Gran Canaria
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Gáldar

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Gáldar

A total of 27 kilometres separate Gáldar from the capital. The highest part of the municipality is situated at some 1,700 metres above sea-level. In the high areas of this northern municipality we find well differentiated morphologies which originated from the volcanic eruptions of “El Montañón Negro”, “La Caldera de los Pinos de Gáldar” and the “Hondo de Fagagesto” 

Façade of the Iglesia de Santiago de Gáldar church
Back of the Iglesia de Santiago de Gáldar church

The town of Gáldar, capital of one of the ancient kingdoms of the  island  before the Spanish conquest of Gran Canaria, shows part of its   ancestral past in the Cueva Pintada (Painted Cave) Archaeological Park   in the centre of town. Here we have one of the main findings of rock   drawings in the Atlantic area. Public opening times: Tuesdays to   Saturdays from 09:30 to 19:00 hours (last visit at 17:00 hours); Sundays   from 11:00 to 18:30 hours (last visit at 17:00 hours); Mondays closed.

The Town Centre, declared Historical Group in 1981, preserves various  notable buildings. The Matrix Temple of Santiago de Gáldar, one of the  most beautiful in the Canaries, is a link between the baroque and the  first neo-classical style of the archipelago. The temple holds  interesting pieces of art such as the Pila Verde (the Green Christening  Stone), where the first defeated Canarians received their first baptism  after the Conquest of the Island.

Cueva Pintada in Gáldar

The old Town Hall (Casas Consistoriales), constructed over an old  building of the XVIII century, is custodian to one of the oldest Drago  trees in Gran Canaria, already documented back in 1718. Public opening  times: Mondays to Fridays from 08:00 to 14:30 hours. Annexed to the Town  Hall is the Municipal Theatre, a 1912 construction that came to  substitute the old theatre founded by Queen Isabel II of Spain. 

The so called Plaza Grande (Great Square) is one of the best examples  of Public Walks of the XIX century in the Canaries, where examples of  centennial trees, such as the South American Laurels and the Araucarias,  deserve a mention. The Antonio Padrón Museum, a few metres away, houses  more than one hundred works of art by one of the most distinguished  artists in the archipelago. Public opening times: Mondays to Fridays  from 09:00 to 14:00 hours.

Beach of Sardina

Gáldar is one of the places with the greatest number of beaches and natural pools in the northern part of Gran Canaria. Here we must distinguish the beach of Sardina with its various restaurants and small fishing harbour. The beach is frequently used by divers, especially due to the convenience of equipping themselves and beginning their inmersions from its harbour. One of the main attractions of this place, for divers, are the night dives close to the dock of the fishing harbour.

For more tourist information on the municipality, Gáldar has a Tourist Information Office in the town centre.

Practical Information about the Northern Route

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