Both the Santiago Apóstol and Nuestra Señora de la Concepción churches act as examples of the people’s devotion and the importance of the Church in the history of Los Realejos.
Santiago Apóstol church [First Church of St. James the Apostle] was declared a National Heritage Site, under the category of ‘Monument’ in 1983 and was the first Christian church to be built in Tenerife. Nuestra Señora de la Concepción church [First Church of Our Lady of the Conception], which dates back to the early 1512, was declared a Cultural Heritage Site, under the category of ‘Monument’, in 2003.
The sanctuary of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (El Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Carmen), which was built in the 20th century, was designed especially to house the image of the virgin, which is the Honorary and Perpetual Mayor of Los Realejos and the Patron of the Valley of Orotava.
Apart from these main churches, other interesting sites of worship draw the community together in celebration, namely the Nuestra Señora del Buen Viaje [Our Lady of Safe Travels] church, located in Icod el Alto; the Nuestra Señora de los Dolores [Our Lady of Sorrows] church, in Palo Blanco (which no longer houses objects of worship, given the construction of a new church nearby); and the Santa Cruz [Holy Cross] church, in Cruz Santa neighbourhood.
The churches of San Cayetano [St. Cajetan], located in La Montaña, and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe [Our Lady of Guadalupe], located in Toscal, were built in the 20th century.
