Betancuria: Old Town, Cultural Heritage and Hiking Trails

Betancuria has two clearly distinct sides: the historic old town with its churches and museums, and the landscapes and hiking trails throughout the municipality. This distinction is helpful when planning your trip: the heritage sites provide a focus for visiting the town, while the protected landscape and hiking trails offer a different perspective on the municipality. This lets you decide in advance whether you are more interested in religious buildings, collections or scenic routes.

Churches, Old Town and Museums

The Church of Santa María de Betancuria is located in the centre of the historic old town. Rebuilt after its destruction, the present-day church combines Gothic, Mudéjar, Renaissance and Baroque elements. It is also protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest in the Monument category. The old town itself was recognised as a heritage site in 1979. You will therefore encounter different aspects of cultural heritage: the protection status of the individual church and the recognition of the historic town centre.

The old town offers guided tours of its numerous religious buildings. If you would like to include a tour in your plans, check the availability of specific tours before your trip. The Museum of Sacred Art displays paintings, sculptures, priestly vestments and goldsmith works that are representative of the island’s sacred art. Current visiting conditions may vary; check them before your visit.

The Betancuria Archaeological Museum offers a different thematic focus. Two exhibition rooms are devoted to the material culture of the indigenous people and their spiritual world. By comparison, the Museum of Sacred Art focuses on religious works of art and objects. The descriptions of the two collections thus give you different points of reference when choosing which museum to visit; current visiting conditions may also vary here.

San Buenaventura offers another glimpse into the town’s history. The walls of the monastery church remain, while only the foundations of the monastery are left. The Franciscan Monastery of San Buenaventura represents the first monastic mission established in the Canary Islands. An annual event is the festival in honour of San Buenaventura on 14 July. If you would like to plan your trip around it, check the current programme in advance.

Landscape and Hiking Trails in the Municipality

For the landscape perspective, the geographical context is important: the protected Parque Rural de Betancuria covers 91.2 per cent of the municipality of Betancuria. Its geomorphological and ethnographic value is the reason for its protection. The Las Peñitas viewpoint is also within the municipality of Betancuria. From there, you can see a green oasis and a small lake fringed by native plants. These details describe the wider municipality, not just the historic town centre.

The hiking trail descriptions also offer different points of reference. The Antigua–Degollada de Marrubio–Betancuria trail leads into the Betancuria Massif; from the summit, it offers views of the hilly landscape and Fuerteventura’s central plain. The Betancuria Trail starts in Betancuria and, after an ascent and a crossing over the mountains, descends to the Embalse de las Peñitas reservoir. The first route therefore focuses on the summit views, while the second follows the described route to the reservoir. Check trail conditions before setting out.

Planning Information

Betancuria’s virtual tourist office provides town maps, visitor guides to the surrounding area, promotional videos and 360-degree views. The content available online may change. Together with the specific information about guided tours, the festival programme and trail conditions, these materials offer different starting points for planning: you can explore the historic townscape, collections or the described scenic routes without having to combine these themes into a set itinerary.

Discover more destinations: Tindaya, Tesejerague, Pájara, Ajuy, Tuineje, Caldereta, Llanos De La Concepción, Antigua.

For the main travel overview: Fuerteventura.