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The
island of Gran Canaria is third in size in the Canary
Islands archipelago, after Tenerife and Fuerteventura.
It has a surface area of 1,532m2 and its most outstanding
features are the ravines which come down from the
central peaks - which are over 2,000m high - to the
shore.
There
is no other place with such an eloquent variety of
little known scenery. There are desert and sandy areas
as well as mountains with lush, tropical vegetation.
In Gran Canaria, the steep cliffs of El Puerto de
la Nieves and de la Aldea together with the rugged
ravines of Tirajana, Moya and Azuaje alternate with
pleasant valleys where thousands of banana-trees grow
and which - like the Arucas - gently descend towards
the sea.
Gran
Canaria has not in vain been called a continent in
miniature, because beginning by La Cumbre (a 2,000m
peak) with its granite masses of El Roque Nublo, nature
has provided for all kinds of scenery, where plants
from Europe, Africa and America grow (the Tamadaba
pine forests, Los Tilos - lime-trees -, the El Monte
vineyards, the coffee plantations at Agaete, palm
forests, banana-trees, almond-trees, sugar cane and
tomato crops).
Las
Plamas, the capital of the province, is the largest
city of the archipelago, a prosperous, beautiful place
with 370,000 inhabitants and the largest port in GRT
in Spain. Its airport receives the most important
airlines, with flights from Europe, Africa and America.
The capital has the attractions of a large city, with
excellent hotel and catering facilities, night clubs,
international shows, an intense social life and an
ample calendar of festive occasions and celebrations
throughout the year.
A
must in this modern, active city is the noble, peaceful
old area of Vegueta, where one finds stately old houses
with impressive, private inner courts and with artistically
worked balconies facing onto narrow streets and sheltered
squares. The Old city has the most important sights;
the Gothic-neo-Classical cathedral, which was begun
in 1497, Columbus House, the residence of the first
governors of the island, which is a lovely building
housing an interesting museum about the times of Columbus,
the Canary Museum, which has the most complete collections
of the traces left by the Guanches, the pre-Spanish
inhabitans of the islands. Interesting churches include
San Francisco's and the Hermitage of San Telmo, which
has a Mudéjar coffered ceiling.
The
Provincial Fine Arts Museum, the House cum-Museum
of Pérez Galdós and the Néstor
Museum round off the treasure of art, architecture
and history in the city. In the splendid Doramas Park
there is an area called the Canary Village, a creation
of the artists Néstor. It is an expressive
sight of Canary architecture. Against this exceptionally
beautiful background, popular dances and songs are
performed on Thursdays and Sundays.
Las
Canteras is magnificent, 2,600m long beach with a
pleasant temperature throughout the year.
Places
of interest
Telde
It
lies surrounded by excellent orchard lands. Noteworthy
are El Santo Cristo Basilica and the Parish Churches
of San Juan Bautista - which has an exceptionally
valuable Flemish retable -, San Gregorio and San Francisco.
There
are splendid beach and a harbour at Melenara. In the
surroundings, Tara preserves marvelous caves of the
original inhabitants of the island, and Cuatro Puertas
has the most interesting native sight of the island,
dating from the palaeolithic period: the holy mountain
the Guanches.
Tejeda
After
45km on the road from Telde to Valsequillo and Vega
de San Mateo, there is Tejeda, the centre and highest
point of the island, in the vicinity of which the
majestic silhouettes of Roque Nublo and Bentayga reach
skyward: two enormous basalt rocks. La Cruz del Tejeda
also comes into view there with its Parador. The scenery
- a petrified storm in the words of Unamuno - is very
beautiful, with almond trees, kitchen gardens and
powerful summits, towering over a splendid panorama.
Warning:
although the interior of Gran Canaria is precipitous,
the roads are usually adequate if driven with care.
However, in our opinion, the road from Mogan to Tejeda
is to be avoided. For part of its length it is no
more than a narrow, twisting strip of dirt with a
no barriers and a deadly drop. When I drove it, most
of the other drivers looked petrified.
Ingenio
It
is one of the oldest villages of the island, famous
today for its crafts, especially openwork and embroidery.
San
Bartolomé de Tirajana
23km
from Aguimes, after negotiating a winding road, there
is San Bartolomé de Tirajana in the mouth of
a huge crater at the foot of the central massif. There
are the highest points of the island: Pozo de las
Nieves (1,965m) and Los Pechos (1,961m), from where
there is a marvelous view of the scenery of La Galdera
de Tirajana, the valleys of Ayacata and Fataga with
their villages and the Guanche necropolis of Artenara.
Aguimes
A
summer resort with beaches nearby. Agriculturally
very rich. In Temisas, a lovely village amongst prickly
pear and olive groves, there are traces of the historical
Guanches.
Arinaga
A
beautiful, typical harbour next to the promenade of
the same name, from where there is a wide view.
San
Agustín
A
splendid beach in an area of perpetual calm. A magnificent
housing development with many gardens, hotels, bungalows
swimming pools and a recreational centre.
Playa
del Inglés
With
a length of 2,700m. A broad fringe of very fine, golden
sand, gently leading to an always blue, peaceful sea.
A large housing development with hotels, apartments,
bungalows, etc. Has joined up with Maspalomas and
San Agustin to form one large resort. This is largely
package holiday country, popular with the British
and even more so with the Germans. You do have to
put up with a lot of people touting for time-shares,
restaurants and clubs. Having said that, its a well-run,
clean place, with a great beach, and you can easily
and cheaply get around this big resort using the fleet
of red & white Mercedes taxis that seem to be
everywhere.
Maspalomas
A
6,000m long beach, an extension of the previous one,
and one of the most beautiful on the island. Nearby
there is a large oasis with dense vegetation consisting
of palm trees and salt marsh brushwood. Next to the
oasis there is a small lagoon. The housing developments
include hotels, bungalows, sports grounds, etc. and
are very important.
Two
kilometres west of the Maspalomas lighthouse, there
is Pasito Blanco beach with a yacht harbour and a
tourist centre. There is a stretch of sand dunes,
linking up the beaches of Maspalomas and Playa del
Ingles. Note that a stretch of the dunes is a nudist
beach popular with gay men - a plus or minus dependent
on what you're looking for from your holiday.
Maspalomas is a lively resort, with some class in
places. Minus point: time-share touts.
Agruineguin
This
little village lies near El Perchel Point. Patalavaca
beach has fine golden sand. It is the best area for
deep sea fishing and there are the service facilities
necessary for this kind of sport.
Puerto
Rico
A
modern housing development with apartments, hotels,
villas and bungalows, tennis, a bowling alley, horses
and a yacht harbour for over 55 boats.
Mogan
A
beautiful valley where tropical fruit is grown. Lovely
scenery all along the 12km stretch. A modern yacht
harbour with numerous moorings, hotels and other accommodation.
Arucas
It
lies in the middle of an extremely fertile plain where
the largest and most important banana- growing area
is found. It is a clean village with beautiful gardens,
such as the Municipal Park, a collection of exotic
flowers and plants. It has an interesting parish church
in pure Gothic. Close to the village lies the volcanic
cone called La Montaña de Arucas, from the
top of which there is a wide, panoramic view, including
El Puerto de la Luz and the mountains of La Isleta.
The beautiful Bañaderos coast lies at a distance
of six kilometres. The whole coast of this township
is full of beautiful scenery with cliffs, lovely coves
and a breath-taking panorama.
Teror
This
is an inland summer resort 11km fro Arucas. The Countryside
in the surroundings is bounded only by the impressive
mountain massifs where a large hamlet with scattered
houses lies. The village is most famous for the Sanctuary
of La Virgen del Pino, the patron saint of the island,
which attracts many worshippers.
Guia
It
is a prosperous village in the north near Point Guanarteme.
There are interesting cavings of the Canary image
maker Luján in the parish church. In the vicinity,
the Cenobio de Valerón consists of a series
of caves under a huge eave-like projection of lava.
Galdar
A
place of special interest from the point of view of
history and archaeology. Traces of the Guanche culture,
mainly in the cave, the Cueva Pintada, where geometric
paintings in different colours are found. Interesting
sights are the Town Hall with its age-old dragon tree
in the courtyard, the parish church and Mayor Sq.
the Plaza Mayor. It has sheltered pebble beaches.
Sardina
del Norte
This
small fishing village lies in picturesque surroundings.
It has a small pebble and coarse sand beach.
Agaete
It
is a beautiful village with a long sea-faring tradition
near Agaete valley. There is a long zigzagging canyon
where bananas, coffee, papayas, avocado pear, maize,
etc. are grown. Note the archaeological excavation
site of Malpais, a Sight of National Interest. The
Virgen of Las Nieves, depicted on a valuable Flemish
panel, is worshipped in a beautiful hermitage. Las
Nieves beach consists of pebbles and coarse sand,
surrounded by rugged basalt cliffs. Seven kilometres
away there is the health resort called Balneario de
los Berrazales in the middle of lush vegetation. It
has a spring with ferruginous water and there is a
good hotel.
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