On a scale from 1-10, how well do you think you know Gran Canaria? Beaches, restaurants are under control, aren’t they? And what about the hikes, volcanic craters, roads and wine?
In today’s blog we are going to share with you 5 interesting facts you should know about Gran Canaria and once you finish reading, we want you to let us know how many things were new?
FACT 1: Waterfalls
Gran Canaria has many mountains which makes it almost impossible for the island not to have waterfalls. But many people don’t know that Gran Canaria has an abundance of waterfalls.
There are a few places that have a waterfall all year round: Barranco de Cernícalos and Barranco de Azuaje.
After a week of heavy rain (usually in winter) almost every Barranco on the island has a waterfall, the most popular ones are: Charco Azul and Barranco de la Manta. What I recommend then is to just drive around and explore.
FACT 2: The only coffee plantation of Europe is in Agaete
Finca los Castaños is the only location in Europe where they still cultivate coffee. In the 18th century, farmers started cultivating Arabic coffee beans, now there are 40 farmers that focus on this coffee plantation. At the coffee plantation (where they also grow fruit and make wine) you can book a tour to get to know the plantation and of course also taste the coffee.
If you don’t want to explore the coffee plantation, but you do want to taste the Canarian coffee, you can visit: Cafeteros.
FACT 3: GC-200 is one of the most dangerous roads of Spain
If you enjoy stunning ocean and mountain views, an adventure while driving and a small scare when you have to pass a truck or bus, this is a road for you! The GC-200 starts North of Agaete and ends at Puerto de Mogán. The road is rated as one of the most dangerous roads of Spain due to its hairpin bends and the cliff drops. These circumstances give you gorgeous views with the mountains on one side and the ocean + Tenerife on the other side. If you are planning to do a roadtrip this road should DEFINITELY be on your route.
FACT 4: You can stand in an old volcanic crater and walk on the edge of the volcano
Caldera de Bandama is a 200 meter deep volcanic crater which has a diameter of 1KM. The great thing about this crater (apart from the fact that you can stand in the middle of an old volcano) is that the soil is so fertile that the crater is overgrown with palm trees and other plants. The hike down takes about 30 minutes, the hike back up depends on your stamina (hahaha). If you want to get the full ‘volcano’ experience you can also add a walk around the edge, which gives amazing views of the crater, Las Palmas, the ocean and sometimes even Fuerteventura. At the top of the road that leads to Caldera de Bandama there is also an observation platform where you can enjoy the views.
Fun fact: The Caldera got the name Bandama because it once belonged to a Dutch/Belgian merchant Daniel van Dame (the house in the middle was also his) but the Spanish couldn’t pronounce ‘van Dame’ so it ended up as Bandama.
FACT 5: There are several vineyards on the island where you can do wine tasting
There are several vineyards on the island. The volcanic soil and the stable weather conditions make Gran Canaria a perfect island for vineyards, hence why there are so many. Some of the vineyards also have wine tastings and tours. The first location was Caldera de Bandama but now there are vineyards across the whole island. There are several famous wines that are made on the island such as: Mocanal from Bodegas San Juan, Agala 1318 and Agala 1175 from Bodegas Bentayga.
If you enjoy wine and if you would like to explore a vineyard definitely check out Bodega San Juan.
So, let us ask you again: What mark would you give to yourself on a scale from 0-10? Did you know all these facts? Which of these fun facts are new for you and would you like us to go deeper and tell you more about one of the topics from the list?
Text taken from: https://nikateacher.com
