Santa Lucía
Description
The traditional hillside village of Santa Lucía de Tirajana sits in the mid-altitude farming belt, with a quiet, rural character far removed from the coastal sprawl that spreads out lower down. The church of Santa Lucía presides over the village square. The surrounding landscape of deep ravines and terraced slopes is home to the archaeological site of Las Fortalezas, where ancient cave settlements of the aboriginal Canarians have been uncovered. Roque Aguayro lies nearby.
The village is a natural stop on the southern mountain circuit: calm, authentic, genuinely different from the coast. A coffee on the square and the views over the Barranco de Tirajana are the main reward. Simple and honest.
The road climbing from the coastal plain through the Barranco de Tirajana up to Santa Lucía, the GC-65, is extraordinary: canyon walls, flowering terraces and deserted hairpins. The shift from coastal chaos to mountain silence happens within minutes of leaving the lowlands behind. Best combined with the Mirador de La Orilla, just above.
