Cenobio de Valeron – the aborigine’s place of worship

Was it a Granary, monastery or place of worship? That is the question here!

This cave system contains more than 300 chambers and it is one of the most important and worth seeing ritual places of the Canarios, which were the aborigines of Gran Canaria. Caves and chambers sculptured in basalt stone which connect among each other a complex system of passages and corridors and remember with their appearance on honeycombs.

Notches, stairs carved out of stone as well as holes once were timbers of wood-stairs very likely steady oneself testify that this place was inhabited by the Guanches most likely year-round.

The sense and the function of these humanly "honeycombs" are still indefinite in professional circles. Roughly there are two possible theories: the “Monastery Theory" and the "Granary Theorie". In the first one the cave system is seen as an ancient nunnery, where so called Harimaguadas had lived for a space in a deep religious and spiritual life before they became "mature" to marry noble people and kings.

The newer more unromantic second theory just see in this place nothing else than an ordinary granary. This theory should also promote the fact that directly over the Cenobio de Valeròn a so called Tagoror is located. As Tagoror meeting places of the Canarios (aborigines of Gran Canarias) were called which often were also observation posts at the same time. The Tagoror of Cenobbio de Valeron contains 8 stone seats, einem Altarstein and a pit, which supposedly was a scene of several dreadful sacrifices.

Entrance fee: about 3 Euro

Pictures "Cenobio de Valeron"

Pictures: thomas.borstner@laspalmas24.com

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