Travel to Gran Canaria a continent in miniature

Arrival and transfer to accommodation

The impressive scenery from the top of Gran Canaria, with a panoramic view of the Tejeda Caldera, Roque Bentayga, Roque Nublo and Tenerife with Mount Teide in the background, will offer us the perfect excuse to go on part of one of the most spectacular and less travelled trails in Gran Canaria, the one that connects Cruz de Tejeda with the neighbourhood of Cuevas Caídos.

Here you will find Bodegas Bentayga (Vinos Agala), one of the islands' most award-winning wineries in recent years and which produces wine at the highest altitude in Europe. The route runs along the edge of the Tejeda Caldera, which goes in the direction of Roque Nublo, so that the majesty of the landscape will leave no one indifferent. The spectacular views of the Tejeda basin from the cellar itself will not leave you indifferent either. There we will be able to admire the spectacular caves dug into the rock where their wines are aged, at the same time as we enter the exciting world of tasting and winemaking by the owner or winemaker who, over the last few years, have led to this winery with the highest standards of quality.

Today you can enjoy the natural environment or go down to the beach.

To the northwest of Gran Canaria lies one of the most unique towns in Gran Canaria, Agaete, which has managed to combine history, tradition and modernity like few others. Agaete has always been a region of the island rich in natural resources. The fertile lands of the "Valley" and its rich water sources, as well as an abundant fishing area on its coast, have made this part of the island inhabited from the first settlers to the present day.

Entering the interior of the municipality, we will arrive at the town of San Pedro, where we will be able to admire one of the most beautiful landscapes of Gran Canaria. The spectacular Tamadaba Massif shelters this bucolic valley where, thanks to its special microclimate, there are many tropical fruit plantations on its lands. It is precisely this microclimate that allows Agaete to be the only place in Europe where there are coffee plantations. It is said that in times of drought, the aborigines used to celebrate a rite that consisted of going up to the Tamadaba pine forest to collect branches and from there going down to the coast to shake them into the sea and pray for the long awaited rain ... Be this myth or reality, there is no doubt that the Fiesta de La Rama is an important part of the identity of the canaries.

It is all these reasons, as well as its botanical and ethnographic richness, that make us propose this magnificent interpreted hiking route from Playa de Agaete to San Pedro. Once in the Agaete Valley, on the slopes of the Tamadaba Massif, we will visit the Finca La Laja, where we will enjoy an authentic gift for the senses: among hundreds of fruit trees, we will be able to see the vineyards and coffee plantations where their magnificent wines come from. and its aromatic coffee, unique in the world. There we will be delighted with an explanatory tasting of both products, in addition to tasting the medicinal water of the valley, the seasonal fruits of the farm, snacks with typical products of the island and a guided tour of the entire plantation. To finish our trip, we cannot leave Agaete without visiting what the locals call "La Playa" or the famous Puerto de Las Nieves. Well known today as an important mooring pier to connect the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, Agaete has always been a fishing village, where many families still live from artisanal fishing. Once located on the coast, we will take a walking tour of the same, visiting Agaete beach, the old wharf, the area where the traditional fishing boats are located until we reach the Las Salinas area. As its name indicates, in its time it was the place that housed one of the most important salt marshes in the north of the GC, nowadays transformed into beautiful natural pools, where you can enjoy a pleasant bath feeling the force of the sea in this abrupt northwestern area of Gran Canaria.

This "journey" will take us to the heart of the cattle-raising region to the north of Gran Canaria, one of the most rural and least known areas of the island, where even a small number of shepherd families perpetuate the old mountain way of life. of the islands, as well as the artisanal production of a cheese unique in the world: Flor de Guía cheese (DO).

The Altos de Gáldar, in turn, have a bucolic landscape made up of gentle hills of green meadows that, at times, will make us doubt whether we are in the Canary Islands or in the lands of Ireland or Switzerland ... We will walk along an old shepherd's track where we can have the privilege of enjoying one of the activities that characterize the grazing on the islands and that fewer and fewer families maintain: Trashumancia. During our trip we will be able to meet them and their faithful sheepdogs, moving sheep daily between some grazing areas and others. This will be the ideal time to start a conversation with them and learn first hand something more about the way of life of the inhabitants and how it has changed in recent years, if any ...

Continuing on our way, we will pass by a beautiful volcanic caldera and through a peaceful forest of Canarian pines, then we will pass along a natural plain where every morning the cattle graze and are milked by hand until we reach our final destination, the house. and cheese factory where the famous local sheep's cheeses are made.

Here we will be welcomed by Tania and Francisco, who despite their youth are betting strongly on maintaining this ancient way of life and making one of the best sheep's cheeses on the island, innovating with tradition. Witnessing the hospitality that characterizes the local population, we will spend a pleasant time visiting the surroundings of the farm, learning how the cheese is made and how the goats are milked, as well as visiting the natural cave where the cheeses are slowly aged ... Our "journey" will end, of course, with a tasting of the different types of cheese made there, accompanied by home-made bread from Juncalillo, seasoned tomatoes, dried fruit and wine from Gran Canaria. Tania and I will also have the opportunity to learn how to make our own cheese in the traditional way: on old wooden cheeses ...

Check-out. Transfer to the airport, check-in, boarding and return to the city of origin.