The ghost town of Abades
You won’t find the ghost town of Abades in any tourist guides, no doubt because of its past, but it’s still an intriguing place to visit. Located on the south-east coast of Tenerife, near Abades, the Leprosario is a former leper colony that was never completed. It was built during the 1940s, under Franco’s regime, as a place to isolate those suffering from leprosy.
This settlement was closed in 1998, abandoned and left to fall into ruin. Since then, the so-called Ghost Town has become a point of interest due to the alleged presence of ghosts amongst its ruins.
The best way to get there is from the Granadilla lighthouse. You can get there from the TF-1 by taking the Porís de Abona exit, which has some extraordinary coves where you can go for a swim; I recommend having a swim after the walk.
From Porís, there is a road that takes you to the Granadilla lighthouse, which is visible from the road. Leave your car at the lighthouse and start the walk from there.
You can’t miss it because you’ll immediately see the ruined buildings; it’s a fascinating and very interesting route. The main building is the church, which stands in the centre of the village; the streets, of course, no longer exist—they’re just dirt tracks.
The village possesses a desolate beauty, nestled in a dry, almost desert-like landscape, with views of the sea in the distance. The contrast between the harshness of the landscape and the eerie silence of the abandoned structures makes it look like something out of a post-apocalyptic film.
As a visitor, I felt a shiver run down my spine when entering some of the houses; I haven’t seen any ghosts, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
