Isle of Tenerife

Holiday in Santa Úrsula, Tenerife

Santa Ursula Vacation - relax with spectacular views

Map TenerifePerched as it is on a natural balcony, the town and wider municipality of Santa Úrsula looks across the tourist resort of Puerto de la Cruz and the lush Orotava Valley, taking in some of the most breathtaking views to be found anywhere on the island.

Santa Úrsula also enjoys something of a gastronomic reputation, offering a wide variety of bars and restaurants, many featuring typical Canarian dishes while others cater for the demands of more cosmopolitan tastes.

Despite some tourism encroachment from Puerto, the area remains predominantly agricultural, famed for its abundant crop of wine, bananas, cereals, exotic plants and carnations.

Most of the restaurants are found along the old general road, once the main arterial route around the island but now superceded by the motorway network.

Scores of small bodegas and so called guachinches can be found dotted around the area, all specialising in the rich, fruity and heady red wines of the Tacoronte-Acentejo region, of which Santa Úrsula is part and which are generally regarded to be among the best on the island. Typical restaurants with canarian specialities and wine from the local viticulture area take care of your physical well-being.

The coastal area of Santa Úrsula, referred to as La Quinta, has seen much development in recent years, though it retains an up-market feel thanks to the natural vegetation and the modern but tasteful design of the property.

Much of Santa Úrsula's coastline is part of the Acantilados del Sauzal, where the sea has carved open the giant cliffs to reveal the structure formed by an accumulation of successive lava flows.

Apart from endemic plant species, the area is also a sanctuary and breeding ground for sea birds such as shearwaters.

The upper reaches of Santa Úrsula, known as Las Laderas de Santa Úrsula, contain areas of great environmental and scenic importance.

 

The History of Santa Úrsula
The town is named after a Cornish princess

The town Santa Úrsula takes its name from a legendary third-century British princess, said to have been the daughter of Deonotus, King of Cornwall. Canon, the son of Aggripinius, another British king, sought her hand in marriage, but Ursula had made a vow of perpetual virginity. With a large company of maidens, she set out on a pilgrimage of the Holy places in Rome, and then to Rome, where she was received with great honour by the Bishop of Rome.
Canon sought her in Rome, where he learnt of her vow. He was converted and baptised, taking the name of Etherius. He journeyed with Ursula and her maidens to Cologne where they were attacked by the Huns, and Canon and the maidens were slain.

Ursula was taken to the Hun leader, who fell in love with her and wished to marry her. She rejected his offer and, in his anger, he shot three arrows into her breast, killing her.

The town church dedicated to her is one of the oldest on the island, founded in 1587. It contains several interesting holy carvings in ivory, wood and marble.

 

Holiday destinations around Santa Úrsula

The closest vacation spots around Santa Úrsula you can get to are Los Realejos, La Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz, La Victoria de Acentejo, La Matanza, El Sauzal and Tacoronte.

 

 

 

 

Holidays in Santa Úrsula in Tenerife North: Accommodation and holiday rentals such as a holiday home, vacation home, hotel, apartment, bed and breakfast, lodging, guest house, pension, inn, chalet, bungalow, villa, cottage or country house. Vacation and holiday in hotels, apartments, holiday houses and other vacation rentals in Santa Ursula in the north of Tenerife.