline. The cobblestones become clearer and there are some stone walls and terraced fields, some of which are abandoned and others still grow potatoes and grapevines.
The track crosses the Carretera de los Naranjos and after some yards on the left it gets into a cobblestoned path ending in the "barrio de Portugal" (Portugal district), in Taganana, extremely interesting for the traditional architecture and for its history (2), being probably the first European settlement in the area after the conquest of the island.

Interesting details

Las Vueltas - Taganana

After Tinerfe, the last great "mencey" (king), died, Beneharo, his youngest son inherited the kingdom of Anaga. During this time, Anaga was extremely rich in water and pasture, and the Guanches had enough to live on. When the conquest ended by 1495, the process of pacification and colonization started, and Anaga was divided among the Spanish conquerors, the Adelantado (governor of new territories appointed by the Crown) Don Alonso Fernández de Lugo gave the lands in the traditional "repartimientos de tierra" (land divisions). The first settlement of this area, Taganana, was founded in 1501. Taganana would become later the centre of jurisdiction. The driving force behind Taganana´s colonization process and its economic development was sugar. One of the most urgent necessities was to open new roads and to break the isolation of the area. The network of paths and roads used by the indigenous people proved to be absolutely insufficient, hence other and better roads had to be built, e.g. the Camino Real de las Vueltas (Royal Road of the Bends).

Flora

Canary Islands Ebony (Persea Indica), Canarian Laurel (Laurus Azorica).

Values

Fauna: two kinds of wild pigeons, called "turqué" (Bolle pigeon) and "rabiche" (Pigeon of the Laurel Forests).

Heritage

Hermitage of Nuestra Señora del Carmen (19th c.) Information centre Cruz del Carmen

Protection

Inside the Rural Park of Anaga Useful telephone numbers Rural Park Informatión Centre 922 633 576 La Laguna Local Police 922 601 175 Red Cross 922 259 626 - 922 281 800 City/Highway Police 922 259 416 TITSA (Bus company) 922 531 300

Route details

Position	Borough of Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Start point	TF-1124 (Casa forestal)
End point	Taganana
Distance	4,5 Km.
Duration	2 h. 30 min.
Difficulty	Medium
Accessibility	TITSA bus routes