San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Tunte)
A ten minute drive (7Km) from Finca La Sabina on the GC-60 is San Bartolomé de Tirajana - known locally as Tunte (it is the old name from the island’s aborigine period). This charming hill top town is the capital of the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana which is the largest municipality on the island by far.
Tunte has a long history as a farming town and many of the houses are almost 500 years old. Today there are olive farms and vineyards including the Las Tirajanas winery which is open to the public every day for tastings and tours.
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The church (Obispado Diocesis de Canarias) and square was built in 1922 and there are plenty of cafes and
restaurants serving local cuisine. There is maze of narrow lanes between the picturesque houses.
Tunte has a Sunday market from 9am to 2pm.
Santa Lucía
The town of Santa Lucía on the GC-65 (7.5Km from Finca Sabina) is the capital of the municipality of Santa Lucía de Tirajana. In the town square on the hill is the church Iglesia de Santa Lucía.
The archeological museum Museo Castillo De La Fortaleza explains the pre Hispanic history of the area and the Museo De La Zafra features the more recent history of the area and its agriculture.
Fataga
Fataga is twenty minutes from Finca La Sabina and is a characteristic village of the island, perched in the middle of the deep Barranco de Fataga (Fataga ravine) with its maze of old narrow lanes paved with stones and famous historic tiled Canarian houses in the oldest part of the village. On the GC-60, Fataga is a very popular day-trip destination for holidaymakers staying in the coastal regions of Gran Canaria.
The restaurants cater for the coach tours and its shops are well stocked with souvenirs and local produce. There is a bakery (try Bienmesabe, a typical rich Canarian dessert of Arabic origins made from local almonds) a water mill and an art gallery. The church on the square is dedicated to St. José and was built in 1880.
The village is more than 2,000 years old and was inhabited by the native Guanche. Many of the battles between the Guanches and the Spanish for control of the for control of the Canary Islands took place in and around the Barranco de Fataga.
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By the end of the 19th century, Fataga had some 650 inhabitants (which has dropped to about 400 now) and was a self-sufficient farming community and to this day, Fataga remains a traditional Canarian village that lives by farming fruits such as oranges, lemons, apricots and grapes and making cheese and wine.
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Located in the Valley of a Thousand Palms as well as the palm trees there are orchards of apricot, banana, lemon, mango and orange.