Tenerife is a perfect island for practicing outdoor sportsAs the hiking. But it is also an island full of mysteries. There are many stories and legends that have been passed down from generation to generation and that tell of events that occurred in past centuries, but that still attract tourists and residents today.
That halo of mystery combined with natural beauty de la Isla makes many routes exist that are more than a kick, they are a trip to the past wrapped in an absolutely extraordinary landscape. Whether in the middle of nature or in the middle of the city, legends invade a good part of the territory, so if you are a lover of mysteries and hiking, in Tenerife you will find everything you need.
On this occasion we propose some of the best mysterious routes in Tenerife and we anticipate a little what each legend consists of
Badajoz ravine
He badajoz ravine It is one of the most mysterious places in TenerifeIn fact, it has captured the attention of many media outlets attracted by its hidden legends. Located in the municipality of Güímar, this ravine has become famous for the mysteries that surround the multiple galleries for extracting water that exist in the area.
The elders of the place say that in 1912, dhe miners who were trying unsuccessfully to find a viable gallery collapsed a wall where they ran into two wonderful beings of light. Thus, one of the legends tells that these beings invited them to accompany them and indicated an ideal place to dig. Another version, on the contrary, affirms that fear seized them and they escaped from there.
But not only that, there is also a legend known as the Pear Girl, one of the most popular, and which tells that a girl disappeared in the ravine when going to look for fruit. Despite the fact that the area was thoroughly searched by the neighbors, the girl did not appearalthough he returned Home several decades later, her parents had aged, but she had not.
Even with this aura of mystery, the Badajoz ravine is one of the favorite routes for many hikers. The route has a total distance of about six kilometers round trip, and its level is not very complicated. In addition, the ravine is included in the Protected Landscape of Las Siete Lomas, classified as Protected Natural Area of Canary Islands.
Witches of Anaga
The zone of Anaga Rural Park It is one of the most popular for the practice of hiking in Tenerife. But its natural setting, with eucalyptus and laurel forests and areas of fayal-heath, also contains legends that, despite the darkness of past times, have reached our days wrapped in an aura of mystery and curiosity by those who do not know.
These mysteries also invite you to take routes through the area and discover its legends.
One of those legends is that of the witches of the dance of Anaga. According to popular belief, these women made covens in the Macizo de Anaga areaon the dorsal between Saint Andrew and Taganana. The legend tells that they danced around a bonfire -hence its name- and, later, they bathed naked in the nearby coast.
One of the dances attributed to witches is the weevil dance, which has its origin in the aboriginal dances dedicated to fertility. With all this, one of the most likely facts is that the origin of this legend comes from the pagan rituals associated with certain rites of the ancient Guanches to ask for rain and fertility. However, they could be considered as an act of witchcraft by the Church, which led to this legend that could not have had a better scenario.
To get to know this space, we suggest a route through the Dancer of the Witches and the Enchanted Forest, magical places that will attract you for their beauty and mysteries. Go to the viewpoints that you will find along the way and enjoy some of the best views of the Island.
Catherine Lercaro
They not only exist legends in the nature trails of Tenerife, there are urban routes that are also full of mysteries. One of them is related to the young Catalina Lercarowhich you will be able to know in depth if you take an urban route through the town of The lagoondeclared a World Heritage Site, and you enter Casa Lercaro.
the wealthy lercaro family He settled in one of the houses in La Laguna. The patriarch of the family organized the marriage of his young daughter, Catalina, with an elderly man, a local cacique with properties on the island and dedicated to the slave trade. The young woman did not accept that marriage. In fact, her fiancée caused him a total rejection and Catalina decided to take her own life on the day of her wedding. And how did she do it? Throwing himself into the well that is in the courtyard of Casa Lercaro.
Legend has it that, since then, the servants claimed that strange noises were heard throughout the house, footsteps in the wooden corridors and that they saw shadows of someone, and there were even those who claimed to see how the water had been dyed red at the bottom. from the well and before that vision suddenly appeared to him the specter of Catalina.
If you want to check if Catalina’s ghost continues to leave signsTry to visit the Casa Lercaro, now a museum, while you take a walk through an urban environment of unsurpassed beauty that has been an example of constructions in American lands.
