Salt Flats Tour
Salt marshes, migratory birds, and the whitest salt under a blue sky.
‘Culture, tourism, landscape, ecology, and practical performance come together to preserve the salt flats and ensure that we can all enjoy an activity almost lost to time but once vital, when ice didn’t exist,’ wrote the artist César Manrique in the foreword to the great book of Canarian salt flats, ‘The Salt Garden’.
In Gran Canaria, four salt flats remain active—out of the 25 that existed in past centuries—producing the purest sea salt of high quality, due to their traditional intensive methods, where the salt crystallises in small containers, tajos, thanks to the sun and wind (you can read more about Gran Canaria’s sea salt here).
They form part of the history of fishing in the Canary Islands and constitute a landscape of great interest, not only for its visual appeal but also for the biodiversity it supports. Located along the coastline, salt marshes are often found near them, wetland areas that allow for birdwatching. ‘Just their flora and fauna alone would make the salt flats of huge ecological interest, but there’s one factor that multiplies this value extraordinarily: the fact that it’s a place of rest, food, and sometimes breeding for many migratory aquatic birds,’ explain the authors of the book we cited (Luengo and Marín). .
Southeast Salt Flats
Visiting the four active sites on the island is relatively easy: three can be found on the coast of the Agüimes municipality, although none are open to the public. We should not enter without permission: the Bocacangrejo and La Florida locations, close to each other, near Vargas beach; Arinaga salt flats (declared a Cultural Interest Site as an ethnological site) are at the end of Arinaga's industrial park, beside the beach and village of the same name.
The fourth is Tenefé salt flats (also declared a Cultural Interest Site with the name Salt Flats of Pozo Izquierdo). Not far from the others, on the coast of Santa Lucía de Tirajana municipality and close to the village and beach of Pozo Izquierdo, these salt flats are open to visitors and worth discovering for the beauty of these human-made ecosystems.
Visiting, Shopping At Tenefé salt flats—dating back to the late 18th century with a surface area of 20,000 square metres—you can see how the so-called ‘old clay salt flats’ operate in full swing. The site has a visitor centre, a shop, and a tasting area in what was once the old salt worker’s house. On a small terrace overlooking the salt flats, you can enjoy the surroundings while tasting avocado or tomato seasoned with the local salt, as well as cheese, artisan croquettes, pork meat, or grilled tuna. You can contact the Tenefé salt flats at (+34) 828 013 018 or by email at info@brcinfraestructuras.com
The salt products available at the shop include fleur de sel, salt flakes, fine table salt, and salt tears.
The Bocacangrejo salt flats also offer a range of gourmet salts, available in shops across the island, Spar supermarkets, and El Corte Inglés department stores on Mesa y López Avenue in Las Palmas: virgin sea salt, fleur de sel, salt rocks, salt flakes, and wet sea salt which is perfect for rice dishes.
Enjoy them and don't forget to consume them in moderation.
