Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Breña Alta

What to see and do in Breña Alta (La Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

When to go to Breña Alta: festival calendar

May: Fiesta de las Cruces (May 3)

How far each place is from the centre of Breña Alta

Los Dragos Gemelos 1.5 km

Towns near Breña Alta

Spain › Canary Islands › Santa Cruz de Tenerife › La Palma › Breña Alta

What to see and do in Breña Alta

Breña Alta
Village
A municipality in eastern La Palma, which broke away as an independent town council in 1812 under the Constitution of Cádiz. Its centre is built around the 16th-century church of San Pedro Apóstol, and its economy combines avocado and potato farming with the memory of a past tobacco-growing tradition.
Ermita de La Concepción
Monument
A 16th-century hermitage at 300 metres above sea level on the Risco de La Concepción, with Canarian-style paintings from the 17th-18th centuries. The crag on which it stands is protected as a natural monument and offers panoramic views over Santa Cruz de La Palma.
Los Dragos Gemelos
Nature
Two dragon trees (Dracaena draco) around 150 years old, located between El Llanito and Las Ledas, which have grown so intertwined that they can no longer be told apart.
Fiesta de las Cruces
Activity
Every 3 May, the local population decks crosses with fayas, heather, cloth, flowers and jewellery, having dressed them the night before. The festival also features the 'mayos', frame-built figures that act out popular scenes, and gives its name to a municipal museum dedicated to the festival and to tobacco.
El tabaco de Breña y el Museo del Puro Palmero
Food and drink
Tobacco grown in Breña was even displayed at the Paris Universal Exhibitions of 1867 and 1878. The Museo del Puro Palmero, together with the Fiesta de Las Cruces, now keeps that tobacco-growing tradition alive, though it is today in decline compared with crops such as avocado.
La Tragedia del Llanito
Historical milestone
On the night of 15 to 16 January 1957, torrential rain from a storm caused a flash flood that devastated the El Llanito neighbourhood, the area hit hardest by the disaster, and also affected Breña Baja and Villa de Mazo. Sources disagree on the number of victims: counts range from 22 to more than 30, with the usual consensus placing it at around 24-26 dead and 49 homes destroyed.