Tenerife is not just volcanoes and sun tourism — it is also an island with a history of colonial hydraulic infrastructure, hotels from the golden age of mass tourism closed since the sector’s reconversion, and abandoned military facilities on its Atlantic cliffs. The abandoned places in Tenerife have a quality of light and subtropical vegetation that does not exist in any other Spanish urbex: structures are covered with tropical ivy at a speed no mainland abandonment can match, creating a unique dense green atmosphere in Spain. Selected from our Urbex Spain Map — 600+ GPS locations across Spain.
Why Tenerife Is a Unique Urbex Destination
The combination of Canarian colonial history, the tourism boom and reconversion of the 60s-90s, and the Atlantic military presence makes Tenerife a unique urbex destination type in Spain. Island abandonments have an additional dimension: insularity protects them from continental development pressure and gives them an atmosphere of isolation that mainland sites rarely achieve.
1. Gordejuel Water Elevator – Tenerife — Abandoned Colonial Hydraulic Infrastructure, Water Tower in the Canarian Landscape (Known Place)
The Gordejuel water elevator in Tenerife is one of the most photogenic pieces of colonial hydraulic infrastructure on the islands — an abandoned water lifting tower that blends into the Canarian landscape with the silent grandeur of structures designed to last centuries. The history of water in the Canary Islands is a story of heroic engineering: on an island without permanent rivers, every drop of water had to be captured, stored, and distributed with a precision that made hydraulic infrastructures the most ambitious engineering works in the archipelago. Documented on EscapadaRural as one of the most unique abandonments in Tenerife.
🔗 Source: EscapadaRural – The Best Abandoned Places in Spain
2. Golden Age Hotel – Coast of Tenerife — Tourist Hotel Closed Since Sector Restructuring, Empty Pools, Atlantic Views (Known Location)
A hotel from the golden age of Canarian mass tourism — closed since the tourism sector’s restructuring in the 90s-2000s, empty pools with peeling blue paint, rooms with the original furniture still in place, and views of the Atlantic from terraces no one visits anymore. The abandoned hotels on the Canarian coasts are the most specifically insular urbex in Spain: only in the Canaries does this type of large tourist hotel from the 60s-70s exist, closed and emptied by the very mass tourism cycle that created it.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Must-See Abandoned Sites in Spain →
3. Coastal Military Installation – Cliffs of Tenerife — Abandoned Atlantic Fort, Artillery Batteries, Ocean Views (Known Location)
A coastal military installation on the cliffs of Tenerife — artillery batteries designed to defend the archipelago from naval attacks, observation posts overlooking the Atlantic, and underground galleries abandoned in the volcanic rock of Tenerife’s coast. Coastal defense of the Canary Islands was a strategic priority during World War II — the islands were the Atlantic refueling point and their control was vital for both sides. The coastal forts of Tenerife are the physical legacy of that strategic tension. Documented by the Canarian urbex community Urbex Canarias.
🔗 Source: Abandoned Spain – Urbex Community Spain
4. Abona Sanatorium – Abades, Arico, Tenerife — 1943 Leper Colony That Never Opened, Ghost Town of 30-40 Buildings, Church with Iconic Cross (Known Place)
In Arico, near the village of Abades, stands the Abona Sanatorium — a small town of about 30-40 buildings built in 1943 by order of the Cabildo as a self-sufficient leper colony to isolate leprosy patients. When it was almost finished, sulfonamides made isolation unnecessary and the complex was left empty before receiving any patients; it had military use until 2000 and has been abandoned for decades. Its concrete church crowned by an iconic cross visible from the southern highway is the most recognized image of Canarian urbex. An exceptionally large complex — hospital, crematorium, administrative buildings, doctors’ residences — in an arid setting on Punta de Abona. Verified and standing in 2026 according to Urbex Maps and multiple local sources.
🔗 Source: Conocer Tenerife – Abona Sanatorium Leper Colony Abades
5. Abandoned Modernist Villa – Northern Tenerife — Early 20th Century Residence, Living Room with Original Tiles, Overgrown Subtropical Garden (Our Map Exclusive)
A early 20th-century villa in northern Tenerife — the living room with its original hydraulic tiles still on the floor, the carved wooden staircase, and the subtropical garden completely overrun by vegetation that in the Canarian climate grows with an urgency no mainland abandonment can match. The villas of the Tenerife bourgeoisie from the early 20th century are the island equivalent of the Asturian indiano houses: buildings that tell the story of a class that made its fortune in banana and cochineal trade and cultivation before tourism rewrote the island’s economy, told in tile and wrought iron. Find it on our map — with access rating and condition report.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous abandoned place in Tenerife?
The Gordejuel Water Elevator — a unique piece of colonial hydraulic infrastructure in the islands, documented in EscapadaRural as one of Tenerife’s most singular abandonments. The hotels from the golden age of Canarian tourism are the most specifically insular and photogenic type on the island.
Why are there abandoned hotels in Tenerife?
Mass tourism in the Canary Islands from the 60s to 80s built more hotel capacity than the market could sustain long-term. The tourism sector’s transformation in the 90s — with tour operators demanding modern facilities, heated pools, and all-inclusive services — made first-generation hotels obsolete within a few years, many of which closed without finding buyers or alternative uses.
What makes urbex in the Canary Islands special compared to the mainland?
The subtropical vegetation of the Canary Islands devours buildings at a speed not seen on the mainland — what would take 30 years to be covered in vegetation in Madrid takes only 10 in Tenerife. Also, the types of abandonment are unique: tourist hotels from the 60s, colonial estates from the 19th century, hydraulic infrastructures with no equivalent on the mainland, and Atlantic forts from World War II.
Safety Tips
- Unstable ground: Tenerife’s volcanic rock can be extremely uneven and sharp — thick-soled footwear is mandatory for any exploration
- Military facilities: some coastal forts have dangerous access over cliffs — never approach any edge without a railing and never enter galleries without lighting and a companion
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and share your location
The urbex code: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
🎯 Summary
The abandoned places in Tenerife range from the colonial water elevator to the hotels from the golden age of tourism and the Atlantic forts of World War II. Each of these 5 abandoned sites in Tenerife captures a different layer of the island that built its history around water, wine, and mass tourism.
Urban Exploration Map Spain
- ✓ 600+ GPS locations across Spain
- ✓ Exclusive locations not found anywhere else
- ✓ Instant access after purchase
- ✓ Free updates forever
€29.99
Explore the 600+ Locations →
