Puerto de las Nieves is the harbour area of the town of Agaete in north-west Gran Canaria. Here you will find a promenade along the sea, restaurants serving fresh fish, a pebble beach and white houses with blue details. This is also where the ferries to neighbouring Tenerife depart.
Puerto de las Nieves and Agaete are among the most striking areas of north-west Gran Canaria. The town of Agaete and the harbour area are two different places. At the harbour you will find space for a walk along the sea, restaurants and seating with views of the coast. It is also a working harbour with its own bustle during the day.
White houses, the ocean and steep mountain slopes create a completely different scene from the coast around Maspalomas.
Promenade, restaurants, beach, natural pools.
Line 103 from Las Palmas.
To Santa Cruz on Tenerife.
You can walk along the promenade by the sea and among white houses with blue doors and windows. The restaurants on the promenade are known above all for their fish dishes, so lovers of fresh fish have plenty to choose from.
Lovers of healthy food can head to Hondo Café. It is a short distance from the harbour, on the side towards Agaete, and its menu includes vegan dishes.
The beach in the harbour area is more about volcanic pebbles, views of the surrounding cliffs and the atmosphere of a fishing harbour than about lying for hours on golden sand. You will find more places to swim in the overview of the best beaches on Gran Canaria.
Puerto de las Nieves was, and still is, a fishing village. Fishing is hard and very dangerous work. A sculpture of a woman with a child in her arms, waiting for her husband to come home from fishing, is a reminder of this.
Spanish people who live from the sea always call it “la mar”, although the grammatically correct form is “el mar”. It is a term of endearment: the sea is feminine, it feeds people, but it can also show rage.
Dedo de Dios, which means the Finger of God, is a basalt rock in the sea off Puerto de las Nieves and was long a symbol of Agaete. The upper part of the rock was broken off by Tropical Storm Delta at the end of November 2005, and only the lower part remains.
On one of the houses in the harbour area, the rock is painted as it looked before and after Storm Delta. The words Antes y después mean “before and after”.
In the harbour area stands the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, a chapel from the 16th century. It is associated with a Flemish triptych of Our Lady of the Snows from the same period, attributed to the painter Joos van Cleve.
The chapel is unique: you can see how people worried and prayed for their family members to come home from the sea.
Along the promenade you can continue to the natural pools. They are worth a visit even without a swim, just for the surrounding landscape and the views of the ocean.
Puerto de las Nieves is a good place to feel the power and danger of the Atlantic, and the walk to the natural pools is a good place to appreciate it.
Puerto de las Nieves is where the ferries to neighbouring Tenerife depart. The Agaete – Santa Cruz de Tenerife route is operated by Fred. Olsen Express and the crossing takes about 80 minutes. You will find current departure times on the operator’s website.
The easiest way is by car. From Las Palmas, bus line 103 runs every hour.
You can combine the trip with places nearby, for example the coffee plantation in the Agaete valley, the town of Gáldar or the Cenobio de Valerón cave complex.
Without a car, you can get here on a full-day trip around the island that follows the coast and stops in Agaete.
You will find hotel tips in the articles Las Palmas and the north of Gran Canaria and Gran Canaria resorts.
In north-west Gran Canaria. It is the harbour area of the town of Agaete.
Yes, Fred. Olsen Express ferries sail from Puerto de las Nieves to Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The crossing takes about 80 minutes.
Yes, line 103 runs every hour from Las Palmas.
It is a pebble beach with volcanic stones and views of the cliffs.
The restaurants on the promenade are known for fresh fish. For lovers of healthy food, Hondo Café is a short distance from the harbour.
Puerto de las Nieves shows a different side of Gran Canaria from the southern resorts. You can combine your trip with the promenade, a lunch of fresh fish and a stop in the Agaete valley.
