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palmitos park maspalomas gran canaria
one of the most visited tourist attractions in gran canaria is palmitos park, which is located 15km inland from the coastal towns of playa del inglés and maspalomas. spread over 200,000m2 at the head of the barranco de chamoriscan, palmitos park is a huge botanical garden and aviary which displays many varieties of palm tree, flora, fauna and cactus, plus over 200 species of exotic birds. also situated within the park are the butterfly house, the orchid house, large ponds with water birds and an aquarium....
anden verde balcony lookout gran canaria
winding north-east along the cliff face, the road offers thrilling glimpses downwards, by way of plummeting rock, to a vertiginously distant sea. though the extent of the anden verde is a little vague, this most exciting part of the west coast effectively begins a short way north of san nicolas de tolentino....
barranco de guayadeque
lying between the municipalities of ingenio and aguimes, this barranco is more praised by environmentalists than any other on the island. from the flat floor of the dry river bed, the walls of the ravine rise through green terraces of cultivation, through tall palms, eucalyptus and the soft green ping-pong bats of prickly pear, to lofty crags of red volcanic rock....
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casa de colon las palmas
when juan rejon founded the city of las palmas in 1478, among the first buildings he erected was a residence for the governor of the island. when christopher columbus arrived on the island on his first voyage of discovery in 1492 he presented his credentials to the governor and lodged in his house. this house, much restored and refurbished. is now the casa museo de colon....
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cenobio de valeron santa maria
it was once thought that the complex, in a rocky cliff a few miles east of santa maria de guia was the abode of guanche priestesses, or harimaguadas, who served the god alcorac; or that it housed young noblewomen in the period before marriage, when they were fed a calorie-rich diet in preparation for motherhood. now, scholars agree that the caves were used as a fortified grain depository, indicating a high degree of social organization....
the dunes at maspalomas
together with the charco de maspalomas a fresh-water lagoon behind the beach and its associated palm grove, the dunes form an area of natural beauty and ecological importance to the south and west of playa del ingles and maspalomas. their sands, composed of fine ground shells, can reach a height of 10m and are spread over an area of 328 hectares, ending at the mouth of the fataga gorge....
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the botanical gardens north gran canaria
the garden was opened in 1952, with the aim of preserving and displaying the many plant species endemic to this island. its first director was the swedish botanist erik sventenius, who did the preparatory groundwork of finding and classifying, planning and planting a task assumed since 1974 by dr david bramwell....
las canteras beach
its position is extraordinary; backed by the hotels, shops and businesses of a major city, las canteras beach stretches in a golden curve, its comparatively shallow water warmed and sheltered from the wind by the presence of the inshore reef known as la barra. a programme of improvements resulted in the planting of palm trees on the sands, and the rebuilding of a wide and attractive promenade, the paseo de las canteras, with attendant bars and restaurants, behind the beach....
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puerto de mogan gran canaria
until the 1980s this was simply a fishing village at the mouth of the barranco de mogan, providing shelter for a community of hippies and bohemians as well as for local residents. the hippies moved out most unwillingly as the first concrete mixers arrived to create a new tourist urbanization. mutterings of rebellion against the continuing massification of the coast were silenced here, however, as apartments with prettily painted door and window surrounds, pedestrianised streets, canals and bridges and, above all, hibiscus hedges and roof gardens tumbling with bougainvillea, began to appear in the new puerto de mogan. now, the resort is seen as an example of a tourist building style which does not violate the natural landscape, although more building inland is underway....
teror town gran canaria
white houses with exposed grey stone, dark wooden balconies, turned and decoratively carved, enchanting small patios hidden behind stern doors this is the style of canarian vernacular architecture which is revealed at its best in teror. elegant and well preserved, the town also has the distinction of accommodating, in its splendid main square, shaded with ficus and pine, the basilica de nuestra senora del pino the cathedral of our lady of the pine, the patron saint of gran canaria. on this site and in the branches of a pine tree, so legend goes, the virgin appeared to the first bishop of gran canaria, juan frias, on 8 december 1492....
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