IllustrationCome for the trees, then let the smaller details slow you down.
Come for the trees, then let the smaller details slow you down. The Jardín de Aclimatación de La Orotava brings plants from different parts of the world into a compact historic garden in Puerto de la Cruz. Its best-known sight is the Lord Howe fig: aerial roots drop from the branches and thicken into supports, making one tree look like a gathering of trunks.
The garden began as an eighteenth-century experiment in growing tropical plants in Spanish territory. Today it belongs to the scientific work of the Instituto Canario de Investigaciones Agrarias, or ICIA. Labels, cultivated collections and research give the visit a purpose beyond a pleasant walk. A familiar avocado or coffee plant can be just as interesting as an unfamiliar giant when you pause to consider where it comes from.
Keep your first visit simple. Allow an unhurried hour or two in the historic garden, choose a handful of plants from the official self-guide and leave time for the old pond. Despite the formal name, this entrance is in Puerto de la Cruz. The Hijuela del Botánico behind La Orotava town hall is a separate garden and a separate journey. Enhance your adventure: download the Snappit app to identify the local species you encounter.
A royal order issued by Carlos III on 17 August 1788 set the garden’s creation in motion. Its purpose was to acclimatise plants from tropical regions in a suitable Spanish climate. Alonso de Nava y Grimón, the sixth Marqués de Villanueva del Prado, drove the project forward; plans were drawn up in 1790, and planting began in 1792. Those dates describe different stages of the same beginning. The old pond followed in 1795 as a reservoir for irrigating the historic plot. Later generations added to the living collection: the great Lord Howe fig was planted in the 1870s, during Hermann Wildpret’s time as botanical gardener. Today ICIA continues research on plants and plant genetic resources here, supported by living collections, seed banks and the ORT herbarium. The pleasure garden visitors see is also a working scientific institution.
Start with the numbered self-guide, then choose a few contrasts: the Lord Howe fig’s supporting roots, the broad leaves of the Roxburgh fig, a Canary Island palm and an avocado tree. Finish at the old pond to connect the planting with its water supply. Read the labels rather than trying to identify every plant from memory.
The silk floss tree usually produces pink flowers between September and November according to the garden’s guide. The bald cypress sheds its leaves in winter. Those changes are part of the visit, so do not expect every tree to be leafy or flowering at once. After rain, take extra care underfoot.
ICIA publishes a reduced-mobility route described as free of obstacles, plus a separately marked reduced-mobility toilet. Ask at the entrance for that specific route and check today’s surfaces, any temporary barriers and toilet access. The uphill journey from central Puerto de la Cruz needs its own transport plan; garden access does not make the whole approach step-free.
The Lord Howe fig and its remarkable aerial-root columns
Contrasting tropical leaves, palms and trees with everyday food connections
The old irrigation pond, completed in 1795
A numbered self-guide and optional audio route that help make sense of the collection
ICIA’s audio itinerary selects 20 plants from the collection and suggests about 1½ hours. Use it when you want a little structure, pausing or shortening it whenever a particular tree catches your interest. Open the mobile guide first and check which audio options work on your device.
The audio sequence is separate from the reduced-mobility route. If you need step-free paths, ask staff which of its stops you can combine with the accessible plan.
The operator offers a route described as free of obstacles, with an approximate duration of two hours. Ask for the current plan at the entrance and choose as much or as little of it as suits you. Its value is a considered way through the garden, rather than a distance you have to complete.
Before starting, confirm path firmness, slopes, narrow sections, resting places and the toilet connection for your needs. Ask whether assistance would help, particularly after rain. The published description does not give detailed measurements.
Spend a few minutes getting your bearings at the entrance. Use the self-guide to choose the Lord Howe fig, a broad-leaved plant such as the Roxburgh fig, a palm and the old pond. Give each stop a little attention and follow whichever open paths staff recommend. Keep the last ten minutes for returning comfortably to the exit.
Take a slower walk or follow the audio tour. Add coffee, avocado, the silk floss tree and the bald cypress with Spanish moss to your plant choices, then pause at the old pond. Read a few labels properly rather than rushing to finish every numbered stop. Allow extra time if sketching or taking photographs.
Try finding a very large leaf, a root that starts above the ground and a plant linked to breakfast. Let each child choose a favourite and sketch it. Keep the challenge flexible if a plant is inaccessible, and make the pond a supervised stop. A short visit with a few discoveries is enough.
Stand on the path by the Lord Howe fig and trace a supporting root with your eyes from branch to ground. Later, look at the pandanus and compare its roots with the fig’s. Sketch the shapes rather than stepping closer or touching them. The differences make an easy family conversation about how a plant holds itself up.
Use the guide to seek out coffee and avocado, then ask everyone which parts of each plant they recognise. Leaves and whole trees can look surprisingly unfamiliar even when the food is ordinary. Read the labels together and leave every fruit and seed in place.
Choose one plant visible from a permitted path. Draw the outline of a leaf or the pattern of a trunk, adding its name from the label. A quick sketch often makes you notice more than taking many photographs. Leave space for other visitors to pass.
Light showers may suit a short, careful stroll if the garden remains open, but wet paths need extra care. In heavy rain or strong winds, postpone the garden rather than sheltering beneath large trees. Check with staff before relying on any indoor exhibition space as a fallback.
Look for the very broad leaves, then check the trunk for specialised branches that carry figs when the tree is fruiting. It is a good companion to the much larger Lord Howe fig: shared genus, different appearance. Read the label before making the comparison.
Find the labelled palm and notice how its crown differs from the broad-leaved trees around it. This is a Canarian species within a garden of plants from many regions. The specimen belongs to the cultivated collection; it is not a visit to a wild palm grove.
Look at the swelling trunk and any prickles without touching them. If you visit during its usual autumn flowering period, check for pink flowers above you. The guide explains that the seeds are surrounded by cotton-like fibres, a clue to the English name.
Pause at a plant whose fruit may already be familiar from your kitchen. The garden helped select avocado varieties for cultivation in the islands from the late 1930s. Enjoy the connection between research and everyday food without assuming this particular tree is a named cultivar.
At the bald-cypress stop, look for fine hanging strands on the branches. Spanish moss is an epiphytic flowering plant, despite its name, and the garden’s account explains how it takes moisture and nutrients from the air. Leave the strands attached.
The garden identifies its celebrated fig as Ficus macrophylla f. columnaris, the Lord Howe Island form. It was planted in the 1870s. Roots descending from its branches thicken after reaching the ground, helping support the spreading canopy and making the original trunk harder to distinguish.
The old pond dates from 1795 and served as an irrigation reservoir for the historic garden. When you pause beside it, imagine the practical problem behind the beauty: keeping an international collection of plants watered. The old gateway and founder’s monument add other visible pieces of the garden’s story.
ICIA’s botanical work includes plant identification, genetic resources, seed collections and the ORT herbarium. The garden’s living plants are one part of that wider scientific activity. Library and herbarium consultation requires an appointment; those spaces are not simply extra rooms on the garden stroll.
On a day without a particular flower display, make the tree forms the main attraction. Compare aerial roots, leaf sizes and the outlines of palms. Let the labels explain what you are looking at, and ask which plants deserve a stop that week.
ICIA gives September to November as the usual pink-flowering period for Ceiba speciosa. Timing varies, so treat flowers as a possibility. Its trunk shape and prickles make it interesting even when the canopy is doing something different.
The bald cypress loses its leaves in winter, a useful contrast with the many evergreen plants. Look at the branch structure and the hanging Spanish moss. Bring a layer for pauses and be ready to shorten the stroll if rain becomes persistent.
Use the main garden entrance at Calle Retama 2, Puerto de la Cruz. For questions before your visit, call +34 922 922 978 or email [email protected]. Ask about a concession, group arrangement or access need before making a special journey.
ICIA lists €3 general entry, €2 for accredited Canary Islands residents, and free entry for accredited students and teachers and accompanied children under 14. Have the relevant proof ready. Ask which payment methods are accepted; do not assume a card-only or cash-only rule.
The official plan distinguishes ordinary toilets and a reduced-mobility toilet. Confirm availability and the easiest route to the one you need when you arrive. Bring your own drinking water and arrange refreshments outside the visit rather than relying on an unconfirmed café or refill point.
The official mobile self-guide pairs numbered plants with descriptions and offers a separate audio-tour selection. Use the onsite labels to check you have the correct specimen. Download or open what you need before visiting if you want to minimise phone use while walking.
TITSA line 351 links Puerto de la Cruz station, El Botánico and La Orotava station. Check the current timetable for your day, the correct stop in each direction and the walk to Calle Retama. Some express services have pickup or set-down restrictions at El Botánico, so a bus shown passing the garden is not automatically suitable for a short local journey.
The approach from lower parts of town climbs towards the garden. Check your starting point and allow for the uphill effort, especially in warm weather or with a pushchair. A taxi to Calle Retama can save that effort if you would rather spend your energy inside.
Navigate to the address in Puerto de la Cruz, then follow current street signs and lawful parking arrangements. Leave time to find a space rather than assuming a dedicated visitor car park. If you need a short or step-free approach, ask the garden where a suitable drop-off can be made.
Tell staff what chair, walker or pushchair you use and ask about the recommended route, its current condition and the toilet connection. Decide where to shorten the visit if needed. The operator’s obstacle-free description is helpful, but individual requirements and temporary changes still matter.
The numbered guide lets you select just a few stops. Headphones may help with audio descriptions while keeping the garden quiet for others. Ask staff about any additional sensory or language support you need; the self-guide should not be taken as a promise of a full tactile or assisted tour.
Each card links to a full Explore page with photos, traits, and fun facts.
Start with the big picture, then zoom in to explore individual wildlife observations around this place.
Use Calle Retama 2, Puerto de la Cruz as your destination. Searching only for La Orotava can send you to the wrong town.
Arrive with enough time
the published closing time is 18:00 and last admission is 17:30. A late ticket leaves very little time for a botanical visit.
Bring evidence of eligibility if you expect a resident, student or teacher concession. Check the tariff and payment arrangements before travelling.
Open the official self-guide on your phone before setting off, and bring headphones if you want to use its audio stops.
Stay on paths and respect barriers around roots and planting beds. Never climb the fig’s roots or step into a bed to improve a photograph.
Do not pick, taste or collect leaves, fruit or seeds. Familiar food names do not turn a scientific plant collection into a tasting garden.
Bring drinking water, comfortable grippy shoes and a light rain layer. Keep children beside you at the pond and away from thorny trunks.
For mobility needs, group visits or uncertain weather, contact the garden in advance: +34 922 922 978 or [email protected].
Recent snaps will appear here as new observations are added.
Maryland, US
You might spot White-Tailed Deer and Eastern Gray Squirrel.
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District of Columbia, US
You might spot Eastern Gray Squirrel, Duck, and House Sparrow.
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Illinois, US
You might spot American Robin, Canada Goose, and House Sparrow.
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Virginia, US
You might spot Spotted Lanternfly and Northern Cardinal.
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Take the discovery with you
Identify the wildlife you spot, learn as you go, and keep a collection of the adventure.
