Acentejo Coast Guide: Vineyards, Cliff Miradores and Natural Pools

The Acentejo is the green shoulder of the north — a strip of vineyards, banana terraces and wild cliffs squeezed between the La Laguna plateau and the sea. It is the island's oldest wine country and its most dramatic coastline, and almost nobody stops to explore it.

The wine country

Acentejo gives its name to the island's main wine DO. The perfect starting point is the Casa del Vino La Baranda in El Sauzal, a 17th-century hacienda that now serves as a wine museum with tastings of everything the region produces. For the full picture, our wine guide explains the volcanic soils behind the island's signature whites.

Miradores over the green cliffs

The coast here drops hundreds of metres to the Atlantic, and the viewpoints are staggering. Mirador de la Garañona, between El Sauzal and La Matanza, looks straight down the cliff at the surf below, while the Mirador Los 500 Escalones at Punta del Hidalgo is carved into the rock itself — 500 steps down to a former fishing settlement.

Pools and beaches at the coast

Where the cliffs open out, the north coast does what it does best: natural pools and black-sand coves. The Piscina Natural de Punta del Hidalgo is a free saltwater lido popular with families, and La Caleta at Bajamar has its own sheltered bathing spots. A little east, the fishing hamlet of El Pris in Tacoronte hides one of the island's best-kept swimming secrets. Our natural pools guide rounds up the rest.

Fiestas in the Acentejo

The Acentejo knows how to celebrate. In September, Tacoronte hosts the Fiestas del Cristo, an old wine-and-turrón tasting with a medieval fair, and in July Punta del Hidalgo celebrates the maritime fiestas of the Virgen del Carmen.

Getting there

The coastal villages sit on the TITSA bus route 105 from Santa Cruz and are a short drive from the city. See the north coast beaches guide for the full stretch of shore between La Laguna and the sea.