Valle Gran Rey:
The municipal district of Valle Gran Rey corresponds to the prehistoric canton of Orone, where the most powerful of the indigenous kings resided. After the conquest the colonization of the territory was begun in the upper area where the Counts of La Gomera situated one of their main residences. Administrative independence was produced in 1812 on separating from the district of Chipude. The seat of the new Administration was installed in Arure which gave its name to the district. The occupation of the lower part of the district, the valley proper, was not undertaken until the second half of the 18th century; crops of bananas and tomatoes were introduced for exportation at the end of the 19th century, taking advantage of the founding/growth of Guadá. This sparked remarkable economic and demographic growth in the coastal area where the main population centres of the district, Vueltas and La Calera, are situated; the seat of the district was moved to La Calera in 1950 and the name of the municipal district was changed to Valle Gran Rey. Nowadays, the greater part of the population of the district is spread along the edges of the ravine, among small vegetable gardens and date palms, which form a landscape of extraordinary beauty. The main villages in the middle zone of the valley are Los Descansaders, Lomo del Balo, La Vizcaína, Higueras del Llano, Hornillo, Retamal, Chelé, Los Granados and Los Reyes, and in the lower zone El Guro, Casa de la Seda, La Playa, La Calera, La Puntilla and Vueltas. The village of Vueltas is home to a little port, touchstone for an important fishing activity. Outside of the valley the villages of Taguluche, Las Hayas and Arure are found, the latter two bordering the Garajonay National Park. The sharp relief of the district with its deep ravines, like the Valle Gran Rey, and vertical cliffs, like that of La Mérica, have conditioned communication until quite recently. Previously, there were only steep winding roads, which are now a delight for hikers. The tradition economy of the districts has been based on agriculture for exportation, fishing on the coast, and crops grown for local consumption (potatoes, vegetables and other garden produce) on the small terraces of the interior and at medium altitudes. Palm trees have not only been a complement to the landscape and to the culture of the agrarian land, but also an economic boon due to their dates and extracting of guarapo (sap used for making palm honey), and for the crafting of palm leaves. But agriculture has lost its importance lately, both in the crops for exportation as well as those grown on medium altitudes, as also has the fishing industry. In their place a special residential as well as eventual tourism has grown up, thanks to the mild climate, the beaches (La Playa, Playa del Inglés, and Playa de Argaga),the beautiful landscapes, and in the rise of economical lodging in those houses abondoned by the rural exodus, which have been renovated with tourism in mind. Moreover, many apartments have been built in La Puntilla and in La Playa, and services related to tourism have increased. Communications with other areas have also been improved with the inclusion of a hydrofoil line that joins the small port of Vueltas with those of San Sebastián and Los Cristianos.
The district of Valle Gran Rey has abundant traces of its pre-Hispanic past. A few houses such as those at Arure pertain to an historical era, as do the hermitage of San Nicolás de Tolentino, recently renovated although its original structure dates from 1515, and the hermitage of La Adoración de los Reyes, also built in 1515, but renovated at the beginning of this century, so that it actually retains the only original rude font of Holy Water and a small altarpiece.
