Agüimes, Las Palmas

Agüimes
Municipality
Municipal location in Gran Canaria
Agüimes Location in the Canary Islands
Coordinates: 27°54′N 15°27′W / 27.900°N 15.450°W / 27.900; -15.450Coordinates: 27°54′N 15°27′W / 27.900°N 15.450°W / 27.900; -15.450
Country	Spain
Autonomous Region	Canary Islands
Province	Las Palmas
Island	Gran Canaria
Area[1]
• Total	79.28 km2 (30.61 sq mi)
Elevation	275 m (902 ft)
Population (2013)[2]
• Total	30,214
• Density	380/km2 (990/sq mi)
Time zone	GMT (UTC+0)
Climate	BWh
Website	http://www.aguimes.es/

Agüimes is a municipality in the eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. The population is 30,214 (2013),^[2] and the area is 79.28 km².^[1] The elevation is 275 m. Agüimes is situated 5 km from the coast, and 26 km south of the island capital Las Palmas. The GC-1 motorway passes east of the town.

The major growth of the last few years has been the creation of a huge industrial estate on flat land once covered by tomato plantations. This has brought new jobs and industries into the area and has spurred the development of a new purpose built port which is due to open in 2007.

The district was not at one time a major tourist destination, but after the careful restoration of the old town, this has become the best example of a traditional Canarian hill town. The streets of the old town exude a gentle, relaxed, timeless atmosphere, and the carefully positioned street statues and sculptures add a series of surprises to a visit to the old town. The local plan for 'rural tourism' has led to the development of other small visitor centres on the district, the biggest of which is in the Guayadeque Ravine. This area has many cave houses dating back hundreds of years, and a complete village dug into the hillside, still occupied today which has its own cave church, cave bar and cave restaurants.

Sporting activities are also very important in the area, with its windsurfing and scuba diving recognized as "world class". One round of the annual PWA windsurfing tour is held at the international windsurfing center at Pozo Izquierdo every year, and the whole of the coast in this area can provide challenging conditions at any time of the year.

The main area for scuba diving in Gran Canaria is in the area known as the 'El Cabrón' marine reserve, next to the town of Arinaga. The diving in this area includes caves, arches, walls and volcanic reefs, where an extremely wide range of sub-tropical marine species can be found, ranging from tiny seahorses up to rays and angel sharks.

A diver watches a parrotfish and a Turkish wrasse while scuba diving in the el Cabrón marine reserve, Gran Canaria.

Historical population

Climate

See also

• List of municipalities in Las Palmas

References

External links

• Agüimes.es Website of the local council (Ayuntamiento de Agüimes)
• Patinegro Local environmental action group Patinegro

	Valsequillo de Gran Canaria	Ingenio
			Atlantic Ocean
	Agüimes
		Santa Lucía de Tirajana

Municipalities in the province of Las Palmas Gran Canaria Agaete Agüimes La Aldea de San Nicolás Artenara Arucas Firgas Gáldar Ingenio Mogán Moya Las Palmas San Bartolomé de Tirajana Santa Brígida Santa Lucía de Tirajana Santa María de Guía de Gran Canaria Tejeda Telde Teror Valleseco Valsequillo de Gran Canaria Vega de San Mateo Lanzarote Arrecife Haría San Bartolomé Teguise Tías Tinajo Yaiza Fuerteventura Antigua Betancuria La Oliva Pájara Puerto del Rosario Tuineje