Royal Road to Telde

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Memory spaces · Year: 1530

The royal roads were of paramount importance in connecting by land the different population centres of the islands until well into the 20th century, when modern roads began to be laid out. They were usually paths adapted for the transit of people and goods. They were maintained, with great difficulty, by the cabildos and their routes adapted to very difficult terrain, crossed by large ravines and steep slopes.

From its beginnings, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria became the political and administrative centre of the entire island, so roads were quickly established, in some cases following ancient aboriginal routes, connecting it with the various entities of greater population and economic activity in the rest of Gran Canaria. One of those prosperous population centres was the city of Telde which, located in the southeast sector, flourished under the protection of the thriving sugar industry.  

The royal road to Telde was already fully operational in 1531. It started from the very centre of Las Palmas, passed by the hermitage of San Marcos, then headed towards the so-called orchard of the Parrales and continued along the boundary of La Laja beach towards the Jinámar Valley and from there reached the fertile Telde plain. People and goods transported by carts, camels, beasts and slaves travelled along its cobblestones.

The royal road to Telde, to which numerous regional paths and trails were connected, was the first serious attempt to connect the capital with the south of the island by land. Its development would today be buried under the first stretch of the GC-1 and then approximately follow the route of the current GC-100.

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