Chirche between Cultural Heritage and Rugged Lava Landscape

Chirche is part of “Los Caseríos de Chirche y Aripe”, which is designated as a Bien de Interés Cultural in the category of Historic Site. The historic site of Chirche and Aripe is located in the elevated mid-altitudes of the municipality of Guía de Isora, at 730 to 950 metres above sea level.

Other places: Playa De San Juan, Vera De Erques, Alcalá, Chio

Culture and Rural Heritage

The traditional buildings of the Chirche and Aripe ensemble have thick masonry walls made with mortar consisting of clay and small stones. Chirche’s rural heritage includes agricultural infrastructure such as threshing floors, water tanks and ovens, as well as small terraces and nateros. The communal Los Mesas wine press in Chirche remained in use until the recent past.

Aripe and Chirche have an unusually high number of traditional brick ovens concentrated in a relatively small area; the total ranges from 12 to 14 ovens. The traditional brick ovens in the area around Chirche and Aripe were often used communally in the past.

Nature and Geography

The natural surroundings of Chirche and Aripe feature a rugged landscape shaped by relatively young lava malpaíses as well as older basaltic and trachybasaltic materials from Series II and III. From the Mirador de Chirche, the view extends across the municipality of Guía de Isora from the summit region to the sea; the two small village centres of Aripe and Chirche are also visible. The Mirador de Chirche can be reached from the centre of Guía de Isora or via the TF-38 towards Teide National Park.

Hiking

The PR-TF 69 hiking trail follows the historic Camino de la Cañada to the rural village centre of Chirche. The PR-TF 69 hiking trail can be walked in both directions and can be started from Chío or from the village square of Vera de Erques. The PR-TF 69 is stated to cover 14.6 km and have an estimated duration of six hours.

When choosing a holiday apartment in Chirche, you can compare travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions on the offer pages. You can also specify whether culture, landscape, views, hiking or traditional events should be the desired focus of your trip. This consideration helps you put the desired priorities into words before booking.

Depending on your own travel idea, you can view hiking, views, cultural heritage and traditions as separate focuses. Landscape and culture can remain separate perspectives without requiring you to combine them into a fixed programme.

Traditions

At the Día de las Tradiciones in Chirche, locals and visitors take part in a presentation of traditional Canarian life; this includes exhibitions of old tools, demonstrations of traditional crafts, and presentations of traditional agriculture and livestock farming.

To the overarching travel overview: Guía De Isora.