Barranco de Guayadeque is a deep gorge in the east of Gran Canaria where people still live in the rock today. You will find cave dwellings and burial sites of the island’s original inhabitants, a chapel carved into the rock and a restaurant right in a cave. An ideal day trip from the south of the island.
Barranco de Guayadeque is a gorge about 15 km long in the east of Gran Canaria, between the small towns of Agüimes and Ingenio. It cuts deep into the mountains and its slopes are dotted with dozens of caves. Some were already used by the island’s original inhabitants, the Guanches; others are still lived in today – with doors, windows and sometimes even a satellite dish on the rock.
For me, Guayadeque is one of the places that show a completely different side of Gran Canaria from the beaches in the south. It is a piece of history, nature and local life all at once – and yet you can drive here from Maspalomas in about 40 minutes.
The road runs through the valley to Montaña de las Tierras, where it ends and where you can have lunch in a restaurant carved into the rock. Do not miss the visitor centre at the start of the gorge and the cave village of Cuevas Bermejas either.
The GC-103 tarmac road, an ordinary car is fine
Visitor centre, cave village and restaurants
A half-day trip, or a full day with lunch
The gorge and the cave village – click to play the video.
The gorge was inhabited long before the Spanish arrived. The Guanches lived here in natural and artificially enlarged caves, which they used as granaries and above all as burial sites. Guayadeque is one of the most important archaeological sites on the island – dozens of mummies, pottery, tools and remains of clothing have been found here.
Thanks to this, we know much more today about how the island’s original inhabitants lived, what they lived on and how they buried their dead. I write more about their lives and about how the Spanish conquered the island in the article History of Gran Canaria.
You can see the mummies and objects from Guayadeque at the Museo Canario in the historic Vegueta quarter of Las Palmas.
About halfway along the valley lies the cave village of Cuevas Bermejas. The houses here are not built but carved into the rock – a white façade with a door and windows at the front, and rooms inside the hill behind it. Caves keep a constant pleasant temperature: cool in summer and warm in winter.
In the village you will also find a small chapel carved into the rock, dedicated to St Bartholomew. From the village you can continue along the path further up the valley and enjoy the peace and the views of the gorge’s slopes.
From Maspalomas or Playa del Inglés, take the GC-1 motorway towards Las Palmas and leave at the exit for Agüimes. From there the GC-103 road leads into the gorge. It is narrow and winding, but easily drivable in an ordinary car. From the visitor centre it is about 7 km to the end of the road at Montaña de las Tierras.
From the end of the road a walking trail leads up to the upper part of the gorge and the Caldera de los Marteles crater. The route is more demanding, with a considerable climb – suitable for more experienced walkers with sturdy footwear and plenty of water.
You can park at the visitor centre, in Cuevas Bermejas and at the end of the road. At weekends local people also come here for lunch, so it tends to be busier.
At mountain viewpoints and lay-bys, do not leave anything visible on the seats of your car. Experienced thieves can open a car quickly and lie in wait exactly where tourists leave their car unattended for a few minutes.
You can combine a visit to the gorge with a walk around the historic centre of Agüimes. All you need is an ordinary car and a good mood.
Start with a walk around the historic centre of Agüimes, with its narrow lanes, colourful houses and the church of San Sebastián. It is one of the prettiest small towns in the east of the island.
Continue into the gorge. Stop at the visitor centre carved into the hillside and then at the cave village of Cuevas Bermejas with its chapel in the rock.
At the end of the road, have lunch in a cave restaurant. Try grilled meat, papas arrugadas with mojo sauce or Canarian cheeses.
Sturdy footwear – such as walking boots – water, a hat and sun cream. It tends to be cooler in the upper part of the gorge, so an extra layer comes in handy too.
You will see one of the most important archaeological sites on Gran Canaria
You will walk through a village where people still live in the rock
You will look inside a small chapel carved into the rock
You will have lunch in a restaurant right in a cave
You will enjoy the wild landscape of the gorge and the peace away from the resorts
It is an easy half-day trip from the south of the island
Guayadeque is not a place you go to for a beach. But if you want to get to know Gran Canaria more deeply – its history, its original inhabitants and life away from the resorts – it is one of the best trips you can take from the south of the island. And you will remember lunch in a cave.
