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The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura

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PresentationPresentation

General presentationGeneral presentation
The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. Morro de los Rincones and the Montaña Tindaya seen from La Oliva. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).Tindaya is a small farming village north of the island of Fuerteventura. The village has about 600 inhabitants and is part of the municipality of La Oliva. Tindaya is best known for the mountain of Tindaya, a volcano which rises to nearly 400 meters above sea level and overlooking the resort.

SituationSituation

The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. The mountain of Tindaya. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).The village of Tindaya is 19 km from the capital of the island, Puerto del Rosario; from Puerto del Rosario, take the FV-10 road towards La Oliva; 6.5 km before La Oliva turn left towards Tindaya. After 2.5 kilometers we discover the village at the foot of the mountain of Tindaya.

The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. La Montaña Tindaya (author José Mesa). Click to enlarge the image.The village is 190 meters above sea level; the top of the mountain overlooking the village of over 200 meters.

VisitsVisits

ChurchThe Chapel of Our Lady of Charity (Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad)
The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. The Church of Our Lady of Charity. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. The Church of Our Lady of Charity. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).The Chapel of Our Lady of Charity is a small building with a single nave, with a small vestry built against the right wall on the Epistle wall. Only a walk separates the chancel from the nave where a Baroque altar; one reaches the sacristy through a door to the right of the altar. The floor is paved with stone slabs and the cover is a simple frame supported by four beams.

The front panel opens a door surmounted by a round arch; left gable stands a small bell tower in dark volcanic stone. A second door opens in the Epistle wall. All the walls are whitewashed.

Pelean volcanoThe Natural Monument Mountain of Tindaya (Monumento Natural Montaña de Tindaya)
The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. The mountain of Tindaya. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).The Montaña de Tindaya is 6 km from the west coast of the island of Fuerteventura, in the plain of Esquinzo (Llano de Esquinzo) through the Barrenco de Esquinzo. Mount Tindaya is a type of volcano Pelean, a volcanic eruption made ​​without protrusion of rock a light brown-gray color with a particular grain, trachyte; the rock is marbled red by iron oxides. This rock has remained bare due to intense erosion processes.

The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. The mountain of Tindaya southeast face. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).The dome has a basic elliptical, the major axis, oriented in a NE-SW direction, has a length of about 1200 meters and the minor axis length of 750 meters. All the faces have a triangular profile, with a high slope and a wrinkled surface; the top of the dome is at an altitude of 397 meters. The Montaña de Tindaya is a very different appearance from that of most other volcanoes of Fuerteventura which are Strombolian volcanoes.

The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. Engravings podomorphes on the Montaña de Tindaya (author Jo Hammer). Click to enlarge the image in Panoramio (new tab).This uniqueness has probably caught the imagination of aboriginal Fuerteventura that made ​​the Mountain Tindaya a sacred mountain (Montaña sagrada de Tindaya). It has indeed discovered near the top of the mountain many rock carvings in the shape of human feet (petroglyphs podomorphes): about 290 prints, almost all of which are oriented towards the west - towards the peak of the Teide on ’ island of Tenerife - or southwest - toward the island of Gran Canaria. The Pico del Teide, with 3718 meters above sea level, was considered the seat of god Guanches volcano Guayote. On clear days the Teide is visible from the top of the Montaña de Tindaya. These podomorphes prints suggest the aboriginal Berber origin of the Canaries, as similar prints are also in the Atlas Mountains in North Africa. In addition to the prints was found on the mountain of Tindaya, other archaeological remains, such as cave dwellings, a necropolis and a shell dump. The top of Tindaya seems to have been a place of worship where human sacrifices may have occurred. In the centuries that followed the conquest of the island by the Europeans of the mountain Tindaya remained surrounded by a special aura: it was often mentioned in local folklore and people avoided go up, because - believe -on - it was guarded by witches.

The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. The mountain of Tindaya. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).For its geological value the Montaña de Tindaya was classified as a Nature Reserve in 1987. Despite this status a stone quarry was authorized in 1991 to exploit the marbled red trachyte which is a very decorative stone; exploitation of stone has now ceased, but left a scar on the side of the mountain. The integrity of the mountain was also jeopardized by a controversial project by the Basque artist Eduardo Chillida (1924-2002) who wanted to create, in the top of the mountain, a giant cubic cavity, 50 meters wide, with two vertical wells and a horizontal tunnel for access and lighting of the room, and to symbolize the relationship of the mountain with the heavens and the sea. Despite opposition from environmentalists, the government of Balearic islands ordered a feasibility study to 11.8 million euros. Irregularities and suspicions of corruption - related to the market value of the trachyte which would be extracted - brought "Case Tindaya” to justice; the case has not been decided. The mountain was classified as a Natural Monument and Point of Interest Geological (Monumento Natural y Punto de Interés Geológico) in 1994. Mount Tindaya is considered the most emblematic natural monument of the island of Fuerteventura.

The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. The top of the Montaña de Tindaya. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).Because of this protection, and because there has been vandalism on the rock carvings, it is necessary to obtain authorization from the Environment Council (Consejeria de Medio Ambiente), to climb the Montaña de Tindaya. Climbing the volcano is by the west side and an altitude difference of 250 meters; it can be done in 2 hours round trip. Along the way a guard can control the authorization and provide guidance on the way forward. The departure is to the right of Our Lady of Charity chapel; we pass a transformer then follows a paved road; it must then turn right on a dirt road lined with non-stone walls; rather difficult climb then begins along a stony ridge and colored (brown, red, black, white). The arrival at the top reward these efforts with a splendid view of the surrounding area, especially northwest, on the Montaña Prieta (208 m) to the golden desert and curves. On a clear day you can see the peak of Teide on Tenerife.

StatueMonument to Miguel de Unamuno (Monumento a Don Miguel de Unamuno)
The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. La Montaña Quemada. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).At 2.5 km south of Tindaya is the Montaña Quemada (Burnt Mountain). At the foot of this mountain was built a monument dedicated to the memory of the poet, novelist and Spanish Basque philosopher Miguel de Unamuno (Bilbao, 1864 - Salamanca, 1936), because this mountain was one of his favorite places on the island. The monument was funded by the Chapter of Fuerteventura and the municipality of Puerto del Rosario; the statue of more than 2 m in height is a work of sculptor canary Juan Borges Lineres, conducted in 1970.

The village of Tindaya in Fuerteventura. Monument to Miguel de Unamuno. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).Unamuno had been dismissed from the university and was forced into exile in Fuerteventura, from 1924 to 1930, following his harsh criticism against the authoritarian government of General Primo de Rivera. One can visit in Puerto del Rosario, the house he lived during this period.

We arrive at the monument to Unamuno by taking the FV-10 road towards Puerto del Rosario and then branching off on the FV-207 road to Betancuria. We can continue on foot to the summit of Montaña Quemada.

Beach Beach Jarugo (Playa de Jarugo)
From the village of Tindaya you can go to the deserted beach of Jarugo via a south-west runway.

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