Galdar and the Cueva Pintada
Now that I have moved my blog and have all the posts on my homepage, here is a new post. The pictures are from our last visit to Gran Canaria. There we visited a very interesting museum, which I would not like to withhold from anyone and which I warmly recommend. This is the Museo y Parque Arqueológico Cueva Pintada, which is located in the small village of Galdar in the north of the island.
Galdar is located about 25 km west of Las Palmas and can be easily reached via the GC-2, if you are in one of the tourist centers in the south of the island, you either drive via the GC-1 to Las Palmas and then the GC-2 further, or via the pass routes that lead through the center of the island. I can recommend both.
The excavation site can be seen from afar, as it is in the middle of the place under a white plastic sheet. When you arrive in Galdar, it is best to leave your car in one of the parking spaces just behind the entrance to the village and then walk a small climb through the narrow alley towards the museum.
Here is some basic information about the museum.
| Address |
Calle Audiencia, 2 35460 Gáldar, Las Palmas, Spanien |
| Phone | +34 928 89 54 89 |
| Homepage | Cueva Pintada |
| Opening times |
October to May:
June to September
|
| Tickets |
Adults: 6 € Reduced: 3 € Children under 18 have free admission |
The best thing to do is to book a guided tour in the museum. In times of Corona, you cannot go to the excavation site alone, but only in groups of up to 15 people. There are guides who speak several languages, our guide spoke perfect German, which is not really surprising considering having a German parent. You first enter the exhibition in the museum building, where 2 different films are then shown.
The first 3D film is about Arminda, a daughter of the last old Canarian ruler and her fate, how she is forcibly baptized and assigned to a conqueror and can only watch how her people are subjugated. The second film is about the life of the indigenous people before the arrival of the Europeans.
I also found a video from the museum on YouTube that I don’t want to withhold from you.
After learning something about the indigenous people, you enter the excavation site. This is located directly at the museum and therefore in the middle of town. In some parts, the excavation goes to the foundations of the houses, in some cases even below. In the center is the Cueva Pintada, the painted cave. This was discovered in the middle of the 19th century while creating terraces for agriculture, but was only made accessible to visitors in 2006. You can visit the Cueva Pintada, but it is shielded by glass walls to prevent the colors from fading further. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take photos of the cave itself, so I cannot show any more here.
Nevertheless, I can recommend a visit to the Galdar and the museum to every visitor to Gran Canaria, as this is not typically touristy, but also for people who want to learn more about the history of the island and the fate of its natives.
Here are a few impressions.
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[…] starting point for this trip is Galdar, where you can visit the Cueva Pintada. From there we drive to Agaete and then via the GC-200 to the mountains on the coast. Here we go […]