"Guiniguada" - The Canyon in the middle of the City
A walk through the calm and solitary canyon right in Las Palmas
The canyon used to be a riverbed and separated Las Palmas’ oldest districts Triana and Vegueta before it was flattened out in order to build a highway at the beginning of the 20th century – which somewhat upset environmentalists and nature lovers. Some historic photographs still show how beautiful the riverbed in downtown Las Palmas originally was.
The diverse flora and fauna in and around the riverbed and the pure and fresh waters running through turned downtown Las Palmas into a rich, green oasis. Today, several green spots in the city center still remind of the formerly vast variety of nature.
If you follow the length of the riverbed and pass the district of San Nicolàs you get into a large sort of canyon and can observe nearly untouched nature in its original kind.
Strong and impressive become the noises of nature while the racket of the town slowly diminishes as you move on. Exotic birds sing love songs and create an atmosphere like in the Garden of Eden.
Going farther into the valley its volcanic rock faces become higher and ascend more and more steeply until you reach the middle of the canyon. Above the great rocks you can spot the modern lodgings of the districts San Roque and San Nicolàs. Within the vertiginous hights of these rocks you can find ancient caves where Gran Canaria’s Indigenous people once used to live in.
Being in this gorgeous part of nature one might not believe that the Canary Islands’ capital with its 400,000 inhabitants is only a couple hundred meters away. In the urban jungle many are not aware of Gran Canaria’s unique nature but can find it in this canyon. After some time of observing a visitor may notice various remarkable and unfamiliar plants which should always be treated carefully.
Moving on past the canyon there are numerous abandoned banana plantations and simple cottages. Time left its traces on these buildings: rusty door locks, porous walls, dead palm trees and bus or car wrecks create a mysterious but nonetheless interesting atmosphere.
After about one and a half hour’s walk we reach the big highway bridge that traverses the canyon. Beneath the bridge a road runs from the valley upon a hill, the suburban district Casablanca 3. From here you can enjoy a magnificent view over the entire Barranco de Guiniguada. Also the view over the district San Roque in the East from this perspective should not be missed.
The easiest way to get back to Triana from Casablanca 3 is by bus with the lines 8 or 84, or with line 81 in direction of Santa Catalina.
