Tafada Mountain Watchtower or Risco Bermejo Watchtower

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Historic sites · Year: S. XVI

From very early on, there were three observation points, watchtowers or lookouts (Tafada, El Sabinal and Igueste) in the Anaga massif, whose mission was to observe and warn by means of an optical signalling code the arrival of vessels that posed any danger or risk to the port of Santa Cruz and, by extension, to the rest of the island.  

Of these surveillance points, the most remote and inaccessible was the one installed, since the 16th century, on the heights of Tafada mountain, a place also known as Risco Bermejo. Its location, at the northeastern tip of the Anaga peninsula, and its height above sea level offer a wide panoramic view of the horizon, covering the North-Northeast maritime sector, the most frequently used route by fleets and ships seeking the port of Santa Cruz. The strategic importance of the place from the maritime signalling point of view would be confirmed centuries later with the installation of the Anaga lighthouse in these parts.

We know that a watchtower had already been established in Tafada since 1599, although its function was always occasional. The post probably had a small construction, possibly circular in shape and made of stone, very similar to the pens or "goros" that exist in the area. 

The Tafada watchtower, the northernmost, could not be seen directly from the port of Santa Cruz, so its signals were relayed to other intermediate stations (El Sabinar and Igueste) so that the information could finally reach the castle of San Cristóbal.

This surveillance point operated intermittently due to lack of personnel and funds for its maintenance. On numerous occasions throughout its history, the duties of watchman were carried out by locals from the nearby hamlets of Chamorga, Las Palmas de Anaga, Roque Bermejo, La Cumbrilla and other population centres in the area.

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