If during your stay in Gran Canaria you are going to visit Tejeda, you can’t miss the Roque Bentayga Natural Monument. It is one of the most representative monuments of the island’s landscape. This geological formation was used by the Canarian aborigines as a fortress, until the Castilian troops arrived at the end of the 15th century. It is an archaeological site that contains different caves, walls, inscriptions and cave paintings. It also stands out for hosting the Bentayga almogarén, a place associated with the religious practices of the ancient canaries.
Apparently, the location and design of the Bentayga’s almogarén is naturally aligned with the Roque Nublo and indicates its astronomical use as an equinoctial marker. As you can imagine, it is a place full of energy and with spectacular views of the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria. In this post we are going to tell you everything you need to know to visit it, don’t miss the video at the end!
Hiking to Roque Bentayga Natural Monument
First of all, you should know that you have the possibility of ascending Roque. To get on foot there is a delimited path and it is less than 2 kilometers, although with quite a difference in height. This route is also suitable for children, since the path is well marked and the distance is short. It took us less than an hour with breaks to take photos and visit the area.
There is a parking lot before the start of the route where you can leave your car without problem. As we always tell you, avoid leaving things in sight in your car.
Views to the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria
As we said before, from the top you will have spectacular views of the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. At the foot of the Roque Bentayga, next to the parking, you can visit the Interpretation Center. Here they will explain much better than us the archaeological complex of the Sierra de Bentayga. The entrance is free.
From here you can also see perfectly the village of Tejeda and the Roque Nublo Natural Monument. Given its similarity, depending on where we are in Gran Canaria, you could confuse the Bentayga with the Nublo. Pay attention!
On the other hand, without a doubt, the best time to visit this area is during the months of January and February, since it coincides with the flowering of the almond tree.
Roque Bentayga Natural Monument in the basket
If you like photography, on the way to Roque Bentayga, once past the town of Tejeda, we find this great basket. Here you can take one of the most instagrammable pictures of Gran Canaria framing the Roque Bentayga in the background. A nice memory from your trip to Gran Canaria Island! Tag us or mention us @welovegrancanaria, we will be very happy!
Hiking in Tejeda
From the Tejeda basket starts a very beautiful hiking route that we recommend you to do if you have enough time. It goes through the famous Charco de La Paloma, Cruz de Timagada and La Culata de Tejeda. During this route you will enjoy awesome views to Roque Bentayga and Roque Nublo. You can also have a look at the circular track that departs from Cruz de Tejeda with awesome views to Roque Bentayga at our hiking in Gran Canaria section.
Video of the route to Bentayga
Finally, below we leave you with the video of the route to Roque Bentayga Natural Monument, we hope you like it. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel if you haven’t already! You can activate the English subtitles in all our videos 🙂
Local guides of Gran Canaria
Finally, wouldn’t it be nice to forget about planning the places to visit and where to eat on the island? Then, by clicking on the following image, you can see all of our Gran Canaria travel guides so that you can discover the island on your own without leaving anything behind.
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