Garachico
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Country:	Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Autonomous region:	Canary Islands Canary Islands The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
Province:	Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province) Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife also Province of Santa Cruz is a province of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic archipelago, including the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma, and...
Island:	Tenerife Tenerife Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
Area Area Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat... :	29.281 km²
Population Population A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...  2006 :	5,542
Population density Population density Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans... :	199.68/km²
Elevation Elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface .... :	10 m
Postal code:	38015
Location Geographic coordinate system A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on the Earth to be specified by a set of numbers. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represent vertical position, and two or three of the numbers represent horizontal position... :	28°22′0"N 16°47′0"W
Town Hall Website:

Garachico is a municipality and town on the northern coast of Tenerife

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...

, It is located on the TF42 Road about 60km West of the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife (City), 50km from Tenerife North Airport and 67 km from Tenerife South Airport

Tenerife South Airport

Tenerife South Airport , previously known as Tenerife South-Reina Sofia Airport, is one of two international airports located on the island of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands . Between its opening and the end of 2006, a total of 173,912,207 passengers passed through the airport...

. The town itself nestles below a 500m+ (1500ft) cliff. Garachico and the surrounding area is arguably the least spoilt coastal area of Tenerife, and is in sharp contrast to areas such as Playa de las Americas

Playa de las Américas

Playa de las Américas is a purpose-built holiday resort in the northern part of the Municipality of Arona, close to the adjoining Municipality of Adeje in the south of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. It was built in the 1960s beside the town of Los Cristianos and stretching northward to the...

. It is still very Spanish in character, and a Spanish phrasebook is advisable for non-Spanish speaking visitors.

There is no beach worth mentioning; the coastline is essentially volcanic debris, but this does give the town its charm and a reason to visit it. Near the old port, there has been considerable recent effort to landscape the shoreline. Many paths have been laid as crazy paving, and some natural rock pools made into swimming pools. Rod and line fishing is also evident. However, outside of these rock pools, the Atlantic swell makes swimming inadvisable for all but the very brave. A municipal swimming pool is currently (2008) being built, next to the natural rock pools.

The town itself is low rise and a mixture of renovated and in need of renovation buildings, and includes several large courtyard style houses There are many hidden shops that appear to be private houses until they open their doors and display their wares. Most streets are cobbled and narrow, with cars parked on one side. Next to the main church there is a big open square, with a bar under the bandstand. An old monastery is adjacent to the main square and open to the public. The municipal authorities have clearly tried to show off their history and many buildings have English, Spanish and German noticeboards, explaining their history. On the front, an old water-mill houses a small museum, as does an old harbourside fort. There are many family run restaurants, with the best hidden away in the back streets.

Tenerife is volcanic and an eruption in 1706 was a major event in the town's history. Prior to then, Garachico was an important port exporting Malmsey Wine and other local produce. However, a several week long eruption poured lava into the old bay and effectively destroyed the town's livelihood.

Garachico has always taken care of its environment and protected the most diverse cultural manifestations. For all these reasons, the Spanish government awarded the town the Gold Medal of Fine Arts, which was presented in 1980 by His Majesty the King.http://www.webtenerifeuk.co.uk/PortalTenerife/Home/Disfruta+sin+perderte+nada/Mas+sobre+Tenerife/Geografia/Municipios/Garachico.htm?Lang=en

External links

• Map and aerial photos
  • Street map: Street map from Mapquest, MapPoint or Google
  • Satellite images: Google