Telde is the second largest town on the island, located 13 km (approx. 10 miles) south of Las Palmas.
It is an attractive old town and was one of the two pre-Hispanic kingdoms with Gáldar. The historical core centers on the attractive Plaza de San Juan, shaded by big, old trees and surrounded by pretty colonial-style houses, painted in green and white, with elaborately-carved balconies.
Dominating this square, you’ll find the large Basílica de San Juan Bautista, highlights of which are a splendid Flemish altarpiece showing six scenes out of the life of the Virgin and a statue of Christ made from corncobs by Mexican Indians – a figure, which despite its height of 1.85 m only weighs 7.5 kg because of the unusual material it is made of.
Calle Inés Chemida links the Plaza de San Juan with another historic part of the town, the picturesque district of San Francisco, grouping around the Iglesia de San Francisco. Here, oval basalt pebble stones pave the narrow streets and you can still see the old, dark glazed street signs.
Calle San Fernando, named after Fernando and Juan Léon y Castillo – the famous brothers, who transformed Las Palmas’ harbour and who were born in Telde – houses the Casa-Museo Léon y Castillo dedicated to their lives and activities as engineers and diplomats.
La Montaña de las Cuatro Puertas with relics of pre-Hispanic times is south of town halfway between Telde and Ingenio and is well worth dropping by. Situated on a hill, which the Guanches considered holy, the Cuatro Puertas consist of a main chamber with four huge entrances, which housed Telde nobility, and also might have provided a workplace for their embalmers.
Telde also boasts the widest coastal strip on the east side of the island with a broad spectrum of beaches – some sandy, some pebbled – lined up one after another. In this area you’ll find Agua Dulce, Del Hombre, Melenara and Salinetas… to name just a few.
