Tindaya

The village and protected zone of Tindaya sits at the foot of the 401m mountain of the same name.

Tindaya was once regarded as a very religious place and the mountain was considered sacred. This can still be seentoday in more than 100 carvings of 'feet' (podomorphs) in the smooth rock. These strange carvings which sit at the very top of the mountain, were only recently discovered in 1978.The feet are said to be there to ward off evil spirits.

On a clear day it's possible to see mount Teide the highest mountain / volcano on Tenerife from the top of Tindaya. Old inhabitants used to see mount Teide as the residence of the devil and all the carvings face in that direction.

The rock of the mountain (traquita) is very hard and defies erosion and when smoothed down and treated makes an attractive fascia. The stone can be seen today decorating the walls of Fuerteventura airport.

This small goat farming village was recently thrown into the limelight because of a project to build a 'gigantic cube' inside the Tindaya mountain. A contemporary Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida, intends to 'hollow out' the mountain. Chillada said he wished to create "a great space where we would feel smaller than what we think we are, and more tolerant to one another, a place of tolerance".

The project would also include a public park making Tindaya one of the islands major tourist attractions.
Of course, Chilladas plans have met strong opposition from local ecologists, archeologists, and grassroots groups determined to defend their environment, cultural values, and archeological sites. The debate continues.