Chimiche combines a distinctive dance tradition with a cultural centre and specific hiking routes. The Danza de Varas, which uses decorated staffs, is the only dance form in the Canary Islands archipelago with this feature. One route passes through Chimiche; other named routes begin in Las Vegas. Culture and landscape thus offer different points of interest for planning a trip.
Danza de Varas and cultural centre
The Danza de Varas is still performed in Las Vegas and Chimiche on the occasion of their respective festivals. It opens the procession at midday. The tradition is passed down by parents to their children, linking this distinctive dance form with its transmission within families. If you would like to include a performance in your travel plans, check the dates of the respective festivals in advance.
The Casa de la Cultura de Chimiche hosts various cultural and social activities throughout the year. These include painting and folk dance classes; individual activities and class times may vary. A study and reading room with numerous books and encyclopaedias is another feature of the centre. The specific collection may change.
The venue has also hosted theatre, music and dance performances, as well as photography and art exhibitions, though these have been occasional rather than part of a year-round programme. When planning, it is therefore useful to distinguish the regularly described classes from individual events and to check specific dates.
The local music tradition includes the folk group Sentir sureño. Founded in mid-2006, it set out to promote and disseminate the music of its own region in its own style. Since late 2007, the group has been based at the Casa de la Cultura de Chimiche. Its music is regarded within Canarian folk music as original and highly innovative.
The Danza de Varas is tied to the respective festivals, while the cultural centre offers a range of activities throughout the year. This distinction can help when choosing when to travel: festival dates are essential for the dance tradition, while the specific times and offerings of classes and events at the cultural centre may vary.
Routes and cultural landscape
The Granadilla de Abona route passes through the small settlement of Chimiche, crosses the old southern road TF-28 and follows the TF-555 towards Las Vegas. The route described in 2023 should not be taken as a guarantee of current trail or road conditions. Check these before setting out.
The PR-TF 83.3 runs from Las Vegas to El Aserradero. At 6.6 kilometres, it is signposted as a short hiking trail. It passes Parque Pino Las Jabas, whose grounds were formerly used as a pasil, a place for drying fruit, especially figs. The route thus combines a clearly stated distance with a specific reference to past agricultural use.
The PR-TF 83.5 begins beside the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza in Las Vegas and leads to the ethnographic complex of Los Hibrones. The chapel is considered an important religious and heritage building; its unusual bell tower is a distinctive feature. Los Hibrones preserves ovens, livestock pens, traditional houses, a threshing floor and a pasil for drying figs. The trail also passes abandoned cultivated plots surrounded by Canary Island pines.
The PR-TF 83.1 climbs from Las Vegas through cultivated plots with water channels and irrigation ditches. Along the way, it passes cave houses before entering a pine forest near Risco del Muerto. The three route descriptions thus differ considerably: the PR-TF 83.3 stands out for its length and the former fig cultivation; the PR-TF 83.5 focuses on the chapel and ethnographic heritage; and the PR-TF 83.1 on the transition from cultivated plots to forest. Check current trail and access conditions before hiking from Las Vegas.
Discover more destinations
El Salto, El Médano, La Mareta, Amarilla Golf, Atogo, Palomas, San Isidro
For the broader travel overview: Granadilla De Abona.
