Located on the island of Gran Canaria, the municipality of Agaete is an ideal destination if you want to enjoy your holiday while being surrounded by amazing landscapes where the sea is one of its pillars and the greenery shields a town completely worth visiting.
Belonging to the province of Las Palmas, only 32km worth of motorway separate the two. It is home to 5.600 “agaeteros” or “chanos”, which is the name given to the residents of the municipality. The people living here are known for being very proud of the patrimony and the history of their town.
Would you like to get to know a bit about its history? Firstly, the meaning of its name comes from an ancient settlement, not only one of the first settlements of the town, but in the whole island.
From the 15th century there are hints of this town being in the conquest of los Cristianos, although they have found some older remains like the necropolis of Maipés, something you absolutely cannot miss as its one of the most important settlements with more than 640 tombs that are over 1,300 years old.
So, what should you see when you’re here? There’s a marine essence and there’s a load of points of interest that you’ll find walking through its precious streets with white painted houses and views of the sea.
One of the things you must do is stop off at the town house building and the church of la Concepción that dates back to 1875 and is located in the square of la Constitución. It is the most centrally located thing to see and is full of life. Furthermore, not too far away the museum of Etnográfico de La Rama can also be found where you can get to know about the festivities of Agaete in detail.
When do their festivities take place? They’re celebrated in August and the Bajada de La Rama, a big event that takes place during the festival of Las Nieves is very popular amongst tourists, you can learn even more about the event in the museum.
But the fun things to do don’t end there. You can also admire the chapel of Nuestra Señora de las Nieves or the orchard of Las Flores (Huerto de las Flores), a garden with spectacular views of the valley of Agaete, where you can relax with the precious view it offers next to the ravine.
In terms of its relation with the sea, we must highlight the Port of las Nieves (Puerto de las Nieves) where you can enjoy the best views from the paseo de los Poetas with views of the Roque Partido, a famous rock formation which is also known as the “finger of god”.
But if you want to spend a day at the beach, the best ones nearby are “Pinar de Tamadaba” and Risco beach (playa del Risco). It also has a lot of natural pools like the Salinas de Agaete (salt lakes of Agaete), three natural spaces of water carved out by rocks where you can peacefully bathe with your family and there’s even a solarium so you can enjoy the complete experience.
As you can see, it’s a destination full of things to do and is definitely worth spending a few days at, which will also allow you to enjoy the wide range of accommodations available, especially if you’re coming as a family as you’ll find some of the best rural holiday homes in Gran Canaria. Furthermore, if you travel in summer, you’ll be sure to find a house with a private or shared, often climatized, pool that will help you enjoy a completely unique experience in Agaete.
