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san nicolas de tolentino
sometimes known as 'la aldea' or 'the village', san nicolas de tolentino is tomato town. in a broad and dusty valley, well settled in prehispanic days, plastic greenhouses spread out in all directions. towards the end of the season, tomato surpluses are dumped on waste ground, making brilliant splashes of color. the town itself is mostly residential, with a cluster of shops round the church square and its restored canarian-style church. near by, in tocodoman, is the excellent cactualdea park with impressive cactus plants and exhibitions....
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vecindario town
vecindario is a workaday town which stretches interminably along the main coast road. it is a recent creation born of rural depopulation and the demands of the tourist industry. once a small village in a tomato growing area, its size and relative prosperity have earned it the label fa ciudad de fos mercedes 'mercedes city'. street markets in plaza san rafael and era de verdugo sell excellent local produce....
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central gran canaria
for those who love high mountains and volcanic landscapes, vast basalt columns rising solitary from rocky platforms, deep valleys, greenery, wild flowers in abundance the centre has to be the place. pico de las nieves is the highest point, more a mountain rim than a peak, looking down over the southeast. the freestanding roque nublo, a vast trunk of stone, rises almost as high, and looks west and southwest....
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artenara
most visitors become aware of this tiny, fertile village, set in the beautiful barranco de fataga, only when they come here on camel safari. the camel ride skirts the village and bypasses one of the most interesting pre-hispanic sites on the island: an ancient necropolis, containing hundreds of graves. early canarios used stone coffins, as well as caves, to bury their dead. here, the stones lie in rubble spread over 2sq km of hillside at the southern end of the village....
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artenara town
dominated by a statue of christ, this pleasant town is the highest on the island 11,219m. every window, balcony or turn of the road offers thrilling views from its northern side towards the pinewoods of tamadaba and from its southern side across the wide valley in which the roque bentaiga rises in solid splendor. the surrounding landscape is riddled with caves, some of them in continuous habitation since pre-spanish times....
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ayacata gran canaria
this mountain village, which serves as a staging post on the way to the highest point of the island from the coast, boasts a couple of restaurants, souvenir shops and some tremendous views particularly in early spring, when the entire mountainside is covered in soft, pale clouds of almond blossom....
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cruz de tejeda
this intricate stone cross, situated in the village of tejeda, and set in a rather scruffy square full of stalls with rather persistent owners marks the notional centre of the island. the adjacent parador, which has seen better days, was built as a hotel in 1938 to a traditional design by nestor de la torre a white house with exposed stone and green woodwork. there are beautiful views of the surrounding countryside from the side of the parador....
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the soria reservoir
this reservoir, built in 1971 at the head of the barranco de arguineguin, is the largest on the island, supplying water to the southern tourist resorts. it is also a popular swimming and fishing lake, fringed with canarian palms standing arnong taginastes and tabaiba. walkers who have labored up the barranco often take a welcorne break in the small village above the dam and sample the good local dishes and refreshing drinks, including freshly squeezed juices....
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fataga town
this charming town of white houses with pink roofs, sitting on a knoll in its barranco, is much praised as an example of all that is loveliest in canarian mountain villages not least by its own inhabitants. they describe their home as tipico, pequeno, bonito 'traditional, small and pretty' and themselves, with no false modesty, as muy amables 'very kindly'. there is no arguing with any of that....
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fortaleza grande gran canaria
rising from the valley floor on the west side of highway 815, to the south of santa lucia, this fortress like rock formation was the scene, in april 1483, of the last resistance of the aboriginal people against their spanish conquerors. the final nucleus of 600 men and over 1,000 women and children were urged to surrender by their former king, tenesor semidan, who had joined the spanish side and been baptized as a christian. refusing to listen to him, many of his former comrades threw themselves off the cliffs, calling out the name of their god, atis tirma, as they fell to their deaths....
