The valley and the village of the same name are one of the 
most beautiful parts of Fuerteventura. Starting from the plaza with the church built in 1666, white and clay-coloured buildings (fincas) run along the reservoir, alternating with little terraced fields in a rural idyll with goats and dogs. You could almost believe that time had stood still -
if it wasn’t for the football field and the conspicuous green cross on the outpatients clinic. Until the 16th century there was a mountain stream with water all year round. It was along its bed that the 
conquerors with their leader Jean de Béthencourt advanced upstream from Puerto de la Peña into the interior of the island in the 15th century - on its banks were palm-trees and such impenetrable thickets that no progress was possible. In summer month, you have to make quite an effort to imagine this. Only after intense rainfall does a stream fill the reservoir, which after a few days becomes a trickle seeping out from the Las Peñitas dam. Drinking-water is drawn from wells either in or next to the bed of the stream. The reservoir itself has silted up. In summer, it dries up completely, and after rain, it is knee-deep and muddy. It no longer fulfils its purpose of collecting water, but it has become a biotope with tamarisks, reeds, numerous birds and frogs. Between high rocks below the dam stands the ERMITA DE VIRGEN DE LA PEÑA, a tiny white chapel with a painting showing the discovery of the alabaster statue of the saint, only 23 cm in height, which now adorns the main altar in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Peña in Vega de Rio Palmas. The statue is believed to have been brought by Jean Béthencourt, who dedicated the first church of Santa María
de Betancuria, which was completely destroyed by Jaban the pirate in 1593. However, they managed to hide the sculpture in time, and they hid it so well that it was not rediscovered till the 17th century - by miraculous means.The CULT OF MARY is one of the most alive religious traditions on Fuerteventura. The Ermita de la Peña does not look much, bit it is a much-visited place of pilgrimage all year round, decorated with little personal objects dedicated to the Virgen de la Peña along with prayers and pleas. The saint, of the Canary Isles, is honoured three times a year. On the 3rd Sunday in September every year, pilgrims come from all over to Vega de Rio Palma to celebrate their preferred saint in a particularly magnificent procession followed by a fiesta.
most beautiful parts of Fuerteventura. Starting from the plaza with the church built in 1666, white and clay-coloured buildings (fincas) run along the reservoir, alternating with little terraced fields in a rural idyll with goats and dogs. You could almost believe that time had stood still -
if it wasn’t for the football field and the conspicuous green cross on the outpatients clinic. Until the 16th century there was a mountain stream with water all year round. It was along its bed that the conquerors with their leader Jean de Béthencourt advanced upstream from Puerto de la Peña into the interior of the island in the 15th century - on its banks were palm-trees and such impenetrable thickets that no progress was possible. In summer month, you have to make quite an effort to imagine this. Only after intense rainfall does a stream fill the reservoir, which after a few days becomes a trickle seeping out from the Las Peñitas dam. Drinking-water is drawn from wells either in or next to the bed of the stream. The reservoir itself has silted up. In summer, it dries up completely, and after rain, it is knee-deep and muddy. It no longer fulfils its purpose of collecting water, but it has become a biotope with tamarisks, reeds, numerous birds and frogs. Between high rocks below the dam stands the ERMITA DE VIRGEN DE LA PEÑA, a tiny white chapel with a painting showing the discovery of the alabaster statue of the saint, only 23 cm in height, which now adorns the main altar in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Peña in Vega de Rio Palmas. The statue is believed to have been brought by Jean Béthencourt, who dedicated the first church of Santa María de Betancuria, which was completely destroyed by Jaban the pirate in 1593. However, they managed to hide the sculpture in time, and they hid it so well that it was not rediscovered till the 17th century - by miraculous means.The CULT OF MARY is one of the most alive religious traditions on Fuerteventura. The Ermita de la Peña does not look much, bit it is a much-visited place of pilgrimage all year round, decorated with little personal objects dedicated to the Virgen de la Peña along with prayers and pleas. The saint, of the Canary Isles, is honoured three times a year. On the 3rd Sunday in September every year, pilgrims come from all over to Vega de Rio Palma to celebrate their preferred saint in a particularly magnificent procession followed by a fiesta.
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