Teguise

Teguise is a town in the north of Lanzarote, with a population of 1776 in 2018. It was the island's capital until 1852 and is the seat of a municipality spanning the two coasts. Other villages in the municipality are also described here except for Costa Teguise, which since the 1970s has grown into a much larger resort with its own identity. == Get in == Teguise is 12 km (7.5 mi) north of Arrecife the capital. By car follow LZ-1 to Tahiche then LZ-10. Buses 7, 9 and 26 run daily every hour or two from Arrecife, taking 30 min via Tahiche. They continue north to Mala, Arrieta and Punta Mujeres, where the 7 and 26 turn inland to Haría, Máguez and Yé, while Bus 9 stays on the coast via Jameos del Agua to Órzola, for ferries to La Graciosa. Bus 20. Runs five times a day from Arrecife to Famara, supplemented by Bus 31 / 33 every hour or two from Costa Teguise via Tahiche and Teguise to Famara. (updated Dec 2023) The main bus stop in Teguise is by the windmill next to the marketplace, and on Sunday market days there are special bus runs from Arrecife, Costa Teguise and Puerto del Carmen. == Get around == The buses above ply all the main roads, but your own vehicle will save waiting around under a fierce sun. Juan José López Pérez operates the town taxi (+34 928 845515). == See == 1 Molina de Teguise. The small windmill that acts as the town landmark. Buses stop here and on Sunday disgorge tourists for the market. The market square is quiet and bare at other times. (updated Dec 2023) === Centers of Art, Culture and Tourism (CACT) === The Centers of Art, Culture and Tourism (CACT) (Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo) has the Jardí de Cactus (Cactus Garden) included in a combi-ticket: 2 Jardín de Cactus, Av Garafía, Guatiza, ☏ +34 901 200300. Daily 10:00-17:00. Extensive collection of cacti, beautifully presented against black volcanic gravel. The garden (designed by César Manrique, who else) is in a former quarry and sometimes feels crowded. Most of the garden is wheelchair-accessible. Adult €8.50, child €4.25. (updated Nov 2023) === Churches and chapels === Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (West side of the market square). The parish church is 15th century and at the heart of Teguise's old town. (updated Dec 2023) Ermita del Santísimo Cristo de la Vera Cruz. A simple but striking 17th-century chapel on C Norte, 100 m (330 ft) north of the market square. (updated Dec 2023) 3 Ermita de San Rafael. A picturesque little chapel by Av de las Amepolelas. (updated Jan 2024) === Museums === 4 Lagomar (House of Omar Sharif), C los Loros 2, Nazaret, ☏ +34 672 461555. Daily 10:00-18:00. Modern art museum, dramatically set in a quarry and designed (inevitably) by César Manrique. The legend goes that it was owned for one day by the actor Omar Sharif (1932-2015), who immediately lost it at cards to the developer who'd just sold it to him. Sharif was here in the 1970s for a role in The Mysterious Isle, a film adaptation of Jules Verne's sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea which drew rotten tomatoes from all the film critics. Sharif denied the legend, but he was a renowned bridge player with a serious gambling habit so the story is plausible. Adult €10. (updated Nov 2023) 5 Fundación César Manrique. See Costa Teguise for this art studio and wacky residence carved out of a lava tube at Tahiche. Another nearby tube is trash-strewn and not worth seeking out. (updated Jan 2024) === Other attractions === Casa del Timple, C Plaza de la Constitución 1, Teguise (200 m southwest of market square). Closed. This museum of island music and culture is temporarily closed. (updated Nov 2023) 6 Santa Bárbara Castle (Museum of Piracy), C Herrera y Rojas, Teguise. Closed. A 14th-century fortified lookout perched on the rim of the crater of Montaña Guanapay. Since 2011 it's contained a tacky, puerile exhibition on pirates in these islands, but this has been closed since 2020. You can drive up for the crater view, but some visitors have then found the access barrier locked against their exit. (updated Nov 2023) 7 Caleras de Teguise are old lime kilns. Limestone was roasted to make quicklime, for whitewash and cement. 8 Stratified City (Ciudad Estratificada) are rock formations eroded and hollowed to look like weird houses. Free parking by the roadside. 9 Inverse Pyramids (Canteras de Tinamala) are abandoned quarries that hewed red sandstone for masonry, some in a stepped or ziggurat pattern. A dirt track leads off LZ-1 at Guatiza filling station. You may encounter signs saying it's closed, but no barriers to access. 10 Famara is a small beach resort with good waves for beginner and intermediate surfers. The main village Caleta de Famara has the harbour, accommodation and bus turnaround. The road continues west to a dead-end at Playa de San Juan, which is breezy but quiet. The main beach Playa de Famara stretches east of Caleta to Urb. Famara (short for urbanización, just housing). A dirt track suitable for 2WD continues northeast along the coast for another 2 km then the cliffs close in. Risco de Famara are the gaunt black slopes louring over the coast: a hiking trail course midway up. However, the viewpoints from the top are better reached by driving north from Teguise on LZ-10 towards Haría. 11 Casa del Agua is reached by hiking another 1.5 km beyond the end of the drivable beach track from Famara. It's a derelict house with water bubbling out of it, and a splash of vegetation all the brighter for its arid backdrop. There's a similar house another 500 m further on, and caves and tunnels in the cliffs. You may encounter squatters in the houses or caves. == Do == Camino Risco Famara. A 15 km (9.3 mi) trail along the coast between Famara and Órzola at the north tip, beneath 500 m (1,600 ft) cliffs. There are several intermediate points where you can get up the slope to the road above. (updated Dec 2023) Yokomosurf, Caleta de Famara. A surf school with a good cafe (including vegan choices) and basic rooms. (updated Dec 2023) 1 Cueva del Agua. A natural swimming pool with a part-submerged tunnel into the open sea. (updated Dec 2023) 2 Charco del Palo. A sea pool where nudists flaunt their privies at the sea urchins. (updated Dec 2023) 3 Astronomia Lanzarote, C los Mirlos 7, Nazaret, ☏ +34 619 627363. Observatory with telescopes for public use. Adult €45. (updated Nov 2023) Golf: see Costa Teguise for the course near Tahiche. == Buy == Coviran is the town supermarket, at C Viera y Clavijo 19, 100 m east of market square. It's open daily 08:00-22:00. Teguise market is in the square on Sunday 09:00-14:00. Plenty of handicrafts and even more tourists. == Eat == Ikarus, Plaza Clavijo y Fajardo 6, Teguise (by market square), ☏ +34 928 845701. Tu W 19:00-23:00, Th-Sa 13:00-16:00, 19:00-23:00, Su 13:00-16:00. Relaxed place for pizza and Med fare. (updated Nov 2023) El Recoveco de NaRa, Plaza Maciot de Bethencourt 2, Teguise (200 m west of market square), ☏ +34 928 594001. M Tu Th F 11:00-23:00, W 11:00-16:00, Su 10:00-17:00. Great tapas in a trad whitewashed building. (updated Nov 2023) Cantina Teguise, C León y Castillo 8, Teguise (200 m southwest of market square), ☏ +34 928 845536. Daily 10:00-23:00. Good tapas. (updated Nov 2023) Disfrutar Restaurante, C Gadifer de la Salle 4, Teguise (100 m north of market square), ☏ +34 601 981555. W-Sa 14:00-15:30, 18:00-23:00, Su 13:00-23:00. Friendly reliable pizzeria. (updated Nov 2023) == Drink == Teguise doesn't have free-standing bars. Lanzarote wine is produced further south around San Bartolomé and La Geria, cultivating the malvasia grape. == Sleep == Palacio Ico, C el Rayo 2, Teguise, ☏ +34 928 594952. Lovely hotel with 9 rooms in a whitewashed villa of 1690. B&B double €200. (updated Nov 2023) La Mimosa, C Mimosa 14, Teguise, ☏ +34 629 424221. Charming small B&B 200 m west of marketplace. (updated Nov 2023) Casa Dominique, Caleta de Famara, ☏ +34 610 214324. Pleasant small B&B west of Playa de San Juan in Famara. (updated Nov 2023) == Connect == As of Nov 2023, Teguise and its approach highways have 4G from MasMovil and Orange, and 5G from Movistar and Vodafone. == Go next == Costa Teguise is the modern beach resort that has outgrown the municipal capital. Arrecife the capital has two island castles reached by causeway, one a museum the other a modern art gallery. Haría to the north has the house and studio of César Manrique, a string of lookouts over the cliffs, and lava tubes near Arrieta on the east coast.