Agüimes

Agüimes is a Spanish town and municipality in the eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands.PresentationAgüimes 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 population is 30,214 (2013), and the area is 79.28 km². The elevation is 275 m.EconomyThe 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.TourismThe 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 excavated into the hillside, still occupied today, with its own cave chapel, cave bar and cave restaurants.