The white tower of the church of Santa María with a palm tree against a deep blue sky

Fuerteventura, Canary Islands

Betancuria

Founded in 1404 by the Norman knight Jean de Béthencourt, the village was the capital of Fuerteventura for more than four hundred years.

A village between the oldest mountains

Today Betancuria is a quiet village of white houses and palm trees in a green valley, far from the resorts of the coast.

The mountains around it are the oldest of the island and stand inside the Parque Rural de Betancuria. The church of Santa María, rebuilt in the seventeenth century after a pirate raid, stands at the centre of the village, and the archaeological museum nearby tells the story of the Majos, the first people of Fuerteventura.

Around the house

Walks begin at the door; the coast is half an hour away.

Walks from the door

Paths lead out of the village into the Parque Rural de Betancuria: over the ridge to the Mirador de Morro Velosa, and down to Vega de Río Palmas, where the chapel of the Virgen de la Peña, patron saint of the island, stands at the head of a barranco full of palms.

The coast

Ajuy on the west coast, with its sea caves and black beach, is about half an hour by car. The dunes of Corralejo in the north and the long beaches of Jandía in the south make easy day trips.

The evening

When the day visitors have left, the valley goes quiet. Dinner is a short walk or drive away, and the terraces of the house face the mountains as the light goes.

Select a photograph to see it larger.

  • The white tower of the church of Santa María with a palm tree
    The church of Santa María de Betancuria
  • White village houses, a stone fountain and pink bougainvillea
    White houses and bougainvillea in the village
  • A white house with corners of dark volcanic stone and a wooden balcony
    Stone, lime and a wooden balcony
  • A walker resting on red volcanic rock high above a valley
    Rock above the valley
  • Wooden steps climbing through a grassy pine wood
    Steps through the pine wood
  • A green valley with pine trees below a bare mountain ridge
    Pines in the Parque Rural de Betancuria
  • A meadow of wild flowers in front of the village and the mountains
    The valley in spring
  • A red earth path running along the ridge of bare hills
    A path over the ridge of the Parque Rural

Dining nearby

Three restaurants we recommend, in the village and in the next valley.

See the restaurants