Your trip to El Frontón

Eating and drinking

What people eat here

The north eats fish and cheese. We name no restaurants — they change — but what to order and which town to find it in.

• GáldarQueso de flor and media flor: raw-milk cheese curdled with thistle flower, made only in this district. Ropa vieja and goat in the bars of the old town.
• 15′Sardina del NorteDay-boat fish opposite the harbour wall: vieja sancochada with wrinkled potatoes and green mojo, grilled limpets. Whatever landed that morning.
• 20′AgaeteThe harbour for fish, and up in the valley the only coffee grown in Europe. They make their own wine up there too.
• 35′Las PalmasFar more range: the Vegueta market, tapas around Triana and the Las Canteras promenade. For a night away from the north.

Most village kitchens close early on weeknights. If you come off the cliff late, book ahead or head for Las Palmas.

Heritage

Gáldar was the island's capital

Before the conquest this was the court of the old Canarians. Most of what survives is ten minutes from the cliff.

1. 01Cueva Pintada Museum and Archaeological ParkIn town, on footThe island's most important site, in the middle of Gáldar. A cave painted with red, white and black geometry, and the excavated village around it.cuevapintada.org
2. 02Gáldar old townIn town, on footPlaza de Santiago, the centuries-old dragon tree in the town hall courtyard, and the theatre. A morning on foot covers it.visitgaldar.es
3. 03Cenobio de Valerón10 min by carAlmost three hundred granaries cut into soft volcanic rock beneath a natural arch. It was the district's collective store.grancanaria.com

While you wait

Day trips around the island

Between competition days you will have days off. Further afield now, these are the ones we recommend, nearest first.

1. 01Puerto de las Nieves20 min by carNatural pools cut into the rock, and the valley climbing through coffee plantations to Los Berrazales.
2. 02Las Canteras35 min by carThree kilometres of city beach sheltered by a reef bar; at low tide you can walk out along it.
3. 03Barranco de Guayadeque45 min by carA ravine of cave houses still lived in, with a church and restaurants dug into the rock. Across the island: half a day.
4. 04Roque Nublo50 min by carThe island's centre at 1,800 metres, among pine forest. On a clear day you can see Mount Teide.
5. 05Puerto de Mogán70 min by carA village of canals and white houses on the south-west coast, known as the little Venice. Harbour, sheltered beach and a Friday market.
6. 06Maspalomas dunes80 min by carThe far end of the island: a sand desert facing the sea, on the southern tip. A full day out, not an afternoon.

More ideas at Gran Canaria Tourism

October on the island

What to pack

Typical October figures, not a forecast: the window runs fourteen days and nobody can predict the weather that far ahead.

24–28°C

Day

19°C

Night

23°C

Sea

3d

Rain days

• Layers, not a coatShort sleeves by day, but the clifftop cools down at dusk. A hoodie or windbreaker is enough.
• Sun and waterEight hours of competition up there with no shade at all. Cap, sunscreen and a bottle — there is nowhere to buy anything on the cliff.
• Closed shoesThe walk down to the viewpoint is loose rock. Flip-flops do not work here, though they are fine for the rest of the trip.
• The north windThe trade wind blows on this coast almost every day. Mind your umbrellas, hats and drones.