Playa Diego Hernández is located next to La Caleta in Costa Adeje and since last year it has been a Site of Scientific interest which means camping is illegal in and around this beach, but over the weekend 50 people had to be evicted.
The beach is one of the only gold sand natural beaches in the South of Tenerife and it became a hotspot for campers, tourists and people who live 'off the grid'. Over the years quite a community built up here with people living on the beach, making structures from reclaimed materials and living in tents, heck, there was even one man running a 'bar' here. The beach adopted other names like, 'hippie beach' and 'spaghetti beach' and became synonymous with nature loving, free spirited people.
However, last year the council of Adeje set about clearing the beach and removed the structures, evicted the community living there and restored the beach and cliffs to their natural state. They claimed the beach is now a protected space and cannot be occupied for any reason due to the “irresponsible and unsustainable way that it became before.”
There have been many attempts to re-occupy the beach but since its news status, there has been an increase in surveillance. Today the council of Tenerife reported in a statement that Environment Agents have issued eight sanctions this weekend in the area to people who wanted camp in the beach and cliff area. This is supposedly due to the good weather and the carnival spirit of this time of year, attracting people to the beach.