The short version: Forget the southern resorts. Northern Tenerife offers a radically different experience. From the 16th-century colonial super-mansions and spiteful gardens of La Orotava to the gritty, pirate-proof harbours of Puerto de la Cruz and the sheer volcanic drops at El Sauzal, this region is packed with incredible history and unforgiving geography. It’s the ultimate escape from the sunbeds.
On this page8 sections
- Why is La Orotava the wealthiest historic town in Tenerife?
- Why were the Jardines Victoria built in La Orotava?
- Where to stay in La Orotava and the North
- Is Puerto de la Cruz just another Tenerife tourist resort?
- Where to stay in Puerto de la Cruz
- Where are the 500 steps (Escaleras) in El Sauzal?
- The Verdict: Getting Away from the Sunbeds
- Frequently asked questions
Everybody knows the modern version of Tenerife. If you mention the island to anyone back home, their mind immediately jumps to the neon strips of Playa de las Américas, sprawling concrete hotels, full English breakfasts on the promenade, and rows of tightly packed package holiday sunbeds. It’s a reputation the island has well and truly earned down in the arid south.
But what most people don’t realise is that this modern resort culture is just a tiny, recent blip in the island’s timeline. Hundreds of years ago, long before the first high-rise foundation was poured, this island was a playground for the absolute ultra-rich.
We’re talking 16th-century aristocrats who built entire towns just to show off their frankly absurd wealth. We’re talking colonial super-mansions built from fireproof wood, petty architectural revenge plots against the church, and massive fortunes carved out of a genuinely hostile volcanic landscape.
Today, we are getting as far away from the sunbeds as physically possible. I’m tracking down the island’s hidden old money, exploring the dizzying cliff drops these early traders had to conquer, and looking at the brutal geography that funded it all. Let’s go take a look.
Why is La Orotava the wealthiest historic town in Tenerife?
La Orotava became Tenerife’s economic engine in the 1500s because its unique volcanic valley and reliable spring water created the perfect conditions for growing lucrative sugarcane and Malvasia wine. The aristocratic families who controlled this trade used their vast fortunes to build massive colonial mansions, turning the steep mountain town into an ultra-exclusive playground.
Watch this section in the video → 0:41
If you want to find the old money, you have to leave the dry resorts behind and head north, up into the misty, lush hills. Specifically, you need to navigate to La Orotava.
Now, a quick warning before you set off: the entirety of La Orotava is built on the side of a mountain. It’s steep. Incredibly, punishingly steep. I spent my first half-hour walking up the cobbled streets absolutely panting, regretting my life choices, and trying to figure out if my hire car was parked at the bottom or the top. In the midday heat, with the sun radiating off the polished stones, it’s a proper graft.
But there is a very good, very lucrative reason this wealthy town exists all the way up here in the clouds.
How did the volcanic landscape make La Orotava rich?
The town’s immense wealth came from a massive ancient volcanic landslide that created a sweeping, ocean-facing amphitheatre. Trade winds drop their moisture here, combining with fertile volcanic soil to create the perfect conditions for growing highly lucrative sugarcane and Malvasia wine.
To understand the immense wealth of La Orotava, you need a tiny bit of simple geology. The Orotava Valley isn’t a valley in the traditional river-carved sense; it’s actually the dramatic result of a massive, ancient volcanic landslide. Millions of years ago, a huge chunk of the island just gave way and slid into the Atlantic.
What it left behind was a massive, sweeping amphitheatre facing the ocean. The trade winds (the Alisios) constantly blow in, hit the colossal 3,700-metre peak of Mount Teide behind the town, and drop their moisture. Combine that reliable spring water with incredibly fertile volcanic ash, and you have a perfect storm for agriculture.
After the Spanish conquered the island in the late 1400s, displacing the indigenous Guanche people, they quickly realised this valley was a literal goldmine. First, they grew sugarcane, which was white gold at the time. Then, they moved on to wine—specifically Malvasia, or “Malmsey” wine. It was a sweet, heavy wine so highly prized across Europe that British royals hoarded it and Shakespeare even wrote about it. This specific valley became the absolute economic engine of the island, and the families who controlled the land became unimaginably wealthy.
Why do the historic mansions in La Orotava have wooden balconies?
These intricately carved Canary Island pine balconies were built in the 1500s as the ultimate status symbol for agricultural barons. Before modern luxuries existed, having a massive wooden balcony and a huge internal courtyard was the colonial equivalent of parking a supercar on your driveway.
So, what do you do when you’re a 16th-century agricultural baron with more money than sense? You build a massive, ostentatious house to make sure everyone in the valley knows exactly how rich you are.
Walking around the historic centre, you’ll see these massive, intricately carved wooden balconies hanging off the sides of the old mansions (the Casa de los Balcones being the most famous example). Back in the 1500s, having these balconies and the huge, shaded internal courtyards was the ultimate status symbol. It was the colonial equivalent of parking a very loud, very expensive supercar on your driveway.
The wood they used is Pino Canario, the native Canary Island pine. The heartwood of this tree is incredibly dense, heavy, smells faintly of resin, and is naturally fire-resistant. Carving it into these delicate, ornate patterns required an immense amount of highly skilled, incredibly expensive labour.
The brilliant thing about La Orotava today is how integrated this history still is. The local government has taken over a lot of these old palaces for public use. While filming, I literally walked into what turned out to be a day centre for the elderly, and they were just sitting there having a chat and a cup of coffee inside this genuinely incredible, perfectly preserved 16th-century mansion courtyard. It’s a spectacular piece of history that is actually being lived in.
Is La Orotava steep and difficult to walk around?
Yes, the entire town is built directly on the side of a mountain, making it incredibly, punishingly steep. Walking up the cobbled streets in the midday heat is a proper physical graft, so wear comfortable shoes and expect a heavy hike from the car parks.
- Parking: Do not try to drive into the historic centre. The streets are impossibly narrow, steep, and often one-way. Look for public parking garages on the lower outskirts of town and walk up.
- Fuel Up: Before you tackle the hills, stop at a local café for a barraquito—a traditional Canarian layered coffee with condensed milk, Licor 43, espresso, and cinnamon. You’ll need the sugar rush.
- Footwear: Leave the flip-flops in the hotel. You need proper trainers with good grip for the steep, polished cobblestones.
Why were the Jardines Victoria built in La Orotava?
The gardens were built as an elaborate act of architectural revenge by an aristocratic mother. When the local church refused to bury her Freemason son, she constructed these perfectly maintained gardens and a defiant mausoleum deliberately overlooking the church that rejected him.
Watch this section in the video → 1:58
They were built as a Masonic “revenge garden” purely out of spite. When the local church refused to bury an aristocratic woman’s Freemason son, she constructed these perfectly maintained terraced gardens and a massive monument deliberately looking down on the church that rejected him.
The Jardines Victoria were built as an elaborate act of revenge by a wealthy aristocratic mother after the Catholic Church refused to bury her Freemason son. She constructed these perfectly symmetrical terraced gardens with a massive, defiant marble mausoleum at the very peak, deliberately designed to physically look down on the church that rejected him.
While the wooden balconies are impressive, the most entertaining display of wealth in this town actually isn’t a house. It’s a garden. And it comes with one of my favourite bits of local lore: a story of pure, unfiltered, upper-class spite.
If you walk up from the main town squares, you’ll find the Jardines del Marquesado de la Quinta Roja, more commonly known as Jardines Victoria. They are stunning, perfectly symmetrical, tiered French-style gardens built right up the hillside, complete with Moorish water channels trickling down the centre.
But they weren’t built just to look pretty. They were built for revenge.
Who was the Jardines Victoria mausoleum built for?
It was originally built for the Marqués de la Quinta Roja, an aristocratic Freemason. However, his body was eventually allowed to be moved by the church, so the massive marble tomb at the top of the gardens is actually entirely empty today.
In the late 19th century, Diego Ponte del Castillo, the Marquis of Quinta Roja, died. He was an incredibly wealthy and prominent local aristocrat. However, he was also a Freemason. At the time, the Catholic Church held absolute power over burial rights, and because of his Masonic affiliations, they flat-out refused to allow him to be buried in the consecrated local Christian cemetery.
His mother, Sebastiana, was furious. If the church wasn’t going to let her son be buried in their ground, she was going to use her massive fortune to build a monument that made the church look entirely insignificant.
She commissioned these gardens on the hillside, deliberately designed so that the massive, white marble mausoleum at the very peak physically looked down upon the church that had rejected him. It is a brilliant, permanent piece of architectural defiance. The layout of the gardens even allegedly features hidden Masonic symbolism, including the seven distinct terraces leading up to the tomb.
Ironically, after a lot of political and legal wrangling, the church eventually caved, and they allowed his body to be moved to the family crypt. So, the spectacular marble tomb at the top of the gardens? It’s completely empty. But the “Revenge Gardens” are still perfectly maintained, a beautiful monument to a mother holding an epic grudge.
Where to stay in La Orotava and the North
Staying in the north means entirely abandoning the concrete mega-resorts of the south for something with an actual pulse. If you want to base yourself right in the thick of the old money, you can find boutique rooms carved out of those colonial manors in the centre of La Orotava. Just remember what I said about those hills. You’ll be hiking up a punishing incline every time you head back to your room, and the town goes dead quiet once the day-trippers clear out.
If you want evening atmosphere without surrendering to the neon strips, dropping down to the coast at Puerto de la Cruz is your smartest move. The spread here is basically a mix of slightly faded heritage hotels from the early days of tourism and functional, budget-friendly apartments. It is a working town, so it’s a bit grittier, but you’re right on the Atlantic and surrounded by proper local restaurants instead of places serving full English breakfasts.
For those of you with a hire car and a need for absolute isolation, look into the rural fincas scattered across the volcanic slopes above the valley. These converted farmhouses are where you’ll find the serious luxury money today, complete with private pools staring down Mount Teide. It is the ultimate escape from the sunbed crowds, provided you don’t mind navigating steep, unlit mountain roads in the pitch black to get back to base.
Is Puerto de la Cruz just another Tenerife tourist resort?
No, it is actually the oldest tourist destination in the Canary Islands, predating the southern strips by centuries. Originally the pirate-proof port that exported La Orotava’s lucrative sugar and wine, it now features historic wooden balconies, an authentic fishing neighbourhood, and César Manrique’s volcanic saltwater pools.
Watch this section in the video → 3:17
While it might look like a typical Brits-abroad resort today, Puerto de la Cruz is actually the Canary Islands’ original tourist destination and the historic economic choke point of Tenerife. Long before modern tourism, this harsh, rocky port was the vital gateway where all the highly lucrative wine and sugar from La Orotava was shipped out to the world.
If La Orotava, high up in the hills, was where the elite lived and flexed their wealth, Puerto de la Cruz down on the coast was where they actually made their money.
Driving down from the mountains, the air gets thicker and saltier. My first impression of Puerto de la Cruz was admittedly a bit cynical. Seeing the hotels and tourist shops, my immediate thought was, “Right, it’s just another Brits-abroad resort town.”
But context is everything. Puerto de la Cruz isn’t just a tourist town; it was arguably one of the very first tourist destinations in the Canary Islands. Long before cheap flights and concrete giants took over the south, Victorian elites (including Agatha Christie) were coming here in the late 19th century to take in the “healing air” of the north coast.
Before the tourists, though, this was the economic choke point of Tenerife. Every single drop of that highly lucrative Malmsey wine, and every ton of sugar that funded the super-mansions up the hill, had to leave through this exact, perilous port.
Where to stay in Puerto de la Cruz
If you are coming to Puerto de la Cruz to escape the southern tourist traps, you have to choose your neighbourhood carefully. The town is effectively split. Down by Lago Martiánez and Playa Jardín, you will still find towering concrete blocks, all-inclusive buffets, and regimented rows of sunbeds. Booking into one of these largely defeats the point of coming north in the first place, so steer clear.
Instead, aim for the historic Old Town around Plaza del Charco and the old fisherman’s quarter of La Ranilla. This is where the town’s gritty, seafaring history actually lives. You’ll find beautifully restored Canarian townhouses and small boutique hotels wedged between traditional tapas bars and narrow, cobbled streets. It’s authentic, slightly chaotic, and you step straight out of your door into actual local life rather than a manufactured resort bubble.
If you have a bit more budget and want to channel that absurd old money we’ve been talking about, look up the hill to the La Paz and Taoro Park districts. Yes, it involves walking up a punishingly steep incline, but this elevated enclave is where the very first grand hotels were built to house Europe’s elite. It’s quiet, draped in lush botanical gardens, and offers sheer, sweeping cliffside views out over the Atlantic.
Why was Punta Brava built on the volcanic rocks?
Punta Brava was built directly onto jagged volcanic rocks out of necessity by the working-class fishermen and dock workers who kept Tenerife’s early export economy moving. While the aristocrats lived safely in the hills, these workers lived on the harsh coastline, fighting the corrosive Atlantic spray daily.
Watch this section in the video → 7:20
When you stand on the harbour wall here, you quickly realise why being a merchant or a fisherman was such a brutal job. The coastline down here is completely hostile. The Atlantic Ocean doesn’t gently lap against the shore; it violently smashes into it. The natural beaches are jagged, rocky, and utterly unforgiving.
The environment is so harsh that in the 1970s, the famous architect César Manrique had to design the Lago Martiánez—a massive, beautiful complex of seawater pools integrated into the rock—just so tourists could safely take a swim without being dragged out to sea by the undercurrents.
To really understand the working-class backbone of this historic trade, you have to take a walk out to the neighbourhood of Punta Brava. While the aristocrats were building breezy, shaded palaces in the hills, the fishermen and dock workers who kept the economy moving lived here.
Punta Brava is built right onto the jagged volcanic rocks. It literally clings to the edge of the island, fighting the corrosive Atlantic spray every single day. The streets are narrow, the brightly painted buildings are densely packed, and the rocks below are swarming with crabs scuttling over the wet basalt. It’s gritty, you can taste the salt in the air, and it feels completely, wonderfully authentic compared to the sterile resorts down south.
Where are the 500 steps (Escaleras) in El Sauzal?
The Mirador de Quinientos Escalones is located on Tenerife’s brutal northern coast, zigzagging straight down a sheer volcanic cliff face. It drops into a dizzying, vertical landscape of lush green cliffs diving into the ocean that feels much more like Madeira than a typical Spanish holiday island.
Watch this section in the video → 8:48
The Mirador de 500 Escaleras is a dizzying viewpoint located on the sheer volcanic cliffs of El Sauzal along Tenerife’s northern coast. It features 500 rough, uneven steps zigzagging straight down a vertical cliff face to the violent Atlantic Ocean, historically used by locals to haul heavy catches up from the unforgiving shoreline.
To properly wrap your head around the terrifying geography these early islanders were dealing with, you need to drive a bit further along the northern coast to El Sauzal.
After the manicured, spiteful elegance of Jardines Victoria and the busy, bustling streets of Puerto de la Cruz, this stretch of coastline brings you right back down to earth with a brutal reality check.
This is the Mirador de 500 Escaleras (The Viewpoint of 500 Steps). It is exactly what the name promises: 500 rough, uneven steps carved directly into a sheer volcanic cliff face, zigzagging straight down to the violent ocean below.
Flying the drone out over these cliffs gives you a proper, terrifying sense of scale. The land simply stops, dropping hundreds of metres straight into the dark blue, churning water. These cliffs were formed by the ocean relentlessly undercutting the volcanic rock over millennia, causing massive sections to collapse into the sea and leaving these sheer, imposing walls behind.
Historically, locals would haul themselves and their heavy catches up and down treacherous paths just like this one. Standing at the top, listening to the wind howling off the Atlantic and looking down that dizzying, vertical drop, is a stark reminder: while the aristocrats were sipping fine wine in their courtyards, survival on the edges of this island required an immense amount of physical grit.
How should you prepare for the 500 steps walk in El Sauzal?
You need to be prepared for a dizzying, vertical climb back up a sheer volcanic cliff face. Take plenty of water, avoid walking in the midday heat, and be ready for a physically punishing hike that rewards you with the best lush, Madeira-style views on the island.
- Fitness Check: Do not attempt the descent if you aren’t reasonably fit and carrying water. Going down is easy; hauling yourself back up 500 uneven steps in the Canarian sun is a serious, sweaty cardiovascular workout.
- Wind: Hold onto your hats and your phones. The coastal winds here whip up the cliff face fiercely.
- Access: The viewpoint at the very top offers incredible, sweeping views of the northern coast, even if you don’t fancy tackling the stairs themselves.
The Verdict: Getting Away from the Sunbeds
From 16th-century wooden supercars and Masonic revenge tombs to pirate-proof harbours and sheer vertical cliff drops… making the effort to get away from the generic resorts completely changes your view of Tenerife.
The history here is properly strange, the wealth was staggering, and the geography remains beautifully unforgiving. Tenerife is an island absolutely packed with these extreme contrasts if you just know where to look. It’s an island that rewards the curious and punishes the lazy (especially your calves on those La Orotava hills).
If you want to see what happens when you push even further off the tourist trail and explore the wildest, most isolated ancient rainforest on the entire island, you need to check out the next part of this series.
Have you ever escaped the resorts in Tenerife to explore the historic north? Let me know your favourite hidden spots in the comments below!
Frequently asked questions
Is the mausoleum in Jardines Victoria empty?
Yes, the spectacular white marble tomb at the top of the revenge gardens is completely empty. After years of political wrangling, the church eventually caved and allowed the Marquis to be moved to the family crypt, but the gardens remain as a monument to his mother’s spite.
What did César Manrique build in Puerto de la Cruz?
César Manrique helped design Lago Martiánez, a massive, beautiful complex of seawater pools integrated into the volcanic rock. It was built in the 1970s so that tourists could safely swim without being dragged out to sea by the brutal Atlantic undercurrents.
Is Punta Brava worth visiting?
Absolutely. Unlike the manicured wealth in the hills, Punta Brava is a gritty, working-class fishing neighbourhood built right onto the jagged volcanic rocks. It fights the corrosive Atlantic waves every single day and feels wonderfully authentic compared to the sterile resorts.
Do you need a car to visit La Orotava?
Yes, renting a car is the most practical way to reach the north, but be warned—La Orotava is built entirely on the side of a mountain. Do not try to drive into the impossibly steep, narrow historic centre; park in the public garages at the bottom and walk up.
How hard is the 500 steps walk in El Sauzal?
Going down the 500 rough, uneven steps is easy enough, but hauling yourself back up a sheer volcanic cliff face in the Canarian sun is a brutal cardiovascular workout. You need to be reasonably fit and carry plenty of water.