Discover La Florida: Trails, Heritage and Fiestas

La Florida combines trails through an agricultural landscape with historic buildings and a strong tradition of fiestas. When planning your trip, you can focus both on the surrounding scenery and on the area’s cultural sites and customs.

Trails through La Florida

Published in 2025, the La Orotava SlowTours collection includes La Florida-Pino Alto as an educational, self-guided walk. It starts at Charca de Ascanio and ends at Ermita de Pino Alto. The route is accessed via Cuesta de La Villa road, TF-21. La Florida-Pino Alto lies at the foot of the protected landscape of La Resbala.

Another historic route is the Vereda Lomo La Peña between La Florida and Cruz de La Lajita. A municipal study from 2019 describes the route shown on maps from El Horno to the Cruz as 2.28 kilometres long. It is rated difficult, with an average duration of around three hours. Check current access conditions before planning to walk it. While La Florida-Pino Alto is designated as a self-guided walk, the historic Vereda has a different route profile, described as difficult.

Vineyard terraces and agricultural landscape

La Florida lies at the foot of the Ladera de Santa Úrsula, a large escarpment east of the Valle de La Orotava. The Los Gómez section passes through an agricultural landscape characterised by vineyard terraces. The way the vines are trained is also part of the local scenery: Cordón Trenzado is the most widespread vine-training system in the Valle de La Orotava and the area described here.

The importance of potatoes in regional cuisine reflects this agricultural heritage: potatoes remain the most highly valued gastronomic product in this traditional farming landscape. Alongside trails and buildings, you will also encounter links to farming and food culture that shape La Florida’s rural character.

Historic buildings and inherited customs

Charca de Ascanio is a historic reservoir and the only dam on Tenerife located outside a watercourse. Construction began in mid-1914. The Ascanio brothers promoted the project to supply irrigation water to the banana plantations in the lower Valle de La Orotava. The Iglesia de La Florida was inaugurated in 2013, almost two decades after construction began.

In the Maestre Juan area, historic stone walls remain on terraced fields that made cultivation on sloping terrain possible. The architectural ensemble includes one of La Orotava’s best-preserved threshing floors. The name of the Hacienda de Maestre Juan, after which the area is also named, appears in historical documents dating from the late 16th century. Cruz de La Lajita is located at the summit of the Ladera de Santa Úrsula. People with ties to La Florida preserve and decorate the cross every year.

Traditions preserved in La Florida include Canarian wrestling, the Ribbon Dance, the Tango de La Florida and the Canarian ball game. They complement the built heritage with customs that are part of the area’s cultural identity.

Fiestas and dates in January

The annual fiestas in honour of San Antonio Abad and the Virgen de la Esperanza take place in the last week of January. In 2018, they were recognised as a Fiesta de Interés Turístico de Canarias. The Feria de Ganado La Florida is one of the neighbourhood fiestas and takes place on the last Saturday in January; it has been celebrated as part of the festivities since 1970. The Bajada del cisco, pinocho y leña has also been reenacted during the fiestas in several years. If you want to attend a particular event, check the programme for your travel year.

The Puchero de La Florida has been held as part of the fiestas for more than 50 years. Together with recurring customs, historic sites and trails through the agricultural landscape, it gives a trip to La Florida a distinctly local character.

Discover more destinations: La Perdoma, Aguamansa.

For the main travel overview: La Orotava.