La Orotava 

The Orotava Valley was the last stronghold in Tenerife of the original Berber settlers, the Guanches, definitively conquered by the Spaniards in 1496. The valley is beautiful and a series of walking routes allows you to explore it easily, even reaching and entering the adjacent Teide National Park. Plus, La Orotava is one of the island's more "real" towns: although it is evidently heavily affected by the tourist industry, it has an attractive historic centre with gardens, 17th and 18th century houses, and a couple of nice churches. It is a stone's throw away from Puerto de la Cruz, off the island's Autopista del Norte, northern motorway, so easy to visit. The link goes to La Orotava's municipal website, inexplicably only available in Spanish but otherwise informative and enjoyable.
Added on: 09-Dec-2007 | hits: 90
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Vinos del Valle de La Orotava 

In spite of a long history of wine-making in the north of Tenerife (to a certain extent, Puerto de la Cruz owes its existence to the English merchants who tried to monopolize this wine trade), the sector declined nearly to the point of disappearing until quite recently. It has been revived, though, by bureacratic effort and, I suspect, EU subsidies. Its wines are not especially fantastic, but are quite acceptable and interesting, as a number of peculiar grape varieties are involved (both white and black bastardo are grown, for example).
Added on: 09-Dec-2007 | hits: 41
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