Agaete and the north-west, lava, coffee and the Cueva Pintada.

The north-west of Gran Canaria is the corner where the island stops being sandy beach and turns into cliff, lava and ravine. Along 30 kilometres of coast there are three places that justify the trip from Las Palmas: Puerto de las Nieves, Agaete's port, with its natural pools and the Dedo de Dios at the foot of the Tamadaba cliffs; the Agaete Valley, a sheltered valley where coffee is grown and wine is made; and Gáldar, with the Cueva Pintada, the most important pre-Hispanic site on the island. In between, the Cenobio de Valerón and the Maipés necropolis complete a reading of the ancient Canarians that you won't find in the south.

How do you get there from Las Palmas?

By car, along the GC-2, the northern dual carriageway. According to the town council, Agaete is about 30 km from the capital; the Maipés, 33.5 km and about 35 minutes; Gáldar, 27 km. Allow 40 minutes to Puerto de las Nieves in normal traffic. The Cenobio de Valerón comes earlier, on the Cuesta de Silva: exit 20 of the GC-2 and about 35 minutes from Las Palmas. It is a good first stop on the way out.

Without a car, take the guagua. Global's line 103 links Las Palmas with Gáldar, Agaete and Puerto de las Nieves, and the 130 does the same route as a semi-express. The 105 and the 100, which is direct, also reach Gáldar. With them you can see the Cueva Pintada, the port and the pools with no trouble. What is hard without a car is the valley: the 102 climbs from Gáldar with few departures. Check the day's timetables on Global's website, especially Sunday's and the last guagua back. The details are in Global buses from Las Palmas.

Where to park?

In Gáldar, the Cueva Pintada museum points to the car park on Calle Guillén Morales: from there you walk to the museum, to Plaza de Santiago and to lunch. In Puerto de las Nieves you park by the port; on Sundays with good weather, arrive before midday. In the valley you park beside each place: the estate, the restaurant or the hotel.

How much time?

One day covers the essentials if you plan it well: the Cueva Pintada in the morning, lunch in Gáldar or in the valley and the afternoon at the port until sunset. With one night, you can add, unhurried, the visit to the coffee and wine estate, the Maipés and a trial scuba dive in Sardina del Norte. You have two ready-made Sunday outings: Cueva Pintada and lava pools and coffee, wine and necropolis in the valley, and a one-night getaway that combines both.

When to go?

All year. The north of Gran Canaria has a mild climate and you can enjoy the sea in any month; what rules at the Las Salinas pools is the swell, not the season. Spring and autumn have the best light and less heat on the Maipés lava, which has no shade. In summer, set out early. On 4 August is the Bajada de la Rama, Agaete's big festival: spectacular and packed.

Sunday deserves a mention of its own: it is the day when the Cueva Pintada is free for everyone, the day Casa Romántica and the Restaurante Agáldar open at lunchtime and the day the Maipés and the Cenobio also open. Monday is the opposite: the museum, both sites and several restaurants are closed.

What to do

In Gáldar, the Cueva Pintada: a settlement of some sixty structures under cover, houses rebuilt at full size and the chamber painted in several colours. Allow 70 minutes. Nearby, in Sardina del Norte, Buceo Norte runs trial dives from the shore for over-10s.

In the Agaete Valley, the Finca La Laja: coffee bushes, vines and tropical fruit trees, with a guided visit and a tasting of three wines and coffee every day. On the way down, the Huerto de las Flores, a 19th-century tropical garden in the village, and the Maipés, some 700 aboriginal tombs on a lava flow.

In Puerto de las Nieves, the natural pools of Las Salinas, three lava pools joined by tunnels, and the walk to the 16th-century Nieves chapel, with its Flemish triptych and the view of the Dedo de Dios.

Where to eat and stay

For eating, three registers: the tasting menu at Casa Romántica in the valley, open on Sunday at lunchtime; the modern Canarian cooking of the Restaurante Agáldar, in Gáldar's square, also open on Sunday; and fish by the sea at El Dedo de Dios, in the port.

For sleeping, the manor house of Finca Las Longueras in the valley, which accepts pets; the Hotel Agáldar, in an 1865 building next to the museum; or the Hotel Puerto de las Nieves, with a spa and a short walk from the sea.