La Bandama boiler is largest volcanic caldera on the island of Gran Canaria. An impressive monument that you can enjoy doing Hiking. Next to the boiler is the Bandama Peak and both make up the Bandama Natural Monument. If you are a lover of Natural spaces, this visit cannot be missing from your list of places what to see in Gran Canaria. Next, we are going to give you more information about this natural monument, the trails you can take to visit it, where to eat and taste the wines grown in volcanic soil. Here we go!
Bandama Caldera, Gran Canaria
La Caldera is located among the municipalities of Santa Brígida, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Telde, in the northeast of the island. This Protected Natural Area It has a volcanic depression of about 200 meters deep, around 1000 meters in diameter and about 3 kilometers in perimeter. It is one of the most perfect calderas in the Canary Islands, almost looks like a crater. It is also believed to be where there were most recent volcanic activity on the island of Gran Canaria. Both the Caldera and the old volcano of the Bandama Peak, were formed a few years ago five thousand years.
As a curious fact, you should know that the word Bandama derives from the name of the Flemish merchant Daniel Van Damme. Daniel Van Damme was one of the first Europeans to explore the caldera and cultivate vineyards inside. However, it is believed that the Canarian aborigines already farmed here. If you would like to visit this natural monument, you have the option of arriving by car to the Bandama Peak viewpoint. You can also tour the path that borders the caldera O well the one that reaches its base. We give you all the details in the next few lines.
Pico de Bandama, one of the most spectacular viewpoints
Whether you are going to walk any of the trails to visit the Caldera de Bandama or not, we recommend that you take your car to the Bandama Peak Viewpoint. The Pico de Bandama, another of the resources that makes up the Bandama Natural Monument, has 569 meters. From here you will have the best view panoramic view of La Caldera. In addition, you will also be able to see the Atlantic Ocean, the golf course golf of the Real Club de Golf de Bandama, the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the municipalities of Santa Brígida and Telde.
You should know that the caldera was part of a volcano, but it is not a volcano itself, nor a crater. That is, it is the sinking of the volcanic cone and its crater during an eruption that occurred about 2.000 years ago. This eruption formed the enormous hole that you can see today from the Mirador del Pico de Bandama or from the path that borders the Caldera de Bandama. (we will talk to you about him below).
Hiking routes through La Caldera de Bandama
As we told you before, the perimeter that borders La Caldera is approximately 3 kilometers and there is a path that runs through it. If you park where we have mentioned, you must go down the road until you see an exit to the left of it. There is no loss, since it is circular and ends at the Bandama Golf course. Below we leave you a brief description of the trail.
| Distance | 3,8 km |
| Approximate duration on foot | 1 hour and 30 |
| Total promotion | 252 m |
| Level | Beginner |
| Circular | Yes |
| Rooftop dining room | No |
Although the route is short, we recommend good footwear. and, in the winter months, good coat Keep in mind that, given its volcanic origin, part of the trail is peak (it is what we call gravel-type volcanic stone in the Canary Islands) and it is slipperyAs we see it, it is a route of Hiking you can do with children in Gran Canaria.
If you would like to visit this place with a expert guide, there is tour from the capital to visit the Caldera, Teror and the The Roque Nublo with very good reviews from other travelers. You have all the information here.
Trail to the base of the Caldera
If you want, you can also tour the path that takes you to the base of the Caldera de Bandama and complement it with the circular path that exists once below. In total is about 3,5 kilometers (descent, base circle and rise) with about 235 meters of elevation. During the route you will be able to walk next to walls like the ones we show you and see endemic species of the island such as the Gran Canaria Giant Lizard. In any case, If you only have time to do one of the routes, we choose the path that borders the caldera for the views. In addition, the climb from the base can be hard, especially on hot days (there is no air flow at all).
How to get to the Bandama Caldera
If you are going to visit the Bandama Caldera on your own, from the capital it is approximately 20 minutes by car and from English beach Let's say about 45 minutes. Once here, you should know that there are hardly any parking spaces. On the road that takes you to Pico de Bandama, There is a curve where you can leave your car and then walk down the road a few meters to the entrance of the trail. It is the place that we show you below right in front of a restaurant called La Caldera.
Regarding the viewpoint, to visit it you can easily stop on the side of the road and enjoy the views.
Wines from Monte Lentiscal DO Gran Canaria
The agricultural area surrounding the Bandama Natural Monument known as Mount Lentiscal. To this day, the tradition of grow grapes on volcanic soil (picón) to produce one of the best wines in the Canary Islands. On the way to the caldera, look at the vineyards that are part of the landscape from the area. If you would like to do a wine tasting, you can get more information in our article on the best Gran Canaria wineries.
Likewise, below we will mention two restaurants where you can try good DO Gran Canaria wines (formerly DO Monte Lentiscal), accompanied by the rich Canarian gastronomy and Spanish in general.
Restaurants near the Bandama Caldera
To eat in the area we like the Casa Miranda Grill Restaurant where, as we told you, They have good wines from Gran Canaria, as well as delicious food and excellent service. They specialize in grilled and stone-grilled meats and their desserts are incredible. You can't leave here without trying a good steak and torrijas, although they have a wide variety of homemade desserts.
The restaurant is less than a 10-minute drive from La Caldera and has its own parking. If you're planning to visit on the weekend, try to book or arrive before 13:30 p.m.. You'll tell us how it goes!
If you just want try the local wine and have an aperitif among the vineyards, we recommend visiting the Vandama Winery (Bandama Road, 116, Santa Brígida). This option will only be possible if you have a car, as you must cross a gravel road between vineyards to get there. The surroundings are spectacular and its cheeses and wines from Gran Canaria too. Here we recommend that you try the house wine made with the Listán Negro grape variety. A little-known delicacy that is practically exclusive to the Canary Islands. It is also worth eating here, although it is not cheap.
If you want more recommendations, take a look at our article restaurants in Santa Brígida.
Video of the hiking route through the Bandama Caldera
Below we leave you with a route video so that you have a clearer idea of what you are going to find on this path, as well as the restaurant that we propose. We hope you enjoy it and, if you want to see more videos of plans to do in Gran Canaria, subscribe to our YouTube channelBy the way, please excuse our mistake, the Pico de Bandama is located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (not in Santa Brígida as we indicated in the video).
Gran Canaria Guides
Finally, we invite you to take a look at other articles about places that you can combine in your visit to this area of the island.
On the other hand, if you don't want to be looking for information everywhere and you want to know more places like this, You have at your disposal our Gran Canaria guides with plans to discover the most authentic side of the island and places to eat. In this way, in addition to save time searching for information here and there, you will be able to see places where locals go.
Hello ! I recently took the route and you should know that the restaurant they mention for parking in front has put up signs prohibiting parking if you are not going to consume... I don't know if it is legal for him to do it, since I doubt that the lot is his, but hey. so they know.
I parked in the golf course parking lot, which I don't know if it's possible either... it's very poorly organized and on weekends it's impossible to even drive there because people park on both shoulders and there's only room for one car... it's quite overwhelming. .
Thanks for the guide! I love it 🫶
Hello Isora! Thank you for your contribution... we leave it posted here so that new visitors know. A big hug
If you allow me, I must point out a clarification, the Caldera de Bandama is located in the municipal area of the Villa de Santa Brígida, however, the Pico de Bandama is located in the municipality of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Greetings!!
They are not very well guided because the Gril Casa Miranda restaurant belongs to a town in Los Hoyos, not to Santa Brigida, as well as to the Bandama caldera.
Hello Emilio!! You are absolutely right, we were wrong here (what a lapse!). It is already corrected. The strange thing is that we didn't realize it, nor did anyone tell us anything until now. Greetings and thank you very much for your contribution 🙂