Bosque del Adelantado

Adelantado Forest is a small pocket of laurel forest located very close to the historic center of La Esperanza. The vast majority of the forest area in this municipality was cut down to use the land for agricultural purposes. This fragment of forest has preserved, since it was used by the residents of the area to supply firewood and wood. The forest receives this name because the conqueror of the island, Alonso Fernández de Lugo, passed through this place when fleeing from the Guanches with the soldiers who survived the first battle of Acentejo, heading to his camp which was located in Añaza. It is said that the place La Esperanza, or The Hope, got its name from the fact that the fleeing Spaniards hoped to escape from the Guanches. Fernández de Lugo held the title of Adelantado, a distinction that was granted to people who undertook an important action by royal mandate. Hence the name given to this piece of forest. The vegetation of this forest fragment is mainly made up of laurels and heather.