Each municipality from Gran Canaria is different and in this post we are going to tell you about Artenara, located in the interior west part of the island. A charming place where we can highlight its small village, its cave houses, its 5 view points, several dams and trails. Therefore, there is a lot to see and do in this part of the island. And we have prepared for you a list!
Discover Artenara village
Artenara village is located at an altitude of 1269 meters, being the highest on the island. In the same way, it is the least populated municipality. In general, its urban center is fairly well preserved and most of its houses are white. We can highlight its beautiful Church of San Matías and the Museum of Las Casas Cuevas (the cave houses).
In the same way, Artenara has a large number of viewpoints. Most of them are in the center with a short walking distance. We will show them in the following lines:
1. Viewpoint Balcón de Unamuno
The viewpoint Balcon de Unamuno is a few steps from the church of San Matías. It was built in 1999 to commemorate when the writer and philosopher Miguel de Unamuno stayed at Gran Canaria in 1910. s writer was at Artenara, as well as the stay in Gran Canaria by Spanish writer and philosopher Miguel de Unamuno in 1910.
2. Viewpoint and restaurant La Cilla
This viewpoint is also close to the town center. To access you must cross a cave of about 25 meters and you will reach its terrace with views. The food itself is nothing special and, unfortunately, the service is not either, but you can just have a drink. From this viewpoint you can perfectly see the Roque Bentayga and Roque Nublo Natural Monument.
3.Viewpoint Corazón de Jesús
At the top of La Cilla restaurant we find another viewpoint, the Corazón de Jesús one. With views even better than those of La Cilla, since it is higher and the view also includes the town of Artenara. To get to the Christ you must pass by the entrance of the viewpoint of La Cilla and you will find some stairs that go up the mountain, in 2 minutes you have it.
4. Viewpoint La Atalaya
From here you can see the town closer, as well as the Christ. The viewpoint has several steel sculptures, highlighting the cactus one. This viewpoint is in one of the entrances to the town. We recommend you to stop here with the car if you see it.
5. Viewpoints from the poets
From here you will also have a good view of all the viewpoints and of Artenara in general. In this you will see in different plaques fragments of poets. To get there you will have to go by car on a quite steep road, ask the locals how to get here!
Don’t forget to visit the Virgin of La Cuevita
In one of the caves of Artenara rests the Virgin of La Cuevita, patron of cyclists. This visit is highly recommended, since the location of the virgin is not very common and the views from here are also very good (inside a cave). In the town there are signs that will tell you how to get here on foot.
Los Pérez, Lugarejos and Las Hoyas dams
Just 10 minutes by car from the Artenara village, we have Los Pérez, Lugarejo and Las Hoyas dams. Next to these there are several paths between pine forests, ideal for hiking or running. As you can see in the photos, it is an area of total tranquility. Here there is not much tourism and neither local people, so that you can relax in the middle of nature.
We highlight Los Pérez dam where there are some caves. Almost at the end of the road there was a Bar called Ca ‘Marcelino. Now another owner is managing it and we don’t know how it is, we haven’t come back!
As you can see, next to the dam in the same mountain there are also caves.
Where can you eat around?
Finally, to eat in Artenara we don’t know many places. As we said, we used to go to Ca ‘Marcelino, but this bar is now run by someone else and we have not returned. Even though, the environment where it is located is spectacular, with views of the Los Pérez dam. We have also heard of a Bio-crêperie called El Risco in the town of Artenara that we hope to try soon and be able to tell you about it here.
Rural houses at Artenara
Finally, if you are thinking of renting a rural house or cave house in Artenara, we leave you a link so you can check availability and options. Disconnection guaranteed!
Video of the route through Artenara
We leave you a video of our visit to Artenara (includes Ca Marcelino). Do not miss it and subscribe to our YouTube channel if you have not already done it HERE! Remember that you can activate the English subtitles!
Finally, if you are organizing your next holidays in Gran Canaria and would like to discover the most authentic and hidden places, we invite you to stop by our Guides section of Gran Canaria. Here are our guides with itineraries per day, the complete Guide of Gran Canaria, our Restaurants guide, the Beaches and natural pools guide… We have prepared them with great enthusiasm because we believe that the island deserves to be known for what it really is and not for what that is only known of it. Discover Gran Canaria with us by clicking on the following image.
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