No. 16 - Its Gran Canaria Magazine

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GET TO KNOW GRAN CANARIA I CONOCE GRAN CANARIA Nº 16
Cristo de Artenara
The viewpoint that welcomes its visitors with open arms
Just 50 km from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and
after about an hour's drive on a delightful but
tricky road we come to Artenara. This beautiful
and charming village, built next to the mountains,
is without doubt unrivalled and will have
a profound effect on visitors, as it contains many
cave houses dating from pre-Hispanic times dug
into the hard rock. Today, most of them have attractively
decorated and fully painted facades
and have all the modern comforts like any other
normal house. Indeed, for many Artenara is the
most beautiful municipality in Gran Canaria.
Standing at some 1,270 metres altitude, the municipality
of Artenara is one of the highest on the
island and is yet the least populated, with only
1,000 or so inhabitants.
Almost right in the centre of the village of Artenara
there is an exceptional viewpoint like few
others on the island. It is situated right at the top
of the mountain called La Cilla. Access to this
viewpoint is by means of a path of steps which
takes only 2 minutes to climb. The path is located
to the right of the entrance to La Cilla Restaurant,
a really easy place to get to, which by
the way also has a public viewing point which is
accessed by the restaurant entrance itself, passing
through a 50-metre long tunnel excavated
into the stone, that crosses the mountain from
its north side to its south side.
However, the viewpoint that concerns us today
and which is the subject of this article is called
Mirador del Corazón de Jesús (meaning Heart of
Jesus). This privileged spot, which affords such
fantastic views over the Roque Bentayga and
Roque Nublo rocks, has been crowned since
1996 by a huge figure of Christ cast in white
stone, measuring 7 metres in height and standing
atop a small globe, balanced between the
arms of two child angels who are holding it up.
The whole ensemble sits on a 1.6-metre high
pedestal, and is a religious-style work dedicated
logically to the Heart of Jesus by Canarian sculptor
José Luis Marrero. This sculpture of Christ extends
its outstretched arms towards the north
of the island in a welcoming gesture to everyone
coming to visit the town, and its location can be
spotted from several points of Artenara.
The comparison that obviously springs to mind
with this statue is the popular Christ the Redeemer
of Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro. It bears
a great resemblance and, although the Heart of
Jesus is not so big, the grandeur of the Canarian
landscape that accompanies it makes this viewpoint
a place like no other.
Visiting this viewpoint is not the only excuse
for coming to Artenara, as the rest of the town
is highly charming. It features plenty of other
viewing points, all of them of great beauty, such
as the stunning Mirador de Unamuno, just a few
steps from the church of San Matías and from
where visitors are treated to incredible panoramic
views, with the added advantage being
that it is barely a few minutes’ walk from the Mirador
del Corazón de Jesús. Another highlight is
the Mirador de La Atalaya with large steel sculptures
that are well worth stopping off at.
Another unique attraction well worth a visit is
the little church of La Ermita de La Cuevita, as
its location is not at all conventional. As its name
suggests, it is a cave that is home to the Virgin of
La Cuevita, the patron saint of Canarian folklore.
If it were not for the bell present at its entrance,
it would be very difficult to recognise that it is a
religious temple at all, but finding it is very easy,
as there are several places around the village
that have signposts pointing to the entrance.
If you still have time to spare, visit the Presa de
los Pérez dam, just 10 minutes by car from the
centre of Artenara. It has several caves on the
edge of the dam that were once dwellings inhabited
by the pre-Hispanic settlers of the island,
the likes of which cannot be found in any
other dam in Gran Canaria, and it also offers a
wonderful panoramic view over the Tamadaba
Natural Park, the largest pine forest on the island.
So as we can see, a visit to the Mirador del
Corazón de Jesús and its figure of Christ is an experience
not to be missed. Spending time here
and taking the opportunity to explore the rest
of the village of Artenara visiting the other viewpoints,
restaurants and cave houses will turn a
simple outing into a profitable day out.