What to see in Los Silos, between Aregume mountain and the sea

Los Silos is a small town in north-west Tenerife, at the foot of the Teno massif. What there is to see fits into one stroll: Plaza de la Luz, the church of Nuestra Señora de la Luz and the former convent of San Sebastián, now a library, exhibition room and visitor centre. Below lies the coast, with seawater rock pools. Above rise the Teno hills. And in December comes the International Storytelling Festival.

The old town and Plaza de la Luz

Aregume mountain shelters the old town from the north winds. The town grew along the Camino Real, the old road linking Garachico and Buenavista. Its heart is Plaza de la Luz, around which the main buildings went up. It was remodelled in 1923, when it gained its central bandstand, a perimeter wall and symmetrical flowerbeds.

Take a walk through the cobbled streets. Turismo de Tenerife picks out three: Félix Benítez de Lugo, with a neoclassical-influenced front; Doctor Jordán, with a neo-Canarian regionalist house at number 23; and Calle del Olivo, with twentieth-century town buildings. The town hall occupies the Casa de los Trujillos, with sash windows, overhanging eaves and wooden joinery. On Plaza del Calvario stands the Calvario chapel, with a twentieth-century neo-Gothic enclosure.

The church of Nuestra Señora de la Luz

It stands on Plaza de la Iglesia, on the site of the town's first chapel, which already existed by the mid-sixteenth century. It became a parish in 1605. In the early twentieth century the architect Mariano Estanga remodelled it: he kept the old dressed-stone front and set a new neo-Gothic one before it, with a central bell tower.

Inside, look for three images: the Cristo de la Misericordia, attributed to the Andalusian Juan de Mesa; the Señor de la Humildad y la Paciencia, from the mid-seventeenth century; and the Virgen de la Luz, which tradition says a Portuguese fisherman found on the shore. Her camarín, the chapel behind the altar, dates from the second half of the eighteenth century. No official source gives visiting hours.

The former convent of San Sebastián

It stands at Plaza de la Luz 2. It was a convent of Bernardine nuns, founded in 1649, and it nearly closed twenty years later; Bishop Bartolomé García Ximénez saved it with his own income. In 1836 it was seized under the disentailment laws and passed to the State, and in the twentieth century it housed the town hall. It keeps its cloister, with simple wooden galleries.

It is listed as a historic-artistic monument and has been restored. Today it houses the public library, an exhibition room and the Visitor Centre. It is a good place to start your visit.

A farming town

The name comes from the three grain stores built in the area. Farming was the backbone of the economy: cereals, sugar cane and vines. Today the town is ringed by banana plantations. On Sundays there is a farmers' market.

The coast: rock pools and salt pans

The Los Silos coast has natural pools and rock pools in the volcanic stone. Charco Los Chochos lies next to Charco de La Araña, with stone steps and a handrail. Charco del Cumplido is at La Caleta de Interián, beside the La Caleta salt pans, which local families have worked for generations. None has a lifeguard. Each one wants a different tide: we cover that in the natural pools guide.

Natural pools in north Tenerife

The hills: Teno, Interián and the trails

Part of the municipality lies inside Teno Rural Park. It also takes in part of the Interián Site of Scientific Interest, shared with El Tanque and Garachico. This is a stretch of cliff and the slope below it, covering 101.8 hectares. It protects a remnant of thermophilous woodland and endemic, threatened plants such as *Sideritis kuegleriana* (chahorra) and *Cheirolophus webbianus* (cabezón).

Three official trails reach the old town: the PR-TF 53 comes down from Erjos through the Cuevas Negras ravine and the PR-TF 54 by way of Las Moradas; the PR-TF 55 climbs to Talavera and El Palmar. The PR-TF 53 ends at Plaza de la Iglesia, where TITSA bus 363 stops (stop 4453), according to Tenerife ON. Distances, climbs and how to get back are in the Erjos and Monte del Agua guide.

Erjos and Monte del Agua walks

The Storytelling Festival and other festivities

The Los Silos International Storytelling Festival began in 1996 and is held every year in December, according to Turismo de Tenerife. The 2024 edition was the 29th, with events from 11 November to 8 December: storytelling sessions for children and adults, workshops, talks, book launches and theatre. The festival website is cuentoslossilos.es.

In September comes the Boreal Festival, devoted to music and the environment, with turtle releases, recycling workshops, concerts and an eco-tourism fair. 2026 saw its 19th edition. In the same month, 8 September is a local holiday for Nuestra Señora de la Luz; the other local holiday in 2026 was 24 June, San Juan.

Plaza de la Luz

Heart of the old town · remodelled in 1923, with a central bandstand

Church of La Luz

Plaza de la Iglesia · parish since 1605 · neo-Gothic front

Former San Sebastián convent

Plaza de la Luz 2 · 1649 · library, exhibitions and Visitor Centre

Farmers' market

Sundays, 9:00–14:00 according to Turismo de Tenerife

Storytelling Festival

Every December, since 1996

Bus

TITSA route 363, Los Silos stop (4453)

From Finca Julia

Los Silos lies west of Icod, beyond Garachico, on the way to Buenavista and Teno. A simple plan: the old town, church and convent in the morning, then a rock pool in the afternoon if the sea allows. If you walk, come down from Erjos through Cuevas Negras and return by bus. And on a Sunday, start with the market.

Towns near Icod

Garachico, on the way to Los Silos

Teno Alto: trails and how to get there

Walks near Icod

Frequently asked questions

When is the Los Silos Storytelling Festival?

Every December, since 1996, according to Turismo de Tenerife. For each edition's dates, check the festival website, cuentoslossilos.es.

Where can you swim in Los Silos?

In the rock pools along the coast: Los Chochos, next to Charco de La Araña, and Charco del Cumplido, at La Caleta de Interián. There are no lifeguards. Check the tide and the sea first.

What is in the former San Sebastián convent?

The public library, an exhibition room and the Visitor Centre. It keeps its cloister with wooden galleries.