Betancuria

For more than four centuries this inland valley town was the capital of Fuerteventura, founded by the Norman Jean de Béthencourt in the early 1400s and set back from the coast, out of reach of pirates. Berber raiders still sacked it in 1593, but the rebuilt church of Santa María remains the island's mother church. Bare mountains, protected as the Betancuria rural park, close in on every side.

Highlights

• Church of Santa María, the island's mother church and briefly a cathedral
• Vega de Río Palmas hermitage of the Virgen de la Peña, the island's patron
• September pilgrimage in honour of the Virgen de la Peña
• Ermita de Santa Inés, built soon after the conquest, in Valle de Santa Inés
• Betancuria rural park, rising to Pico de la Atalaya at 725 metres (ES)

Summary based on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), written with AI assistance.