Galatia

Guatiza is a village in the municipality of Teguise, located on the northeast of the island It is situated on very fertile flat land and surrounded by volcanoes and boilers, the landscape contrasts with the blue sky and sea. It has 841 inhabitants (2005).

At present, the homes are scattered, forming a slightly more compact nucleus near the church. All around, the volcanoes of Guenia, Tinamala, La Caldera and Calderetas are sometimes a good shelter from the winds.  Originally the village was situated on the mountainside where today the cemetery is.  In turn, the Moors frequently pillaged their houses, so its inhabitants were moved to the bottom, where the mountains offered greater security.

The Cactus Garden is undoubtedly the most famous and visited place in Guatiza.  Created by Cesar Manrique, an old quarry from which volcanic material was extracted, covers an area of approximately 5000m2 and contains 1400 cactus and 1,000 different species from around the world including America, Madagascar, the Canary Islands etc.

Administratively it belongs to the municipality of Teguise.  To reach Guatiza from Arrecife, the capital of the island, you go north and past the village of Tahiche for about 10 kilometers and you’ll find Guatiza.

If you continue north you arrive at the village of Mala (2 km) in the town of Haria. The coastline is located about 2km to the east. To the west, lies the town of Teguise (8 km), which is the capital of the municipality.

The weather in Lanzarote, conditioned by the low altitude of the island, causes the island to be under the influence of trade winds. This translates into a dry climate with little rainfall, constant humidity and moderate winds. The average temperature is 18 degrees in January and 25ºC in August. The sea temperature varies between 15ºC and 23ºC.