Dragos Gemelos

Dragos Gelemos Mike Peel/CC BY-SA 4.0

The Canary Islands are home to many beautiful dragon trees, some of which are thought to be over a millennium old. These trees were once considered sacred by the natives, revering them for their unique look and blood-like sap. The largest of such trees is a pair of dragons in Breña Alta that have been growing in place there for several hundred years.

The Dragos Gemelos are best known for the tragic legend tied to them. The tale holds that a pair of twins named Urunte and Timizara fell in love with the same girl. They fought each other for her hand, but sadly neither survived the battle. The object of their affections, Urbina, was immensely saddened by the outcome, for she loved both men. To commemorate them, she planted two dragon trees in the location where they died. Today we can still see these trees, with the blood of the twins coursing through them, seemingly still fighting each other for Urbina.

It is very hard to say how old the trees are without cutting them down, but estimates place them between 200 and 300 years. They are believed to be the same age due to the evenness of the trees’ crowns.

Know Before You Go

The trees are freely accessible, just follow the google directions and they will bring you there. One warning though, the location is on the elbow of an inclined sharp bend in the road, so do watch out where parking the car, as other cars tend to come by with high speed and low visibility.