Garachico

Garachico was the main port of Tenerife and the wealthiest town on the island until 5 May 1706, when the Trevejo volcano, also called Montana Negra, erupted and lava ran down through the town into the harbour, destroying part of it and filling the port that was its reason for existing. The town never recovered its position, but it rebuilt, and what the lava left has become its attraction: El Caleton, a set of natural pools in the hardened flow along the shore, filled and flushed by the sea and used for swimming. The sixteenth-century San Miguel castle survived because the lava split around it. The old quarter behind holds convents, a plaza with laurel trees and noble houses in dark volcanic stone. The town was founded after the conquest of Tenerife in 1496 by the Genoese banker Cristobal de Ponte, and it holds Spain's Gold Medal of Fine Arts.

What's there

• El Caleton - natural bathing pools in the hardened 1706 lava.
• San Miguel castle - a sixteenth-century fort the lava flowed around.
• The lava flow - the black rock that buried the harbour, still visible.
• The old quarter - convents and stone houses rebuilt after the eruption.

When to go

Year-round; northern Tenerife is mild but wetter than the south. The pools are usable when the sea is calm and closed in swell, which is frequent in winter. Summer weekends fill them.

Good to know

The pools close whenever the sea is rough, which happens often, and swimming is over sharp volcanic rock. Parking in the town is limited. The north coast is cloudier than the resorts in the south.

Nearby

Icod de los Vinos and its ancient dragon tree lie east; the Teno massif is west.

Key facts