TAFIRA ALTA Y BAJA

Like their neighbour, Santa Brigida, the towns of Tafira Alta and Baja are now no more than comfortable residential suburbs of Las Palmas. They have large houses, ample gardens, and enjoy the proximity of the Jardin Canario  and the university campus. All is gracious suburban semi-rurality, spoiled only by the proximity of the busy 811 which runs through here from Las Palmas to Vega de San Mateo, passing through a narrow canyon of Main Street.

Again like Santa Brigida, the area is known for good food. The Jardin Canario has an excellent restaurant and superb views by its top entrance. At the lower level, you can eat well in the village of La Calzada. The name of caves in the nearby barranco, Cuevas de los Frailes, recalls evangelising friars who were murdered by resistant Guanches. These same friars are immortalized in the name of a hotel, Los Frailes, built by an Englishman at the end of the 19th century, now a private house on the road above the Jardin Canario. Nearby Monte Lentiscal and Monte Coello are regarded as the best wine producing areas in the island.