Route Archaeological and Water

The Necropolis de Arteara, of Cultural Interest, occupies an expanse of two kilometres squared. This site, with its enclave in the municipality of San Bartolome de Tirajana, is made up of more than a thousand burial mounds where the aboriginal bodies were buried.

In this necropolis there is a mound known by the locals as the Rey (King). On the one summer day of solstice, the sun illuminates this site; because of this, many studies conclude that the sacred aboriginal sites of the islands had strong astronomical ties.

This Archaeological Park, situated at the base of the Roque del Bentayga, has an eco-museum/learning centre that provides equally as an archaeological complexity of rocks (Bentayga, Andén de Tabacalete, Cuevas del Rey and el Roquete) as it does its surroundings.

The caves of this park are made to be homes, funeral homes, granaries, and places of worship.  This was the place, with extraordinary views of the south and west of the island, where in 1990 two caves were discovered with Arab-Berber alphabetical engravings.

El Roque Nublo (1,813 m.) and the Roque Bentayga crown the great hollow of Tejeda, arising from an immense sunken crater around which the mountain arises, crowned by diverse rocks. In the shade of the rocks the charming village of Tejeda can be found, known for its almond trees in blossom, its bienmesabe (fried milk) and marzipan.

Between its whitewashed homes, the parochial church of Nuestra Señora del Socorro, together with the sculpture museum Abraham Cárdenes, the centre of medicinal plants and the ethnography museum, they make up the sites of cultural and artistic interest that most represent this municipality.

Artenara has the most remarkable crater on the island: the Caldera of Tejeda, joining with the mountain masses of Altavista and Tamadaba. The numerous homes built into the caves and the Virgin of the Cuevita (little cave) Hermitage are two things that stand out in Artenara.

Also important are the archaeological sites, leading to chief discoveries as to the Canary aborigine.  Two of such are the Cuevas del Caballero (Gentlemen’s Cave) and the Cueva de Los Candiles, found to be decorated by cave drawings of an abundance of pubic triangles and other such symbols associated with the sexuality of a woman. It is important to note that these two caves can only be visited by permission of the Cultural Ministry and the Historical Heritage and Culture Council of Gran Canaria. 

Situated in the municipality of Artenara is an archaeological ensemble made up of inhabitable caves, funeral sites and granaries that are distributed in various nuclei located below the tableau of Acusa ( Acusa Seca, The Candelaria, Fortamaga, the Hornillo and Acusa Verde) providing trails that run along the base of the tableau.

In these so-called “cave rooms” the modifications that have been done to the interiors such as cupboards, stands and lateral rooms stand out. Some of these caves have been formed naturally, while others have been excavated manually from the rock, in a form characteristic of Gran Canaria, which remained current until the seventies with the construction of the nucleus of Candelaria.

The artistic legacy of Aldea of san Nicolás has been left by its important collection of decorative stamps and idols made of mud and stone, conserved in the Canario Museum.

Among its archaeological sites, Los Caserones stands out, extending from one side to the other of La Aldea ravine.  This makes for one of the most important settlements in the area, with a high density of homes and funeral mounds.