A day trip to the Palmetum in Tenerife takes you to an old landfill that has been transformed into a gem of a paradise.
Sometimes you are looking for an attraction to organize a day trip. You have already undertaken a number of them but found that many of these tourist locations are very busy and you want to take it a bit easier for once. Perhaps the Palmetum is what you are looking for.
The Palmetum in Santa Cruz is a 12-hectare botanical garden where a large palm tree family is on display; a unique and singular project where a landfill was transformed into a botanical floral garden. In this realization, various world-renowned organizations and institutes have collaborated to give the park the largest collection of island palm trees in the world.
Waste Mountain
The slogan “¡Palmetum Tenerife te gustará!” did not come about by chance. The park was opened to the public in 2014 after a remarkable history, which narrates the background, cause, and motivation of the 20 years that preceded this opening. It all started in the early 1970s when a landfill became too high and another destination was sought for this piece of land. The landfill officially closed in 1983, by then it was already 40 meters high and spread stench and dust particles throughout the surrounding area. Not healthy, so!!
Degassing
A complete renovation and reorganization of the area was necessary when the auditorium was planned. The idea to create an overview of palm trees was conceived in the early 1990s by engineer-agronomist Manuel Caballero.
Around 1995-’96, the idea became a design and thereafter a realization costing €4 million. Not only did the construction of the botanical garden cost a lot of money, but the removal, neutralization, and remediation of the landfill soil also consumed a significant part of the budget. A degassing installation was placed to capture the gases from the fermenting subsoil.
Completion
In the meantime, Mr. Caballero and his team were preparing to create a complete collection of palm trees. Not just any collection of palm trees but exclusively specimens that grew on islands would be displayed. Between 1997 and 1999, the octagonal museum, the palm museum, artificial rivers and lakes, waterfalls, and technical facilities were built. The museum park took shape and color. Great care was taken with the planting because palm trees from New Guinea, Borneo, and the Philippines could not be bordered with South European grasses. So, attention was paid to that as well.
Species such as Roystonea, Sabal, Cocos, Elaeis, and Acoelorraphe were brought in and planted, along with more than a hundred other medium-sized palm species. The collection grew and became complete. Not without setbacks, because there are a number of trees that did not survive the transport and replanting. It took years before all the desired species could continue to live in the Palmetum. Eventually, more than 400 species of palm trees are on display that you can admire during a day trip to the Palmetum in Tenerife. A unique feature.
Waiting Period
Between 2000 and 2006 was a waiting period. Not literally, of course, but these waiting years were necessary for integration, further growth, and to stimulate the maintenance of the trees and crops. During this period, the park was further planted with the Baobab, Araucaria, mangroves, and Dictyocaryum lamarckianum or potbelly palm.
In the meantime, the park already received specialized visitors: at the end of 2004, the French group Fous de Palmiers came on an official visit and experienced the nearly completely finished site. The group was impressed.
Between 2007 and 2009, more beautification works were carried out at the museum park, mainly at the location of the former landfill, which by then had been half planted, but where the government was still capturing methane gases. In 2010, the final works began to enhance the overall picture; walking paths were laid and asphalted, utilities finished, electricity and lighting optimized, sanitary facilities and garden furniture placed, information brochures printed, and especially, a landmark constructed consisting of a bridge and a tower.
Finally Open
In October 2011, all works were carried out and a select pre-opening could take place attended by many personalities and famous figures from the botanical world. Two years later, in the fall of 2013, the Palmetum was opened for the first time to a ‘small’ public. More than 2000 city dwellers visited the still unknown palm museum where all flora, trees, and shrubs are related to the palm tree.
Finally, after 18 years of thinking, planning, building, and cultivating, on January 28, 2014, the Palmetum was officially opened in the presence of the Princes Don Felipe and Doña Letizia, now King and Queen of Spain.
The collection is complete. There are palm trees from Africa, Asia, Australia, Central Asia, Central America, Madagascar, Hawaii, New Caledonia, Melanesia, the Mascarenes, and of course also from the Canary archipelago.
Palmetum
The park is now open to the general public. The entrance fees are divided as follows: – Adults: €6.00 (resident: €3.00) – Children: €2.80 (resident: 1.50) – Resident +65 years: €1.50 – Children < 2 years: free Opening hours: every day (including Sundays and holidays) from January 1 to October 1 from 10:00 to 19:00 (entrance open until 18:00) from October 1 to June 1 from 10:00 to 18:00 (entrance open until 17:00)
More information is available on the website in Spanish, English, and Russian.
Pixabay © Photography
Day Trip to the Palmetum in Tenerife ©
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