Be prepared for an interesting drive to reach Caldera de Bandama. Once you pass Tafira Alta and after some 6 km (approx. 4 miles) drive on a winding road past several vineyards, where the grapes for the popular Vino del Monte grow, you’ll arrive at the stunning Caldera de Bandama, a volcanic crater – 1000 m (3281 ft) in diameter and 200 m (656 ft) deep – with a 569 m (1,867 ft) high peak, the Pico de Bandama, which you can drive up. This peak has an observation platform from where – despite its relatively low height – you can enjoy breathtaking views of the entire north and east coast and the mountainous centre in the west. With a clear sky, you might even get to see the neighbouring island Fuerteventura in the north east.
This crater - named after Dutch merchant Daniel Van Dame, who in the 17th century grew vines in the crater - features a bottom with an abandoned farmhouse and the outlines of terraced fields. If you are more of the adventurous type, you can even climb down into the crater via a steep path, which is about a 30-minute hike. Today the whole area is overgrown with palms, orange and fig trees and on the slopes of the crater thrive eucalyptus and agaves among shrubs and bushes.
South of the Pico lies the oldest golf club of all Spain, the Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which was founded at the end of the 19th century by members of the important and influential English colony resident on the island at that time.
The reception of the club is open daily from 08:00 to 23:00 and you can play golf from 08:00. The last game can be started at 13:00.
