Igueste de Candelaria

Just north of the hillside or Ladera de Chafa was one of the places chosen by the Guanches, the pre-Hispanic inhabitants of Tenerife, to safeguard the sacred cattle of Our Lady of Candelaria.  The Guanches regarded this special area as magical, and evidence of this can be found in the collective tombs discovered higher up the hillside. After the conquest of Tenerife, the indigenous peoples gradually occupied the area despite the rugged, steep terrain, and it became the most important settlement in the region in terms of population and agricultural production.
The old hamlets of Pasacola and Barrio de la Jiménez are an illustration in point and contain fine examples of traditional architecture and elements closely linked with rural life, such as ovens and threshing floors.
These settlements are located below the old road to Candelaria and are of considerable historical and ethnographical importance, since several sections correspond to the former communication route between La Laguna and the coastal village of Candelaria. After the conquest, the route became part of a yearly pilgrimage to Our Lady of Candelaria and her sanctuary, and continues to be so today.