Barranco de las Vacas in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is well known for its golden sand beaches and picturesque neighborhoods, however, this island hides incredible places that are just beginning to become popular with tourists. This is the case of the Barranco de las Vacas, a rock formation located in the municipality of Agüimes.
What is a ravine?
If you are wondering what the ravines of the Canary Islands are, we will tell you that they are abrupt unevenness in the surfaces of certain rocky terrain, which arise as a natural consequence of erosion caused by water flows. The size and depth of each ravine depends on the pressure of rivers, mountain streams and streams.
Although the ravines of Gran Canaria are especially well known, the truth is that this type of relief is very abundant throughout Spain, so there are different outdoor recreational activities in which the geographical conditions are used depending on the type of ravine. In fact, there is canyoning, an adventure sport that includes jumping, climbing, swimming, tobogganing, among others.
As we have seen, the ravine, also called the canyon, has this shape and appearance thanks to the rivers, but in reality the water takes a long time to erode the rocks, even thousands of years, therefore, some of these formations are constantly changing. evolution. However, most of the ravines in Gran Canaria are currently completely dry, since the water sources in those areas disappeared a long time ago. This is the reason why there is no water in the Barranco de las Vacas.
How to get to the ravine of the cows?
Once you are in Gran Canaria it will be very easy for you to find the municipality of Agüimes in the southwest of the island. You just have to head towards the Temisas farmhouse on the GC-550 road and stop at km 14. If you go by car, you have two options for parking: before the curve that gives access to the place there is space for 2 vehicles, but it may be busy. The other option is to park a little before arriving, on the left side of the road, where about 5 cars can fit. However, in the latter case you must take into account that the walk will be longer.
If you pay attention to the road fence, you will see that there is an open space that gives access to the dirt road that leads to this interesting ravine in Gran Canaria. This royal path joins the towns of Agüimes and Temisas, but there is also another trail further along the road, which can be more comfortable if you have children and older adults with you.
When you reach the bottom of the ravine you must leave the path, taking a detour to the right, following the route of the riverbed. Next, you have to walk a few meters until you find a tunnel under the road. At this point you will be just below the GC-550 road, so if you continue along the path in 5 minutes you will reach your destination.
As you can see, you should not worry about how to get to the Barranco de las Vacas, since it is a path without many difficulties. In addition, it is currently part of the hiking trail that runs through other rock formations on the island. In this sense, there is a whole logistics in the town of Temisas that make the journey even easier.
The best time to visit Barranco de las Vacas
You probably know that the climate of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean is subtropical. Therefore, most of the year has moderate and pleasant temperatures, since they range between approximately 22 and 28 °C. However, the islands have a very particular climate due to relief, altitude and other aspects. Also, the walk lasts a few hours, so you have to be aware of the thermometer.
You can spend good time with your family both in winter and in summer, but it is preferable to go during the first hours of the day, since the weather is more friendly. On the other hand, Gran Canaria is home to many birds, among which are the woodpecker, the hornero, the blue chaffinch, the red partridge, among others, therefore, do not forget to bring binoculars.
Also, in the mornings there is better light, so it is a good time to take pictures in the middle of the colored tuffs. In this sense, we want to make a parenthesis to mention that we have found very positive opinions about the Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ82 from users.
As additional information, we can say that during the week there are usually fewer people, especially before 10:00 am, while on weekends it can be more difficult to take photos. In any case, it is advisable to bring a cap, a hat and water to maintain hydration during the tour.
What to do near the Barranco de las Vacas?
Very close to the Barranco de las Vacas, just 2 km away, is the Cocodrilo Park zoo, an animal rescue center that has a wide variety of crocodile species, as well as tigers, monkeys, pygmies, llamas, meerkats, among many others. others. In addition, it has a bar where you can have a drink and enjoy a snack.
Less than 10 minutes from Barranco de las Vacas is the Las Arenas Shopping Center, where you can find all kinds of restaurants, as well as a large number of electronics, perfumery, toy, footwear and clothing stores in general. In addition, it has a movie theater and on weekends there are children’s shows.
As for the hotels, there are also some very close and it is worth mentioning that they have competitive prices according to the opinions of many tourists. For all these reasons, the Barranco de las Vacas is already one of the important destinations to visit in Gran Canaria.
