After four years of procedures and permits, and almost two of restoration works, the Pedrana Group has managed to recover the essence of La Hacienda El Terrero and its old farmhouse, which already receives tourists from various parts of Spain and Europe in search for peace and tranquility in Los Realejos, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Protected Landscape of Campeches, Tigaiga and Ruiz.
The old farmhouse of Hacienda El Terrero, in The RealejosIt was falling apart just a few years ago. Its roofs sank, its walls cracked and the vegetation began to recover a space lost since the 16th century. The ruins of this hacienda, which grew from 1535 around a winery, seemed doomed to disappear. However, the commitment of the Pedrana Group, headed by Pedro Pérez García and his son Pedro Javier Pérez Hernández, together with the rest of his family, has made it possible to offer a new life to these farmworker houses., now converted, without losing its essence, into an attractive rural ecotourism complex where time seems to have stopped.
Pedro Javier Pérez cannot hide the pride he feels as he walks through the results of years of procedures, permits and works, which have followed the recommendations of the Historical Heritage of Council of Tenerife. The 12 enabled houses have been fitted out with great respect for the history, the materials and the idiosyncrasy of the place, “although with all the comforts and services that are demanded in the 21st century”. Inside, modern design elements are mixed with natural stone sinks and wooden bars with centuries of history. Some of the rooms preserve large rocks embedded in the walls, intact from the original construction.
«We said, and we have done so, that we did not want this space to lose its connection with its past. We prefer the shade of a vine to a Balinese bed and decided that the best thing was to offer the opportunity to take a bath in a pool that was once a pond and has not lost its authenticity. We try to reproduce the life and uses of yesteryear, also in the rest of the estate. Because we believe that the best value we can offer is our culture, nature and traditional architecture, without additives”, Pérez details.
Located in the lower part of the estate, the complex retains a multitude of details from other times, as Pérez explains: “Perhaps the paving of the paths is not the most comfortable, but visitors walk on some stones from the area that were placed a few years ago. more than four centuries, in a unique setting, a veritable balcony over the Atlantic, surrounded by organic crops and native vegetation. A haven of peace and tranquility where only the waves of the sea and the song of the birds are heard. The restoration has scrupulously respected the volumetry of the buildings and their entire distribution.
As soon as covid-19 allows it, the hacienda will have a common space in part of the old winery, where an old press is preserved. On the terraces, deserted just five years ago, there are already planted more than 10,000 square meters of Malvasía de Costa vines, with which a limited edition of the wine that made the Canary Islands world famous can be made. In addition to avocado trees, banana trees, more than a hundred ramblero peach trees, mangoes, lychees or longan trees that will produce fresh and organic fruit throughout the year. Palm trees, local flora and dragon trees have also been replanted, such as Manuel, the colossus of El Terrero, a specimen planted by Pedro Javier Pérez’s grandfather in Tigaiga almost 40 years ago and which was transplanted to prevent its definitive loss.
Hacienda El Terrero arose precisely around the winery building, whose construction dates back to 1535. Only a few years after the conquest of the island of Tenerife, the abundance of water brought cane crops to the area. sugar and, later, vines. Grapes were the main product of these lands for three centuries, until they were displaced by bananas. The agricultural history of this environment is also very present in the room.
Those crops needed labor, which gradually settled in a village where more than thirty people came to live. Linked to the countryside, its inhabitants inhabited it until well into the 20th century. According to the file prepared by the International Center for the Conservation of Heritage (Cicop) for the Heritage Manager, “this hacienda is located within the old limits of the Los Grimones lands, properties that were linked to the old mayorazgo founded in the year 1558 by Tomás Grimón, these lands belonging for many years to the Marquisate of Villanueva del Prado. The hacienda is located in one of the steepest parts of the royal coast and is a must on the Camino Real. And he adds that «the main historical characteristics of this building complex is its formal constitution, since it was developed as a small payment, which welcomed a significant number of the population belonging to the workers of the hacienda, at the same time that those of the other neighboring estates. It was depopulated during the second half of the 20th century. And thanks to the Pedrana Group, he avoided the certain threat of disappearance.
487
years of history
Hacienda El Terrero emerged from 1535 around the winery building, which is still preserved. This hamlet on the coast of Los Realejos turns 487 years old in 2022.
The opening has been a success and after years of effort and sacrifice, El Terrero has come back to life with “high demand and very good reviews”. With high levels of occupancy since its opening on January 20, it has received visitors from Spain and Europe who see Hacienda El Terrero as “a place to discover the real Tenerife”, according to Pedro Javier Pérez.
El Terrero is located between the La Grimona viewpoint and the El Mirador gas station, next to the TF-5. The area enters the Protected Landscape of Campeches, Tigaiga and Ruiz, declared a Special Protection Area for Birds. Among the future plans, enable more trails around the farm and a specific space to observe birds such as the rabiche pigeon.
