Icod de los Vinos Holiday Resort - Tenerife

Icod de los Vinos is a municipality in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands (Spain), located in the northwest part of the island.

Icod has an area of 95.90 km², is situated at an altitude of 235 metres above sea level, and has a population of 24,179 as of 2006.

Icod de los Vinos is located on a continuous smooth slope that stretches from the extensive forests of Canary Island Pine down to the sea, and has almost 10 km of shoreline. The city is surrounded by a very fertile valley, and its streets and corners offer impressive views of the volcanic mountain Teide, as well as dense pine forests which descend like hanging gardens from its summit to Icod's higher-altitude districts. Its banana plantations, orchards and vineyards give rise to a lively commerce. The community is bypassed to the north with the highway linking Santiago del Teide and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and west of the TF2, superhighway as well as north of TF38 and TF1 superhighway. Icod de los Vinos is located about 80 km W of the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, north of Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas, north west of Tenerife South Airport.

Ancient Dragon Tree (el drago)

In Icod stands a famous dragon tree, said to be thousands of years old. In fact, no study seems to have confirmed such longevity for the tree, which is more likely to have an age in the hundreds of years. In any case, it is a tree that never goes unnoticed, and it has always been the symbol of Icod. It would perhaps be exaggerated to say that Icod owes its progress to the tree, since its valley is a fertile and agriculturally rich comarca, as shown by the town's full name, Icod de los Vinos (Icod of the Wines). It can be found near to the Church of San Marcos.

Cueva del Viento

Thought to be the largest volcanic cave in the world, the Cueva del Viento (Cave of the Wind) has a known length of over 14 kilometers. It consists of a complex lava tube with several entrances. It presents great internal complexity, a wide variety of geomorphological structures, and a unique fauna, both living and fossilized. Other caves, also very extensive, are found in other nooks of the town: these include San Marcos, Punto Blanco, El Rey, and Felipe Reventón.

Tablas de San Andrés

On 29 November each year, the eve of San Andrés' day and the official festival of new wine, the storehouses open for all to taste the juice of the year's harvest, accompanied by roasted chestnuts. This festival, deeply rooted among Icod's citizens, involves sliding on "tablas" or boards (originally by torchlight) down the steeply sloping neighborhood streets. The greatest spectacle of the party is seen in Plano street, where these slippery boards are seen speeding along, steered by daring and youthful riders. This tradition was born from the need to transport wood from the highest zones of the municipality down to the workshops where it was used in handicrafts and in naval construction. The wood traveled down El Amparo street (then unpaved) on the back of a large board or plank, while "oars" of heather or fayatree (Myrica faya) branches were used to brake and steer, thus avoiding the endless obstacles that might be in the way. Nowadays other types of "boards" are used metal, plastic etc which leave the practice dull and far-removed from the origin of the San Andrés boards. Every year the municipal authorities call for an end to these different variations in an effort to preserve the tradition of the "tablas". Many visitors come from other parts of the island to see the annual festival, as do tourists.