drago park icod guanche experience

Step back in time: New Guanche experience at Drago Park

New cultural attraction in Icod de los Vinos

Drago Park in Icod de los Vinos is continuing its drive to expand its tourist offering with a new initiative from the town’s Tourism Department and Icodtesa, led by Gerardo Rizo. This cultural project shines a spotlight on the municipality’s aboriginal past through a space that recreates the way of life of Tenerife’s ancient inhabitants: the Guanches.

Life and death in Guanche society

The new space allows visitors to get up close to how the Guanches lived, including their habitat and burial practices. It also features an audiovisual reproduction created by local filmmaker Carlos Rodríguez, entitled “Icod de los Vinos, Guanche Territory”, which offers an even deeper insight into the history and culture of this indigenous people and their influence on what Icod de los Vinos is today. Before the arrival of Europeans, this area belonged to the Menceyato of Ycoden, one of the ancient Guanche kingdoms of Tenerife. On these volcanic lands they found a place to settle in caves located on the slopes of ravines and cliffs, which they would adapt to create safe shelters and living spaces.

For the Guanches, death held a special significance. They believed that life continued after death, and so treated their deceased with great respect, using advanced embalming techniques with local raw materials such as natural resins and animal skin wrappings. The Drago tree of Icod de los Vinos, at approximately 800 years old, also occupied a prominent place in their beliefs. Considered a sacred being, it symbolised strength, protection and longevity.

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