Bandama Natural Monument

Walk into a volcanic caldera in Gran Canaria

Walking into the Bandama caldera is like going back millions of years in time to an epoch of colossal underground explosions that produced this circular caldera a kilometre across. Just twenty minutes drive from central Las Palmas, Bandama is an impressive natural monument with a concave floor of grey volcanic ash covered in copses of native trees and surrounded by the vertical caldera walls.

The best Bandama caldera lookout point

Adjacent to the caldera is the 575 metre volcanic cinder cone of Pico de Bandama. It’s the islands most recent cone and has the best view of the caldera from its lookout point right at the top. To walk into the caldera use the network of paths that take you 170 metres to the caldera floor. As you descend look out for the cliff caves used by the island’s aboriginal inhabitants to store grain, and find the old grape press and old houses that are the vestiges of the calderas hundreds of years of human habitation.

Height

574 m

Flora interest

Catering

Trekking routes

Public transport

Wildlife interest

Santa Brígida

Go to web site

Monumento Natural de Bandama, en Gran Canaria

Sustainability

Never leave waste of any type lying around, including cigarette butts. Leftover food leads to a proliferation of rats and wild cats, which pose a serious threat to the fauna.
Respect the animals. Do not bother them or feed them. If you see an injured specimen, you can call the emergency number: 112. Do not pick flowers or plants.
Do not pick up or take away stones or any other item from the natural environment. And do not move them to pile them up into sadly famous 'towers'.
Do not walk in areas where it is not allowed and respect the signposting along trails. Leaving the set paths causes damage to the environment and could also be dangerous for you and anyone with you.
Do not light fires outside the permitted areas and be especially careful during the summer months.
Try not to alter the peace of the environment with excessive noise (loud music, yelling, etc.).