Botanical Garden

Puerto de la Cruz, Spain, Spain

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The Botanical Garden of Puerto de la Cruz, officially called Jardín de Aclimatación de La Orotava, is a historic botanical garden in northern Tenerife, located in the La Paz district at the entrance to the town on Calle Retama.

It was founded in 1788 by order of King Charles III to acclimatise tropical plants from the Americas and other colonies before sending them on to mainland Spain, and is considered the second-oldest botanical garden in Spain. Today it covers about 2 hectares (around 20,000 square metres) and holds roughly 1,500–4,000 plant species from all five continents, with a strong emphasis on tropical and subtropical trees, large climbing plants, palms and spectacular specimens like huge fig trees, arranged among paths, ponds, waterfalls and shaded lawns.

The garden also functions as a scientific centre, with herbarium and germplasm collections focused on Canary Island flora, but for visitors it is mainly an accessible, compact “green oasis” where they can walk among dense, mature vegetation and experience a miniature world tour of plants in a mild, humid climate.