Sitio Litre Garden

Sitio Litre Garden garden is exquisitely laid out with walkways, fountains, tropical and subtropical plants and flowers, plus the oldest drago tree in town. The highlight is the orchid walk through the greenhouse, with its well-displayed and signed orchids. There is an inviting terrace cafe and a gift shop. The gardens have an interesting British history, which you can read about in the free leaflet. Take note of the croquet lawn, with everything in place ready for a game. The mansion was built in 1730 and it seems was originally the headquarters and wine cellars of a Dutch wine exporting company. n 1774 it was purchased by a Mr. Archibald Little, a British merchant whose family owned the house until 1854 ,thereby the name Little’s Place, in Spanish SITIO LITRE. Many famous personalities have spent time in SITIO LITRE either as house guests or simply as guests at the numerous garden parties. I can mention Sir Richard Francis Burton, who passed through Tenerife on two occasions between 1860 and 1863. Sir Richard was the first European to enter the holy city of Mecca, dressed as a Muslim, he also discovered lake Tanganika. But he is best known for having translated the three erotic works of the east into English, these being The Kamasutra, The perfumed garden and The Arabian Nights. Many years later Agatha Christie and her daughter Rosalyn were on holiday in Puerto de la Cruz, the year was 1927 and she had just divorced her first husband, she was so inspired by the gardens that she wrote one of her novels, basing the plot in Puerto de la Cruz, The mysterious Mr.Quin. The first of all these guests should not be forgotten, he was one of the world’s most famous discoverers and botanist. The famous German explorer Alexander Von Humboldt, he was the guest of honour at a party given for him on June 23rd 1799 by Mr Archibald Little. The house is still a private residence but the owners have decided to open the gardens to visitors. The property has been owned continuously by British families since 1774.