Logbook · 9 places

What to see and do in Candelaria

What to see and do in Candelaria (Tenerife - Valle de Güímar, Santa Cruz de Tenerife): 9 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 4 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Curiosities · 2 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Candelaria

Towns near Candelaria

What to see in Arafo 4.8 km · 5 places
What to see in Güímar 5.8 km · 9 places
What to see in El Rosario 8.7 km · 4 places
What to see in La Matanza de Acentejo 12 km · 4 places
What to see in La Victoria de Acentejo 13 km · 5 places
What to see in Santa Úrsula 14 km · 4 places
What to see in La Orotava 14 km · 15 places
What to see in Fasnia 14 km · 5 places

Spain › Canary Islands › Santa Cruz de Tenerife › Tenerife - Valle de Güímar › Candelaria

What to see and do in Candelaria

Candelaria
Village
A municipality in southeastern Tenerife and the religious capital of the Canary Islands as home to the Basílica de la Virgen de Candelaria, patron saint of the archipelago. In Guanche times it was the most important settlement in the Valle de Güímar, and it became an independent municipality in 1812, receiving the title of villa in 1957. Its urban centre is built around Marian devotion ever since, according to tradition, the image of the Virgin appeared on the beach of Chimisay in the late 14th century.
Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria
Monument
A Marian sanctuary built between 1949 and 1959 to a design by the architect José Enrique Marrero Regalado, on the site of earlier churches destroyed by fires and storms. It houses the image of the Virgen de Candelaria, patron saint of the Canary Islands since Pope Clement VIII proclaimed her so in 1559 (confirmed by Pius IX in 1867). Pope Benedict XVI raised it to the rank of minor basilica on 24 January 2011, with formal consecration on 2 February of that year. It receives around 2.5 million visitors a year.
La imagen de la Virgen de Candelaria
Historical milestone
According to tradition, the original image of the Virgin appeared to Guanche shepherds on the beach of Chimisay between 1390 and 1401, and around 1446 was moved to the Cueva de Achbinico, the first Christian sanctuary in the Canary Islands, where it remained venerated by the Guanches of the menceyato of Güímar even before the Castilian conquest. The original image was lost in a flood that destroyed the castle and convent in 1826; the Dominicans commissioned the sculptor Fernando Estévez to carve the present image, blessed in 1830. King Philip II became the sanctuary's royal protector in 1596.
Cueva de Achbinico (Cueva de San Blas)
Monument
A cave where, according to tradition, the Guanches kept the image of the Virgen de Candelaria before the conquest, considered the first Christian sanctuary in the Canary Islands. The Guanche Antón acted as its first custodian. It today holds a bronze replica of the image venerated by the aboriginal islanders.
Iglesia de Santa Ana (Candelaria)
Monument
A church built in the mid-18th century on the site of an earlier 16th-century hermitage, with a Mudéjar coffered ceiling and images from the 17th- and 18th-century Canarian school of sculpture. A parish chapel of ease had already been created here in 1639.
Real Convento de los Dominicos de Candelaria
Monument
A convent run by the Dominican order since 1530, rebuilt in 1803 after an earlier fire. It now houses a museum with objects linked to the Marian devotion of the Virgen de Candelaria.
Fiesta del Hallazgo de la Virgen de Candelaria
Curiosity
A popular celebration declared a Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional (Festival of National Tourist Interest) that includes a re-enactment of the Guanche discovery of the Marian image, a pontifical Mass and the Romería Ofrenda de las Islas Canarias. It is distinct from the liturgical feast of 2 February, which commemorates the first Candlemas celebrated by Alonso Fernández de Lugo in 1497 and includes the Las Candelas procession on the 1st.
Yacimiento paleontológico de Barranco Hondo
Nature
A Holocene volcanic tube in the municipality of Candelaria where abundant fossil remains of giant lizards have been found, including the extinct or endangered species Gallotia goliath and Gallotia simonyi.
Momias guanches del Malpaís de Candelaria
Historical milestone
Several Guanche mummies have been found in the crags and highlands of Araya, as well as in the Malpaís de Candelaria; one found in the Malpaís was dated to around 1133 AD. They stand as evidence of the funerary practices of the old menceyato of Güímar.