The Caves of Los Frailes

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Archaeological sites

In the area around the bridge of La Angostura, we come to the right hand side of the ravine that is home to the Caves of Los Frailes, explored back in 1933 by the conservationist at the Museo Canario, D. José Naranjo. This settlement is made up of artificial dwelling caves, silos, and cisterns for the storage of water, all of which are now in bad condition due to the materials they are made of, and the later collapse of some of the caves. On the left hand side, over a footpath that leads to the neighbourhood of La Palma, are some natural rocky overhangs which have silos on the inside and niches dug out of the rock, which form part of the originally described contents. 

The toponymy of this archaeological site is associated to a historical event that occurred at the official end of the conquest process of Gran Canaria. Some historical references allude to attempts to evangelise and pacify groups of local Canarians who were still resisting a definitive Castilian dominance, had some friars from the order of the preachers sent along, who they threw over the edge. As Martín de Cubas narrates:

so both priests were thrown off a high cliff (...) their bodies were taken up to the top, and the name the Caves of Los Frailes (Friars) in Tafira was thus given to it, to the place where they fell at the foot of the cliff around the volcanic rubble. 

As well as the archaeological site itself, visitors to the complex can enjoy some extremely interesting volcanic views, plus some plant species which are quite scarce due to the general wearing away of their natural habitat, such as the aromatic retama blanca heather or the colourful guaydil plant, and in the winter even some bicácaros.

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