Antigua to Betancuria Walk

This walk starts in Antigua and goes in a more or less straight line over the ridge that separates the two municipal capitals. The distance between the two is a little over two miles, but the climb involved both ways means that the journey is more than an afternoon stroll.

The presence of the cafes that cater for the tourists in Betancuria means that the walk can be done without carting a picnic, but a little something to eat on the way and plenty of water is a good idea.

The day we made the trip was a rather damp and dreary Sunday, which had the feel of an autumn afternoon in the English Lake district, but with more exotic plants on display .

There is plenty of space to park the car in Antigua and the town is served by buses. The walk starts in Antigua and leaves the town by the road that passes to the north of the town's cemetery. The direction is easily found as the hill you travel over has an obvious path over the top, which you can see from Antigua.

As you head out of Antigua there is a smallholding on the right, and here you can see something rather unusual on the island; sheep! The island has tens of thousands of goats as they are hardy enough to be able to graze an existance on the sparse vegetation, but sheep are a far less common sight.

The path is quite well maintained despite being quite steep and is easy to follow the views back as you stop to catch your breath are spectacular. there are views of the mountains of Montana Bermeja, La Ventosilla and Tindaya Mountain which are each behind the other, and also see views of Antigua, Valles de Ortega, Nuevo Horizonte,however, Montana Blanca, (Chipmonk mountain) is in the way of the view of Caleta de Fuste. We could also see the football ground where Antigua were playing at home.

As we were walking up the path we met a very nice German family called Dorm, who had two young children with them, they kindly posed for this photograph. From the top ou could also take a path to the right which leads to the Mirador de Veloso viewpoint.

The walk into Betancuria does not take long but it is quite steep, there are some interesting farmhouses close to the bottom.

As we were in the cafe, (sheltering from the rain) the Dorm family turned up again, with the young children they did not want to do the walk back so we called a taxi for them. The taxi had to come from Caleta which takes a while.

The walk back is easier as although the first bit is steep the rest of the time you are going downhill enjoying the views.

View of Antigua and the three mountains

Sign for the start of the Betancuria National Park and the Dorm family go back to Antigua to pick up their car.

You may want to check the Fuerteventura Weather before you go.

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