Village
Largest municipality in Gran Canaria (333.13 km²), whose historic capital is Tunte, in the mountainous interior; it received the title of villa in 1894 from the regent queen María Cristina. Three aboriginal settlements existed in its territory: Taidia, Tirajana and Tunte, the latter with more than a hundred caves.
Village
The municipality's coastal tourist center, considered the world's first destination specializing in apartments and bungalows. In 1961 the landowner, Alejandro del Castillo, eighth Count of Vega Grande, called the Concurso Internacional Maspalomas Costa Canaria for its urban development, won by the French firm S.E.T.A.P.
Monument
Lighthouse designed by the engineer Juan de León y Castillo, commissioned in 1884; work was completed in 1889 and the lighthouse gave its first flash on 1 February 1890. Its truncated conical tower reaches 54.70 meters (60 with the lantern). Declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's top heritage-protection category) in the monument category in 2005, it reopened to the public in 2019 as an ethnographic center after a decade closed.
Nature
Dune field unique in Gran Canaria, declared a special nature reserve in 1987 and covering 403.9 hectares, next to the brackish lagoon of Maspalomas. It is home to halophilic vegetation exclusive to the island and serves as a stopover for migratory birds such as flamingos, herons and sandpipers, as well as the endemic giant lizard (Gallotia stehlini).
Monument
Parish church of Tunte that preserves a Mudéjar coffered ceiling from the early colonial period, dedicated to the municipality's patron saint.
Monument
Two old manor houses linked to the Countship of Vega Grande, declared Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's top heritage-protection category) in 1985.
Monument
Cemetery of Neo-Gothic design, the work of the architect Tomás Arroyo, opened in 1905.
Monument
Traditional hydraulic structure from the late 18th century, evidence of grain milling in the municipality's interior.
Monument
The largest aboriginal cemetery in Gran Canaria, in the Fataga gorge, with more than 800 stone burial mounds used for 2,300 years, from the 5th century BC to the 18th century, even after the Castilian conquest. The so-called Túmulo del Rey (King's Mound) is illuminated in alignment with the sunrise on the spring equinox. Declared a Monumento histórico-artístico in 1973 and an archaeological zone in 1985, since 2014 it has had an interpretation center that turns it into an archaeological park.
Nature
Gorge protected as a protected landscape in the municipality's interior, amid palm groves and traditional cultivation terraces, in whose surroundings lies the Arteara necropolis.
Nature
Protected area of the Canarian Network in the municipality's highlands, of great scenic and botanical value, integrated into the Parque Rural del Nublo.
Nature
Protected area over the escarpments of the Tirajana Caldera, where in 1479 the Castilian conquerors suffered a defeat at the hands of aboriginal resistance.
Historical milestone
On 24 August 1479, a Castilian force under bishop Juan de Frías and Pedro Hernández Cabrón was defeated by the aborigines near the Tirajana Caldera; the conquest of the island would not be completed until 1483-1484, under the command of Pedro de Vera.
Historical milestone
On 24 May 1502, during his fourth and final voyage to America, Christopher Columbus anchored at Maspalomas to take on water and firewood. The event is commemorated with the sculptural group "Agua y leña" (Water and Firewood), by Máximo Riol Cimas, placed there in 2002 on the occasion of the fifth centenary.
Curiosity
At Christmas 1957 the first charter flight to the area arrived in Gran Canaria, with 54 passengers on board, marking the start of the mass-tourism era that would transform Maspalomas in the following decades.
Activity
Patronal feast of the municipality in honor of San Bartolomé Apóstol, held on 24 August.
Activity
Feast of Santiago Apóstol, held on 25 July in the municipality.