Visit Santa Lucia de Tirajana - Gran Canaria - Best things to do

Santa Lucía de Tirajana is a town and municipality in Gran Canaria, located in the southeast of the island. The town of Santa Lucia is located up in the mountains of Gran Canaria, at an altitude of 680 m.

Santa Lucia is actually one of our favorite small towns to visit in Gran Canaria, due to the amazing views that you get to see on the way there, no matter which route you choose to take. The town itself is small, but there are other interesting places to visit in the municipality of Santa Lucia de Tirajana, so if you have a rental car you can stop wherever you make and make a day trip out of it. 

Tip: if you're visiting while oranges are in season, we recommend buying some local oranges, they are really sweet and tasty.

Things to do in Santa Lucia de Tirajana

The village itself is rather small, so you can usually park your car in the public car park near the church and in front of the park.

You can take a stroll around the small park, with its lovely flowers and vegetation, before heading up to the Santa Lucia church.

The church of Santa Lucia is situated on a hillside and was built back in 1905.
It has beautiful architecture, with various historical motifs, and it's visible from afar due to its position on top of a hill, which offers beautiful views of the surrounding area from the plaza in front of the church.

If you go back down to the park, you can go on a short circle walk to see the pretty streets and buildings of Santa Lucia. Take a stroll through the narrow streets behind the Ayuntamiento, where you can see various buildings with traditional architecture, many of them beautifully renovated. 

You can walk all the way to Panadería dulcería La Hornada de Pan, which is a popular pit stop for cyclists on this route.

Walking tour of Santa Lucia de Tirajana

Dia de Santa Lucia | Santa Lucia Festival

Celebrated on December 13th, this is a festival in honor of the Patron Saint, Santa Lucia, and the event is now considered one of Tourist interest.

On this day the image of Santa Lucia is paraded through the streets of the village.
One year we accidentally visited Santa Lucia on this day, without knowing about this festival, and we were surprised at how many people had come to the village to celebrate the Day of Santa Lucia. 

There were many food stalls installed in the park, a big tent for the fiesta that would have to follow later on in the day and the town was beautifully decorated with images of Santa Lucia.

We tried some local sweets, as well as some freshly squeezed sugar cane juice. 

All in all, it was a very fun and interesting experience, although it does get really crowded and you will have to pay for parking (5 euros per day) in one of the "pop-up parkings" improvised on some of the empty lots around the town. 

Places to visit on the way to Santa Lucia de Tirajana

Depending on the route you're taking in order to get to Santa Lucia, we recommend stopping and visiting some of the following places along the way.

• Barranco de Las Vacas - there are only a few parking spots on the side of the road, so you need to be lucky to find one. You can watch our video about Barranco de Las Vacas.
• Fortaleza de Ansite - an archaeological settlement located in the Tirajana ravine, where a collection of dwelling caves are preserved. According to historic records, this place was one of the last territories inhabited by pre-Hispanic dwellers. You could also stop to visit the Fortaleza Visitor Center if you want to know more info about this area.