Aula· Spain, city by cityCanarias
Valverde
«Valverde es la única capital de isla situada en la montaña.»Valverde is the only island capital located in the mountains.
Valverde is the capital of El Hierro, the smallest and westernmost of the inhabited Canary Islands, and it is the only capital in the archipelago that is not on the sea: it stands at an altitude of six hundred metres. For centuries, the prime meridian passed through here because it was the westernmost point of the known world.
Did you know
The only island capital without sea.
It is the only Spanish island capital located in the mountainous interior, chosen in ancient times to defend against pirate attacks.
How they talk in Valverde
«Herreño» refers to people and products from El Hierro. The local Canarian uses «guagua», «papa» and «ustedes», but the island's isolation also preserves specific rural vocabulary.
guagua
Bus or coach for collective transport. Normally used for urban and interurban buses and, by extension, for school or tourist coaches.
Everyday life in Valverde
The only capital without a sea
Valverde is at six hundred metres and does not face the ocean: it is the only island capital in Spain built far from the coast, for fear of pirates. You go down to the port in twenty minutes.
«La capital no está en la costa.» — The capital is not on the coast.
The island that powers itself
El Hierro produces almost all its electricity with wind and water, thanks to a power plant that pumps into a crater: it is a successful experiment, and on the island people talk about it with pride.
The «Bajada de la Virgen» every four years
The Virgin of the Reyes is carried on foot for twenty-eight kilometres across the island, with the «bailarines» dancing in front of her for the whole journey. It happens once every four years.
What to eat in Valverde
Queso herreño
Goat and sheep cheese smoked with prickly pears and heather wood: it has its own designation.
Papas arrugadas con mojo
Potatoes boiled in very salty water, with red or green mojo.
Potaje de berros
Thick soup of watercress, potatoes, beans and corn on the cob.
Festivals in Valverde
Bajada de la Virgen de los Reyes
every four years, the first Saturday of July
The Virgin crosses the island on foot for twenty-eight kilometres, and the «bailarines» dance in front of her for the whole journey.
What to see in Valverde
Iglesia de Santa María de la Concepción
The church with the tower that was used to see pirate ships arriving.
Mirador de la Peña
The viewpoint by César Manrique set into the rock: from the outside you cannot see it, and from the inside there is only the void.
El Sabinar
The junipers bent by the wind until they grow horizontally: some touch the ground with their foliage.
El Golfo
The semicircular basin that is the remains of a huge landslide, with vineyards on the bottom.
Where Valverde comes from
The island where the prime meridian used to pass
Before 1405
The bimbaches
The aboriginal inhabitants of the island, the last to be populated in the archipelago.
1405
The conquest
Jean de Béthencourt takes El Hierro: it is the first of the Canary Islands to fall.
17th–19th century
The meridian
The prime meridian passed through here: it was the westernmost point of the known world.
2014 → today
Wind and water
The island aims to cover its own needs with the energy of wind and water.
Want to learn Spanish by travelling across Spain?
In Aula every lesson is a city lighting up on the map — Valverde is one of them. Two hundred lessons from A1 to C2, free, starting from your level.
Start from Valverde →