San Bartolomé: Heritage and Hiking Trails

San Bartolomé brings together protected buildings, museums, and a variety of hiking options. When planning your trip, you can decide whether you would rather learn about the town’s history or focus on trails and landscapes. The topics on offer range from the history of the parish church to a long-distance hiking trail divided into stages.

Church, protected buildings, and museums

The parish church of San Bartolomé was built between 1779 and 1783. In the municipality of San Bartolomé on Lanzarote, it is protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural in the Monument category. Casa Mayor Guerra in San Bartolomé has the same protected status. The town’s history therefore includes both a religious building with a clearly stated construction period and another protected building.

The Museo Etnográfico Tanit is located in the village of San Bartolomé de Ajey, in an imposing 18th-century house and one of Lanzarote’s first wineries. The museum’s historic Bodega Las Vegas is more than 300 years old. Tanit explores Lanzarote’s historical way of life and folklore through customs, idols, work tools, household items, and traditional clothing. Its collection thus brings together different aspects of everyday life: objects related to work and the home alongside customs and clothing.

The Museo de Historia Local Casa del Mayor Guerra offers a different perspective. Its five panels illustrate the historical development of San Bartolomé. While Tanit focuses on Lanzarote’s way of life and folklore, this exhibition turns its attention to local history. If you are interested in culture and history, you can distinguish between two different themes: the island’s historical ways of life and the development of the town.

Hiking trails and landscapes

The El Jable hiking trail starts in San Bartolomé on Calle Rubicón, near Plaza León y Castillo. It passes through an area covered in windblown sands of marine origin, where sweet potatoes, wheat, and barley are grown. The trail thus links a specific starting point in town with a landscape shaped by its sandy origins and agricultural use.

The Camino Natural de Lanzarote, also known as the GR-131, is 71 kilometers long in total and divided into five stages. It is suitable for hiking, and cycling is also possible on a very large part of the route. The long-distance trail passes through the grounds of Casa Mayor Guerra, which are protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural. Its planning details therefore differ from those for El Jable: the GR-131 has a stated total length and number of stages, while El Jable has a named starting point in San Bartolomé.

Another trail, Chimidas, climbs up from Casa Mayor Guerra and offers panoramic views of San Bartolomé from above. To compare the trails by character, you can consider their different features: the views of the town on Chimidas, the sandy, agricultural landscape along El Jable, and the stages of the GR-131. When planning your hikes, take current trail conditions into account.

Getting there and choosing a destination

Bus route 32 connects Playa Honda with Arrecife, passes through San Bartolomé, and stops in the town. Routes may change, so check the operator’s information before travelling. The route is a useful point of reference when you want to consider your travel arrangements and hiking plans together.

San Bartolomé offers several clearly distinct themes to explore. If you are planning a stay, you can then search for hotels specifically in your chosen destination.

Discover more destinations: Güime, Tao, Playa Quemada, Caleta De Caballo, Tías, Arrecife, Tajaste, Las Cabreras.

For the broader travel overview: Lanzarote.