TRIP 2: THE CENTRE

From Maspalomas, along the motorway, we will get to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to take the road to Tamaraceite which will lead us to the village Villa de Teror. This is the main religious centre of the island, since the basilica Nuestra Señora del Pino, the patron saint of Gran Canaria, is located in this village. From the square, the visual attraction centre is the yellow tower of the church, built in 1708. This is a construction with yellow stoneworks with Manuelin style influences. The buildings which have taken in the image of the virgen are three. The tower is the only building remaining from the ruins of the second tower, which was engulfed in flames. Around this building, the village has conserved its traditional configuration almost unchanged. That is why this village was declared Artistic Patrimony in 1979.

Close to the basilica, there is a house-museum of the Virgin, a property of the familiy Manrique de Lara y Bravo de Laguna and which was turned into a museum.  Very old objects and souvenirs are exhibited. These have belonged to different families which have lived in the house. Among the many objects, there is a carriage used by the king Alfonso XIII during his visit to Gran Canaria. The entrance leads to a Canary Island style patio with an Italian font. This house is an exceptional sample of the noble architecture of this village. Do not forget to visit the urban area, with beautiful big houses with impressive balconies and noble houses. Another distinguished religious building in Teror is the monastery of Cister, where cakes made by nuns are sold through a revolving wheel.

We continue to Cruz de Tejeda and, before reaching Valleseco, from the viewpoint Balcón de Zamora, you will have a spectacular panoramic view of Teror and the surrounding areas.

Passing the village of Valleseco, we arrive in Cruz de Tejeda, in the centre of the island, at about 1,300 metre of height. The cross carved in stone in this point is the centre of the net of the old rural paths of Gran Canaria. Very close, there is the state-owned hotel Parador Nacional de Tejeda, recently restored and with some restaurants and stands where local produts are sold, such as marzipan and a sweet cream know as "bienmesabe" (whose translation would be "it tastes good").

The importance of this place stems from its spectacular landscape, coming from a huge crater on which there is a mountain crowned by the impressive rocks of: El Nublo (1,700 m height), El Fraile and Bentayga. If you take the diversion to the peak "Pico de las Nieves" also known as "Pozo de las Nieves" you will enjoy its stunning views. In this place, there is a lookout from which the crater Caldera de Tirajana and the beaches of the south of Gran Canaria, as well as the peaks Roque Nublo and Teide, can be contemplated. If you have time, take the diversion to the small village of Artenara, the highest village in Gran Canaria, and visit the chapel of Virgen de la Cuevita (Virgin of the Cave). This chapel captivates all visitors, for it was carved in stone and its pieces were made of stone while building the cave.

We go back to Cruz de Tejeda and head for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in order to visit  the municipality of San Mateo. The attraction of this village are its traditional houses, samples of the island architecture, dispersed all over the municipality. San Mateo is one of the main agricultural and cattle raising centres of Gran Canaria. It holds cattle fairs and street markets with agricultural products every weekend.

The following place to visit Villa de Santa Brígida, which gathers the natural park of Bandama, Monte Lentiscal, la Atalaya and the ravine Las Goteras. Besides its lanscape value, this municipality is also interesting due to its geomorphological, botanical , archeological and ethnographic features. The house-caves of La Atalaya are some traces of its cave-dwelling past. Furthermore, it is important to mention that there was a prominent pottery industry in this area. Near the capital, we take the diversion to an extraordinary lookout of 569 metres over the sea level. From the summit of Bandama, you will be able to contemplate the crater of the volcano, whose mouth is open before you with a depth of 200 metres. You can also see the centenarian Golf Club of Bandama.

Our last reference point in this route before coming back to Maspalomas through Las Palmas de Gran Canaria shall be the botanical garden "Jardín Canario", 7 km from the capital, in the ravine Barranco de Guiniguada. This garden was founded in 1952 by the the Swedish botanis Sventenius. You will be able to contemplate a wide variety of plants and trees from the Macaronesian area. There are more than 50 species of trees which were part of the laurisilva forest, especially interesting since this forest is currently almost extinguished.