Vega de San Mateo

One of the most important monuments that the town of La Vega de San Mateo has is its parish which is located on the main street of the town. It has the name of Church of San Mateo Apóstol and was built during the 19th century and in which various architectural styles, classicism, academicism and Mudejar art were merged. The first thing that strikes the attention of the Church of San Mateo Apóstol is the unusual layout of the building, originally a rectangular nave whose construction date is around the 1800, later it was joined by an annex in the northern part that was finally finished in 1895. The funny thing is that a chapel was demolished to give continuity to a nearby street. With respect to the roof it is formed by braced pair and knuckle reinforcements and is supported by a series of semicircular arches. Inside the Church you can find a size of San Mateo that is attributed to José Luján Pérez, you can also see images of the Virgen del Rosario, Santa Ana and the Risen Christ.

The municipality of Vega de San Mateo can find us with the Molino de Arriba, also known as the Molino de Barber. This construction of civil engineering is a place of reference for the inhabitants not only of the Vega de San Mateo, but also of the region. The building is a type of water mill and its operation was linked to the ditch of the Heredad de Tafira whose waters turned the rotor that made the grain grind. The mill is forming as a whole the aforementioned ditch of the Heredad de Tafira, a loading cube, the same mill building, the warehouses and the miller's house. Talking about the mill building is arranged in two heights and is in good condition. Many of the parties have had to be fully restored due to the abandonment they had suffered in recent years. After having been restored the Barber Mill is declared Asset of Cultural Interest.

La Vega de San Mateo has some natural landscapes of remarkable beauty. It is worth mentioning that it has some of the most beautiful viewpoints of the island of Gran Canaria and from where you can see impressive views of the town, one of them is the Mirador Natural de la Cruz and the Montañon. From the Mirador Natural de la Cruz and the Montañon it is possible to see some important points of San Mateo as the Roque Saucillo where the Roque Saucillo Astronomical Center is located and the first urban observatory oriented to the dissemination and knowledge of the cosmos or Roque Bicaral also of great beauty. The viewpoint is located at an altitude of about 800 meters and what highlights the importance of this place is that you can see the whole region and the peaks. There are several hiking trails that can be explored in the area.

The Roque del Saucillo is located in the municipal boundary of Vega de San Mateo and Valsequillo, in the protected area of

The Hoya del Gamonal is located to the south of what is known as La Lechucilla, in this place a great depression formed in the relief that gave rise to this ideal natural spot to be able to make hiking routes or spend a day in the middle of nature. Although a part belongs to Santa Brígida, the municipal area of Vega de San Mateo also hosts part of this environment that reaches Los Pechos, the pit is called Gamonal because in the past there was a plant commonly known as Gamón. The Hoya del Gamonal has some special climatic characteristics, the presence of trade winds linked to the relief make the place a cool place all year round, it is believed that The Gamonal had a laurel forest thanks to these conditions of humidity and the contributions of rainwater. These conditions have altered the existing flows, facilitating the creation of soil with reddish and loose earth that favored the growth of vegetation. In the summit area of the Hoya del Gamonal you can also find some wells where, in the past, the snow that fell and that formed blocks of ice that were being sold, works carried out by the neveros.

The Lechucilla is a hamlet of about 300 inhabitants that is part of Vega de San Mateo, located in the ravine to which it gives its name. The Barranco de la Lechucilla houses the Risco Campanario, whose dividing line is the border between the municipalities of San Mateo and Valsequillo

In a natural environment full of trees is the Llano de Ana López, a recreational area that belongs to the municipality of Vega de San Mateo, close to these plains are the Ana López tables that belong to the municipality of Tejeda. Nearby is also the peak of the snows, the ravine of La Abejerilla and one of the best known elements of the Gran Canaria, the snow wells whose names are El Primero, El Grande and the Canons. This area receives the name of Ana Lópe z because it was the widow of Juan Ortiz, which was responsible for lowering the snow accumulated in them wells until He died in 1733. In the surroundings of these plains you can see the Cueva Grande and the Camaretas, there is also an old fountain where the beasts that were responsible for transporting the snow to the town drank. It was never documented if these lands belonged to Ana López, but when she was in charge of transporting the snow after the death of her husband, she began to be popularly nominated as such.

The Presa del Lomo Lucas presents surroundings with a lot of nature and an ideal place to make trekking routes that will allow you to know the richness of this point that belongs to the municipality of Vega de San Mateo. The dam also receives the name of Toronjo reservoir and is close to Espacio Natural Protected of Santo Pino, dominated by thermophilic forest and with an attractive very special due to the rural character and the landscape relevance. The Dam Lomo Lucas is located at an altitude above sea level of 730, in Barranquillo de Toronjo which is a tributary of the Barranco de las Huertas, located between Lomo Lucas and the flat part of Chaplaincy. You can also find some birds like the Common Redfish or the Common Coot. As mentioned, this part of Vega de San Mateo is ideal to be able to make trekking routes and to know in depth the variety of flora and fauna that this natural place keeps.