La Orotava

Can you build a house on rustic land?

Canarias allows houses only inside the rural settlements the town plan marks.

Ley 4/2017, arts. 35 y 60. A town plan can be stricter.

Plan in force: Plan General (a full town plan), from 2004. The region's planning viewer ↗

The national urban information system (SIU) maps the land class for 100% of the municipality.

Only the town hall can confirm it, in writing: ask for a certificado urbanístico.

Is there water?

No well or borehole is recorded in La Orotava. That is not proof there is no water: ask local drillers.

Ground: 84% porous aquifer, medium productivity; 13% low permeability, local groundwater only.

Choosing where to drill takes a hydrogeologist.

What to watch for

• 4 fires since 2016 reached the municipality: 17,873 ha in all, the latest in 2023.
• 0.8% of the municipality lies in the 100-year flood zone; 0.8% in the 500-year one.
• 0.8% of the municipality is preferential flow zone, where new building is generally banned.
• 83% of the municipality is Natura 2000: new works need the region's consent.
• 83% of the municipality is a protected natural area, whose plan limits what can be done.
• Radon zone II: new and restored homes need radon protection by law.

Living here

• 4G reaches 100% of homes; fibre 85%. Averages for the municipality.
• Rain: 231 mm a year (1971–2000), about 132 by 2041–2070.
• Summer highs: 23.1 °C, about 26.3 °C by 2041–2070.
• Frost days: 34 a year, about 9 by 2041–2070.

Around it

Los Realejos · Güímar · Fasnia · Arafo · San Juan de la Rambla · Puerto de la Cruz · Santa Úrsula · La Guancha