Drago Tree of Icod de los Vinos

Local name: Drago de Icod de los Vinos

Centuries-old dragon tree, around 20 metres tall with over 300 main branches, in a garden park in Icod de los Vinos

The Drago Milenario is the largest and oldest living specimen of the dragon tree, Dracaena draco, and stands in the Parque del Drago in Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife. It is around 20–21 metres tall, about 20 metres round the trunk and estimated to weigh some 140 tonnes. Its age is disputed, with around 800–1,000 years the usual estimate. Declared a national monument in 1917, it is one of the symbols of Tenerife and appears on the coat of arms of Icod de los Vinos.

Botanical Garden Historical landmark

Entrance: Parque del Drago: €5 adults, €3 children; student discount with an ISIC or student card. Cards accepted. The tree can be seen free of charge from the town square next to the park.
Accessibility: No wheelchair-accessible parking and no wheelchair-accessible seating. The tree can also be seen from the town square outside the park.
Parking: Parking del Drago, a paid car park about 250 m away; free and paid street parking in town.
Difficulty: No approach to speak of: the park is in town, about 250 m from the car park and 180 m from the bus stop, and the visit follows garden paths.
Transport: Bus stop Matadero, about 180 m away.
Hours: Parque del Drago: daily 8:00–20:00. The view from the town square is open at any time.
Address: C. Arcipreste Ossuna, 1, 38430 Icod de los Vinos, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

What makes it special

The tree is bigger than any photo of it suggests. The trunk measures around 20 metres round, and more than 300 main branches fork out of it into a dense crown that tops out at 20–21 metres — about the height of a six-storey building. Inside the trunk is a hollow six metres high, closed by a door, with a fan installed to keep the air moving and hold off fungus.

Nobody agrees on its age. A 1907 study from Zurich put it at 2,500 years, a 1975 study capped it at 350, and the figure usually given is 800–1,000. When it flowered in 1995 it put out around 1,800 flowering branches and gained 3.5 tonnes while fruiting. It was declared a national monument in 1917 and appeared on the 1,000-peseta note.

Around it, the Parque del Drago has garden paths with signs on plants and wildlife, benches, banana plants and a lawn of herbs — mint, rosemary, basil.

Good to know

You can see the tree without a ticket: it is in plain view from the town square next to the park and from the Casa del Drago café.
The park has toilets, benches and a café inside; free public toilets also stand about 60 m from the tree.
The park also has a cave, which is not always open — ask at the entrance if you want to see it.
Wear proper shoes for the garden paths.
The Casa Museo Los Cáceres, about 110 m away, houses a tourist information office.

Getting there

The Parque del Drago sits in the middle of Icod de los Vinos, beside the town square, so the last stretch is a walk through town streets. Drivers have Parking del Drago, a paid car park about 250 m away, and there is both free and paid street parking in town. By bus, the Matadero stop is about 180 m away. The tree shows above the park walls from the square before you reach the entrance.

Best time to visit

Best: soon after the park opens in the morning.

Avoid: late morning to early afternoon, when coach tours of the north of the island make their stop.

The Drago is a fixed stop on island tours, and the garden paths are at their quietest before the groups arrive; rain costs little here, since the tree and the view from the square do not depend on the weather.

Things to do nearby

All tours in Icod de los Vinos on GetYourGuide

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Sun & daylight

Historical landmark

Parish Church of Saint Mark the Evangelist

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