Bedeckers say that Puerto de Mogán should always be a must-stop on any trip to Gran Canaria. Venice of Canaria. They talk about the picturesque white villas that complete the island’s unique atmosphere. We tried it, but we didn’t even park in that commerce. It looks like one perfect overdone glitch. We helped ourselves with a Bigstock photo because my camera refused to take a picture during this one. 🙂 We prefer Mogán Veneguera trail.
The island offers a thousand times more beautiful undiscovered corners. 🙂
Cruz de Mogán
Mogán Veneguera trail. Just a few kilometres up in the village of Mogán begins one of the most beautiful and challenging trails through the Veneguera Valley to La Aldea. If you’re not lazy and give it a complete run, you’re in for about 16km more and over 800m of elevation gain in a dry and scorching inferno.
A blazing inferno. There is no other way to describe the hiking trail through the rocky, inhospitable ravines of Veneguera without trees, greenery and shade.
If you are lazy, you can ride up to the Mogán saddle, where you can park. Hike the trail around the Mogán Cross, cresting the ridge while telling yourself you’ve done the circuit from Mirador de Mogán to Mirador de Veneguera. In fact, the two are less than 20 metres apart, separated only by a single rock. However, I cowardly gave up the climb up to the cross itself. I envy people who can look down a 300m hole and make a joke while doing so. I looked down … and turned around. 🙂
“Grand Canyon” of Canaria
Compared to the Tejeda and Tamadabe canyons, we were surprised by the brutal heat, dryness, windlessness and in hospitability of nature in this area.
Luckily you have a camera. You have a reason to stop. A strange, desolate place, extremely photogenic from every angle. The clouds make the most aesthetics on the giant rock faces, making the rock ridges and crevices stand out.
Veneguera beach
The Veneguera Gorge also takes you to one of the island’s most protected beaches. Veneguera Beach has been given one of the highest levels of protection from tourist crowds and overdevelopment.
When developers announced plans to build a massive resort in Veneguera Valley, all hell broke loose among the islanders. To everyone’s surprise, the protests won. Veneguera is now protected, a beacon of hope for the island’s protection, and the developers can’t have it all.
To discover Veneguera beach, you must walk eight kilometres of dirt road from the village of Veneguera. We decided to resist the beach and try to walk the Azulejos de Veneguera hiking trails up to the pass leading to La Aldea de St. Nicolaus.
Azulejos de Veneguera
This picturesque canyon full of colour left us in speechless amazement. Definitely, a place to discover in Gran Canaria.
The trail through Los Azulejos de Veneguera is not among the most famous in Gran Canaria. It is less popular than the Caldera de Bandama or the enchanting path through the Ruta de las Presas. However, the Fuente de los Azulejos is a true spectacle of nature.
A series of erosions in these mountains have revealed different geological layers of incredible colours, whose chemical composition has been altered by hydrothermal fluids and the constant eruptions of the Tejeda volcano. The rocks are coloured in bluish, green, ochre and reddish shades. Locals call them ‘burning stones’. When the volcano erupted, the volcanic lava encountered a humid environment in contact with the atmosphere. It became saturated with gases, which caused the rocks to mineralise differently.
Buses 38 and 86, known locally as Guagua, also go to the canyon directly from Puerto de Mogán.
If you take the Azulejos trail up to Cruz de Viso, you can easily reach the Tejeda area with El Roque Nublo and El Teide. The Inagua pine forest nature reserve is also nearby. Be sure to bring good-quality hiking shoes, though. The climb is quite challenging.
Inagua
Crossing the Veneguera Valley to the Mirador de Tasartico pass, you will find yourself above the iconic GC 200 road to La Aldea. With every meter of altitude, the difficulty of the trail increases. It’s definitely going to be a heatwave too. I would choose these trails outside of summer and in the morning or evening. The sun can really raise hell here. But if those hills grab you by the heart….
We were surprised by a group of local adolescents on motorbikes and quad bikes at a bus stop in Tasartico Pass. That bus stop was more of a clubhouse and a stage for teenage youths in front of three local beauties. A joy to behold, it must be stressed. 🙂
There is also a problem from Stelvio and other Alpine passes, Bikers on two wheels. Three bikers on serious power steeds were doing a near suicidal ride here.
The power of the moment
It amazes me how, even after many years, I can still recall certain places and situations down to the last detail. I often encounter on trails that an unexpected situation, an action, something unusual or unexpected comes along to spice up the moment. When it hits you, it’s etched in your memory. That’s when you need to have the ability to stop and take in the experience fully. The smells, the colours, the light, the imagination… Lately, the music. Or silence. It can sometimes be very deafening.
The older I get, the more I feel that the only worthwhile investment is in relationships and experiences. You buy things, but they only make you happy for a while. Until they get old. You just can’t buy time, experiences and memories.
Anyway, this is the trail for you if you like solitude, untouched nature, and hiking.
