Los Realejos is a town and a municipality in the northern part of the island of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, which is the biggest town in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. It is part of the province of

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

, Spain. The town is located from the north coast, southwest of

Puerto de la Cruz Puerto de la Cruz is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It was formerly known by its English translation, "Port of the Cross", although now it is known by its Spanish name in all langu ...

, west of

La Orotava La Orotava is a town and a municipality in the northern part of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands of Spain. The area of the municipality stretches from the north coast to the mountainous interior, and includes the summit of the Teide volcano, ...

, and southwest of the island's capital

. The inhabitants are known in Spanish as ''realejeros''. The latest population count consists of 37,970 (2013Instituto Canario de Estadística
), its density being and the area is . The highest peak is . Los Realejos is the western terminus of the TF-5 motorway.

Background

The town is split into two distinct areas or districts: *Realejo Alto (Upper Realejo) *Realejo Bajo (Lower Realejo) These areas are distinct from each other in terms of their geography (a large deep ravine splits both) and their history (during the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

conquest of the island, the indigenous people

Guanches The Guanche were the Indigenous peoples, indigenous inhabitants of the Spain, Spanish Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean some to the west of modern Morocco and the North African coast. The islanders spoke the Guanche language, which i ...

had a settlement in the lower area of the town. In contrast, the Spaniards occupied the upper area). Furthermore, each area has its own Baroque church, both of which were built shortly after completing the Spanish conquest. The municipality was originally founded and known as Realejo de Arriba. The town governed by its local council also includes other smaller villages such as Palo Blanco, Cruz Santa, Mocan, Icod de Alto, and . Over the years, an increase in population and housing have merged into what appears to be one big town nowadays. Los Realejos also has a few beaches of note, Playa de El Socorro being the most popular one, not only with the locals but also with tourists. Other beaches like Playa de Castro and Playa de Fajana are worthy of mention, albeit they are slightly less accessible than El Socorro. Los Realejos is the home of the English language newspaper the Tenerife News. Los Realejos boasts the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which is the main

Marian shrine A shrine to the Virgin Mary, or Marian shrine, is a shrine marking an Marian apparitions, apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Blessed Virgin Mary, Marian devotion ...

in northern Tenerife. Image:LosRealejos01.jpg, Church of St James, Los Realejos Image:EL BURGADO TENERIFE.jpg Image:Water elevator Realejos-Tenerife.jpg, Water elevator Image:P. Castro.JPG, Playa de Castro

Historical population

Education

The British School of Tenerife has its Trinity Campus in Los Realejos.Find Us
." British School of Tenerife. Retrieved on 13 February 2016. "TRINITY Camino Montijo, 16; 38410 Los Realejos"

Natives of Los Realejos

* José Viera y Clavijo (December 28, 1731,

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

- February 21, 1813), a writer, botanist, and a historian.

References

External links