Agüimes: History, Ravines and Canarian Festivals

Agüimes offers a view of four centuries of regional history: the Museo de Historia de Agüimes presents the development from the establishment of episcopal rule following the Castilian conquest of the island to the mid-19th century.

History and Cultural Heritage

The Agüimes Tourist Office organises guided tours of the historic centre for groups. Its streets and squares invite visitors to stroll; numerous sculptures are associated with local personalities and traditions.

The Interpretation Centre of the historic centre of Agüimes is located on the site of the former Ermita de San Antonio Abad, built in the mid-16th century. It presents the urban development from prehistoric times to the present day through construction techniques, materials and characteristic buildings.

The neoclassical temple of San Sebastián was declared a National Historic-Artistic Monument in 1981. The parish church of San Sebastián in the centre of Agüimes preserves works by local artists, including works by Luján Pérez del Moro.

The Centro de Interpretación de Guayadeque presents the environmental and cultural heritage resources of the Barranco de Guayadeque: from its geological formation through erosion and volcanic activity, through indigenous settlement and European colonisation, to its present-day use.

Landscape and Archaeology

The Barranco de Guayadeque connects the municipalities of Ingenio and Agüimes. The ravine is approximately 11 kilometres long and has an elevation difference of 1,273 metres; it is protected as a natural monument and as an asset of cultural interest in the category of Archaeological Zone.

The protected landscape of Paisaje Protegido de la Montaña de Agüimes lies next to a section of the Barranco de Guayadeque and the town of Agüimes.

Morro del Cuervo is home to one of the most significant rock-art sites in this area. At least six engraved panels have been identified there, created through continuous pecking and/or abrasion. Los Letreros is located at the confluence of the Barranco de Temisas and the Barranco de Balos and is considered the most significant complex of rock engravings on Gran Canaria.

Altitude, Astronomy and Routes

The Valle de Temisas lies at an altitude of 650 metres within the municipality. It comprises the districts of San Miguel, Corazón de Jesús and La Inmaculada; the district of Temisas is home to the Ermita de San Miguel, built in 1730.

The Observatorio Astronómico de Temisas serves as a cultural reference point in Agüimes, in the southeast of Gran Canaria and across the island as a whole for the teaching, dissemination and study of astronomy and related sciences.

Agüimes enables residents and visitors to take part in orienteering all year round on permanently established courses. The Montaña de Agüimes–Morros de Ávila route begins in Agüimes and leads to archaeological caves at Morro de Ávila.

The El Hombre de Guayadeque route begins at Las Crucitas on the GC-100 at the entrance to Agüimes and offers panoramic views of the centre of Agüimes and the southeast coast of Gran Canaria. Different themes such as archaeology, altitude, orienteering and viewpoints give each route its own character.

Festivals and Local Traditions

The Fiestas de Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Agüimes include the Encuentro en el Casco with musical and gastronomic performances, the Traída del Gofio y Agua and the Romería-Ofrenda.

The Traída del Agua y el Gofio reenacts the traditional delivery of grain to a mill to make gofio; along the route, gofio is served to participants.

The Cabalgata of Agüimes has been held since 1956, takes place every year on 5 January, passes through the historic centre and depicts key scenes from the birth of Christ and the arrival of the Three Kings.

La Pasión de Cristo has represented Holy Week on the streets of the historic centre of Agüimes since 1993. The Carnaval de Agüimes is a popular and participatory festival with costumes, music and batucada.

The festivities in honour of San José Obrero include a Romería as an offering to San José Obrero and a livestock fair; the celebrations are associated with sharecropping and pastoral farming.

The Vará del Pescao is a popular celebration that commemorates the town’s historic relationship with fishing and the sea.

Crafts and Flavours

Agüimes’ craft tradition includes ceramics, basketry, pottery, palm-leaf work, stone masonry, jewellery, metalwork and crochet. Visitors are invited to get to know local craftspeople.

Agüimes has a popular gastronomic tradition featuring stews, fish, mojos, meat, desserts and liqueurs. Agüimes is also home to a municipal winery where wine and oil are produced.

Coast and Water

Playa de Vargas in the municipality of Agüimes is a destination for radical windsurfing. There is a campsite associated with windsurfing that is designed and equipped for this purpose.

A coastal area in the municipality of Agüimes has calm waters suitable for swimming and is accompanied by a more than three-kilometre-long seafront promenade adapted to its surroundings.

Other Locality Pages

Another locality page is La Goleta; other locality pages in this selection are Vega De San Mateo, Santa Lucía De Tirajana, La Sorrueda, Lomitos De Correa, Trasmontaña, Lomo Quiebre and Santa María De Guía De Gran Canaria.

For the higher-level travel overview: Gran Canaria.