Thursday, 15 January 2015 16:11

GC 200: Gran Canaria's Most Spectacular Road

The GC 200 is Gran Canaria's most spectacular road The GC 200 is Gran Canaria's most spectacular road

The GC 200 has it all from hairpin bends to sheer cliff-edge drops. It's Gran Canaria's most spectacular road and takes you right through the Biosphere Reserve along its most remote coast.

GC 200 starts at the end of the GC 1 motorway at Puerto de Mogán. At first it meanders up the Mogán Valley before heading northwest towards La Aldea town on the west coast. Before you get there you pass they great multicoloured cliff close to Veneguera and drive through the steep Degollada de Tasarte.

Alex Says: Degollada in Canarian is the word used for a steep-sided pass between Barrancos. Its Spanish meaning is a "throat slash".

From the road take the track to Veneguera beach or park up at Tasarte and hike down to Gui Gui beach.

At La Aldea, the road rejoins civilisation before climbing again to the Anden Verde cliffs. Stop at the viewpoint, called el Balcón de Atlantico, for incredible views south to the Dragon's Tail cliffs and north along the rugged cliffs. Say hello to the ravens and ignore the snack man if he's rude (he's horrible to almost everyone who doesn't buy his overpriced snacks).

Just after the viewpoint the road reaches it's highest point and the vertical drop is hundreds of metres. The road here is protected by overhanging nets as it gets hit by rockfalls every time there is rain. Don't drive this section if it is raining or has recently rained: It's dangerous.

 
La Aldea - Agaete, the GC200. It's a little bit curvy, but mán...

La Aldea - Agaete, the GC200. It's a little bit curvy, but man what a road! According to some, it's the most stunning road in Europe. Here's a timelapse of it.

Posted by Gran Canaria on Tuesday, 25 August 2015

 

The winding drive from the viewpoint to Agaete takes an hour (the locals say it has a bend for every day of the year, but we've never counted them) and the only place for a drink is at El Risco village. Go to the right-hand bar as it's a charming, ramshackle spot that doubles up as the shop. Enjoy the sweets.

At El Risco, walk inland through the village and up the valley to the Charco Azul natural pool with a waterfall. Otherwise head on to Agaete for coffee at the sunken garden or down to the coast at Puerto de las Nieves for seafood.

Media

The bits of this Porsche 911 commercial with the ocean in it were recorded at the GC200. The rest was recorded higher up in Gran Canaria.
Published in Day Trips

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Tip of the day

  • The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!
    The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!

    If there is one thing we hate it is visitors being tricked in Gran Canaria. In the past we've warned about overcharging at Gran Canaria chemists, and rip off electronics shops in resorts. 

    In this Tip Of The Day we return to the island's chemists or rather, to the island's fake chemists.

    A chemist in Gran Canaria is called a Farmacia and always has a green cross sign. Farmacias are the only place tobuy medicine in Spain, even basics like paracetamol.

    However, there is another kind of shop in Gran Canaria that looks and sounds like a chemist but doesn't sell medicine. This is the Parafarmacia and it also uses a green cross sign.

    A parafarmacia is a herbal medicine shop that is not allowed to sell any normal medicine such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or antibiotics. 

    Instead, parafarmacias sell herbal alternatives to medicine but don't have to prove that they work and they can charge whatever they want.

    We recently heard from a visitor to Gran Canaria who went into a parafarmacia and was charged 40 euros for a herbal alternative to Ibuprofen. It was only when they read the label that they realised what had happened. 

    To locate a genuine farmacia, see this website and search within your municipio (Puerto Rico is in Mogán, Playa del Inglés is in San Bartolomé de Tirajana). At weekends and on fiesta days many farmacias close but there is always one open, known as the farmacia de guardia, in each municipio.

    Search for the nearest one to you with this tool

    Lex Says: To keep costs down, see this article for the way to ask for generic medicine rather than expensive branded alternatives. 

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