Gordejuela Water Elevator

The ruins of Gordejuela Water Elevator, built in 1903 by the Hamilton Company, can be gazed from San Pedro Lookout and from many places around the Protected Landscape of Rambla de Castro.

The construction of this elevator is a unique feat, given the rugged and steep land on which it was built and the installation of the first steam machine of the Island. Its aim was to use water streaming from Gordejuela to move a mill and take water to banana plantations in both Realejo Alto and Realejo Bajo municipalities.

Water was forever present in this area, making it one of the greenest, richest and most fertile areas on the island. Besides the beautiful palm groves, the vegetation of this landscape includes a number of species which have adapted to unfavourable conditions with an abundance of typical coastal plants, such as ‘cardones’ [big cactuses] and ‘tabaibas’, as well as dragon trees: the most representative tree of the Canary Islands.