The plight of a natural monument
The social archaeology collective Imastanen has sounded the alarm to Canarias Ahora regarding the deteriorating state of one of the most significant heritage and natural jewels in the Tenerife municipality of Arico, in the island’s south: the Arco de Tajao (Tajao Arch). The group warns that this place of great beauty, crowned by this emblematic natural “sculpture,” is suffering the consequences of “overwhelming numbers of visitors,” the “filming of audiovisual productions,” and the recent appearance of white painted arrows. These graffiti not only disfigure the site with inappropriate signage but also intensify the damage and encourage further mass visitation.
Institutional neglect and a call for protection
Members of Imastanen, one of Tenerife’s most active heritage groups, criticize the “institutional abandonment” of the site. They believe it faces a clear threat to its proper conservation, not least because it “has still not been declared a Natural Monument, let alone a Zone of Special Natural Conservation and a Site of Cultural Interest, as our collective has demanded, despite a municipal initiative back in 2021.”
Arico’s rich but threatened heritage
Imastanen acknowledges that Arico is, without a doubt, one of the municipalities preserving the greatest number of archaeological and ethnographic treasures in Tenerife. This is largely because its territory remained relatively free from urban development during the early stages of the current economic model’s imposition in the second half of the 20th century. This not only allowed traditional ways of life linked to the primary sector (livestock and agriculture) to survive until recent times but also ensured the continuity of ancestral traditions in the collective memory of its inhabitants. This memory finds its living witness in the rich local topography and the great diversity of Guanche remains preserved in ravines, valleys, and mountains, in innumerable forms and typologies.
However, they denounce that Arico is now one of the territories most threatened by all kinds of landscape interventions incompatible with respect for the natural environment. The Arco de Tajao has become the latest example of this threat. In this regard, they note they have already censured the “destruction and deterioration of many sites and ethnographic assets in the region,” highlighting the “disinterest shown by different municipal governments, which, beyond promises and excuses, continue to look the other way while many of these values disappear at a catastrophic rate.”
Furthermore, and despite the mandate of Law 11/2019 of 25th April on the Cultural Heritage of the Canary Islands, which orders the creation of municipal catalogues in coordination with the island council (Cabildo), Arico has still not complied with this legal mandate—though it is sadly not an exception on the island.
The historical significance of Barranco de Vijagua
The Arco de Tajao is located in the Barranco de Vijagua or Bijagua, described as “one of the most emblematic ravines in the south of Tenerife due to its extremely high geological and biological value, its ancient history, and its ethnographic importance.” Situated between the coasts of Tabaibarril (Tajao) and Guasiegre, it was from indigenous times one of the points with the greatest human activity in the region and, consequently, a space abundant with rock manifestations, remains of permanent residential structures, vestiges of funerary and ritualistic practices, and spaces for decision-making and gathering.
Transhumance, the varied economic resources offered by these coasts, the perennial water sources—dry ravines today but once humid and fertile—as well as the existence of springs and fountains, supported Guanche populations whose testimony has remained present to this day.
A hub for transatlantic trade
The collective highlights, for example, the exploitation of the famous “piedra chasnera” or “de Guama,” a type of stone used to build palaces and churches throughout the Canaries and America. This made the Barranco de Bijagua a well-traveled route, turning the cove where it ends into a famous landing stage for the transatlantic trade of this peculiar pyroclastic stone, so highly valued in construction for its properties, durability, and aesthetics. This history makes it a place of great ethnographic interest today.
A magical landscape under pressure
Imastanen emphasizes that the so-called Arco de Tajao or de Bijagua is a natural structure of ignimbrite, sculpted by erosion, and part of a magical and captivating landscape. It is an almost supernatural place that still awe-inspires visitors today, thanks to its whimsical rock formations with sweet, enveloping color palettes that change hue under the action of water and light. The timid heartbeat of its tiny antediluvian fauna and the resilient silhouettes of the cardonal-tabaibal scrub, which once recreated authentic vegetative labyrinths, invite the imagination to run wild.
This volcanic caprice has in recent years become one of the most promoted sites in tourist guides and on social media. The tourism industry and institutions themselves showcase it as an attraction to keep drawing visitors without for a moment considering the need to preserve even the scenery of their commercial product. Herein lies the seriousness of the case: an unconscious model is being actively promoted that leads irremediably to collapse,” for which they criticize this institutional irresponsibility.
Visitors and film crews take their toll
Consequently, they warn that the site has been saturated for years with visitors “seeking their photo on the stone arch, stepping, jumping, and traversing without any designated path,” leading to harmful consequences for the structure itself and the natural environment. Furthermore, in recent years, film and advertising shoots have multiplied, with companies taking over the space for days at a time. This involves the deployment of infrastructure, the transit of heavy materials, and the chaotic coming and going of human teams working for production companies.
It’s a disaster permitted and even put out to tender by the authorities, who look the other way while using the landscape as an economic lure, incentivizing investors due to its low externalized cost. In other words, the damage here is not monitored, not paid for, and if someone complains, no explanations will be sought: free service,” they ironize.
Graffiti and accelerated erosion
In this vein, they denounce the appearance of graffiti in the (unprotected) space of the Arco de Tajao. “Upon visiting the area, we verified the presence of numerous white arrows painted on the volcanic rock in a zone adjacent to the arch. With no pathways to preserve the area from the continuous transit of visitors, the site suffers from accelerated erosion. The arrows seem to mark a circuit and could be related to another recent shoot that took place a few months ago.”
The absence of control and surveillance by the competent authorities, not only during the development of such invasive activities but also in relation to the site’s exponential growth as a tourist attraction, speaks clearly of their lack of interest in reconciling profit and conservation. This area possessed abundant indigenous material value, given the cultural importance of such peculiar geological formations, which were considered sacred spaces for meeting and celebration. Unfortunately, the area was never properly studied.
Alarming degradation and lost history
Furthermore, they criticize that currently, “the space is highly degraded, which is alarming since this area always stood out for possessing abundant archaeological materials.” These included fragments of pottery—some decorated—pieces of worked obsidian, malacofauna (shell remains), and caprine (goat) bone remains, which were abundant until not so long ago. “Today we lament the disappearance of all that rich archaeological information that would have shed so much light on our past and indigenous culture,” they censure.
