Betancuria

Betancuria was founded in 1404 and was the island's capital for four hundred years, put inland and in a valley precisely so that pirates could not see it from the sea. The result is a small village of whitewashed houses with green and brown shutters, palms, dry-stone walls and a big church, surrounded on all sides by bare volcanic hills.

The church of Santa María is the anchor: a heavy stone building with a square tower, standing at the top of the village square. Around it the lanes are short, quiet and almost entirely free of traffic, and the palms give the only real shade on the island's interior.

The drive in is half the location. The road from the east climbs to a pass with a mirador looking back over the whole valley, and on the other side the volcanic slopes drop away in ochre and rust. It is worth stopping on the way rather than driving straight through.

The village is small and fills with coach groups between eleven and three — early morning and late afternoon are calmer and light the valley better. It is a working village, not a museum: keep out of doorways and private courtyards. Interiors of the church follow its own opening hours; check them if the session needs one.