Post Office (Correos; Pl. 1, B 4), Plaza de Santa Ana (best hours 12–4). Telegraph Office (Telégrafo; Pl. 5, A, 2), Calle de Domingo J. Navarro 36.

Theatre (Pl. C, 3), at the month of the Barranco Guiniguada.—Music in the Alameda de Colón.

Bankers. Miller & Co., Muelle de Santa Catalina, in Puerto de la Luz; Blandy Bros. & Co., Calle Mayor de Triana 68, and others.

Steamboat Agents. Miller & Co. (see above), for the Union Castle, the Austro-Americana, Aberdeen (Rennie’s), Bucknall, and other lines; Grand Canary Coaling Co., for the Peninsular & Oriental Co. and the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co.; Behrens, at Puerto de la Luz, to the N. of the Muelle de Santa Catalina, for the German East African, Woermann, and Hamburg-American Lines; Elder, Dempster, & Co., Calle Mayor de Triana 93, for the Vapores Correos Interinsulares Canarios; M. Curbelo & Co., Calle de Muro, for the Compañía Trasatlántica.

Carriages (stands in the Plaza de Cairasco, in the Plaza de San Bernardo, and near the theatre). Drive in the town for 1–3 pers. 1½p., for 4 pers. 2 p.; per hour 2½ (or for a tartana or dog-cart 2) p.; to Puerto de la Luz 5 (tartana 2) p.; to the Monte, Telde, or Arucas 15 (tartana 12½) p.; to Atalaya, San Mateo, or Teror 20 (tartana 15) p.

English Church, near the Hôt. Métropole, on the road to Puerto de la Luz (comp. Plan, p. 46).—English Club at Puerto de la Luz.

Las Palmas, a town of 28,600 inhab., of a S. Spanish type like Santa Cruz (comp. p. 35), the seat of the bishop of Gran Canaria, situated in 28° 6′ N. lat. and 15° 12′ W. long., is the busiest and wealthiest town in the whole archipelago. The houses of the well-to-do townspeople, built of pale-grey tufa or blue lava-basalt, often enclose beautiful patios filled with plants, which are watered by means of pipes conducted from the roofs. On the hills at the back of the town, which have been fortified since the Spanish and American war, are sprinkled many gaily painted country-houses.

Las Palmas is divided into two parts (barrios) by the Barranco de Guiniguada: on the N. Triana, and on the S. Vegueta.

The main street of Triana, with its numerous shops, in line with the road from Puerto de la Luz, is called Calle Mayor de Triana (Pl. B, C, 1–3). Beyond the Baranquillo de Mata it intersects the Plaza San Telmo (Pl. B, 1), in which rises the Gobierno Militar (Pl. 2; B, 1).

The Paseo de Bravo Murillo (Pl. B, A, 1) ascends the gorge to the right to the Carretera del Norte (p. 47). On the left is the Harbour (Pl. B, C, 1), with the pier (Muelle), where the sea-breezes may be enjoyed in hot weather.

From the Calle Mayor de Triana, farther on, the Calle Constantino diverges to the right to the Plaza de San Bernardo (Pl. A, B, 2), a square planted with Indian laurels. Near the S. end of the street the Calle del General Bravo leads to the Alameda de Colón (Pl. B, 3), which is embellished with a bust of Columbus and fine royal and date palms (p. 30). In this square rise the Iglesia de San Francisco (1689) and the Casino.

The central point of Vegueta is the Plaza de Santa Ana (Pl. B, 4), where the guides lie in wait for strangers. The bronze dogs at the lower end of the plaza, as well as those in the arms of the town, recall the tradition that Juba II. (p. 31) carried away some dogs (canes) from the island, and that their name is derived thence.

The Cathedral (Pl. B, C, 4; San Christóbal), founded in 1497 and restored in 1781, with its heavy façade flanked with towers 184 ft. high, contains, in the first chapel of the left aisle, the tombstone of the native poet Bart. Cairasco de Figueroa (1540–1610), and in the crypt the tomb of Viera y Clavijo (1731–1802), the historian of the Canaries.

The Town Hall (Palacio Municipal; Pl. B, 4), built in 1842, contains, on the third floor, the Museo Canario, consisting of natural history collections and of curiosities from the Guanche caverns of the Isleta (p. 43) and other places (implements, weapons, and tools in basalt, obsidian, horn, wood, and clay, leather-work, and mummies). Adm. free, daily 11–3.

For a prolonged stay the Monte is preferable to Las Palmas. It is reached by the Carretera del Centro (comp. Pl. A, 5), the best road in the island. Ascending from the suburb of San Roque, and soon affording splendid views, the road at first follows the Barranco de Guiniguada (p. 45), and then winds up the slopes of the Pico del Viento (820 ft.).

3¾ M. Tafira (1230 ft.; Hotel Victoria; James’s Boarding House), the first village on the *Monte, a colony of villas and a favourite winter resort of the English.

8 M. Santa Brígida (1572 ft.; Hot. Santa Brígida, in a fine open situation with a beautiful park, pens. from 10s. 6d.; Quiney’s Bella Vista, ½ M. below the other, pens. 8–10s.), a finely situated village with 500 inhabitants.

The road, still unfinished, goes on to Telde (p. 47), passing the curious cave-village of Atalaya (1720 ft.), which rises in terraces on the hill-side. The tufa walls of the cave-dwellings are hung with mats. The industry of the place is the manufacture of pottery, notably the porous water-jars so common in N. Africa.

The ascent of the *Pico de Vandama (1838 ft.) may be made from Atalaya or direct from Santa Brígida (there and back 2 hrs.; mule 3 p.). This hill, overgrown with pines and tree-like broom, overlooks the grand mountain landscape of the E. coast. Very striking is the view of the *Caldera de Vandama, a huge crater-basin of about 550 yds. in diameter and 683 ft. in depth. Its floor is planted with vines and cereals, and it is worth while to ride down into it.

The Carretera del Centro leads, beyond the bifurcation for Atalaya, to (13 M.) the little town of San Mateo (2575 ft.; fair inn), superbly situated among the mountains. Rough mule-tracks lead thence to the Pico de las Nieves (6400 ft.), to the village of Tejeda (3160 ft.) in the *Barranco de Tejeda (p. 43), and to the cave-village of Artenara.

Scarcely less attractive than the Monte road is the *Carretera del Sur, which leads from Las Palmas, at first passing the cemeteries, then skirting the rocks of the E. coast, and at length turning inland, piercing the lava-rock by a tunnel, to Ginámar and (8 M.) Telde (394 ft.; inn; pop. 4000), a picturesque little town amidst beautiful orange-groves.

The Carretera del Norte, crossing the Barranco de San Lorenzo and the road from Puerto de la Luz (p. 43) at Tamaraceite, and farther on, beyond a long tunnel, the Barranco de Tenoya above the village of that name, leads to (10 M.) Arucas (1017 ft.; two inns), an industrial little town of 2900 inhab., at the foot of the Montaña de Arucas, a hill affording fine views. The sugar-cane is cultivated in the vicinity.

A by-road diverges from this carretera, beyond the Barranco de San Lorenzo, to (12½ M.) Teror (1936 ft.; dirty inn), a little town with the famous pilgrimage-church of the Virgen del Pino (16th cent.).

The island of Palma, or La Palma, in the extreme N.W. of the archipelago, 28½ M. long and 17 M. broad, lying about 16½ M. to the W. of Teneriffe, is remarkable for its fine scenery and superb forests, but is as yet rarely visited by tourists. The famous Caldera, the largest and deepest of all the crater-basins in the islands, opens towards the W. in the huge Barranco de las Angustias, while many smaller gorges render the N. coast in particular very difficult of access. The whole of the S. part of the island is of recent volcanic origin and therefore poorly watered. The population (42,000, in an area of 280 sq. M.) is confined to the S.E. margin of the island and the middle of the W. slopes Many of the natives emigrate, especially to Cuba.

Starting from Santa Cruz de Tenerife (p. 33) the steamer rounds the Anaga Mts., with the lighthouse already named (p. 33), and steers to the W. from the Punta del Hidalgo (p. 37) to Palma. The lighthouse on the Punta de Teno (23 ft.), the N.W. point of Teneriffe, remains visible for some time. The bold coast of Palma presents a grand appearance as we approach.

Santa Cruz de la Palma.—Hotels. Hot. Miramar; Hot. Español; Hot. Internacional; Fonda Verbena, pens. 4–5 p.—Carriage to Los Llanos 45 p. (also motor-omnibus).—Mule per day 5–6, to Los Llanos 7½ p.

Santa Cruz de la Palma, the only considerable port (5700 inhab.) in the island, lies on the E. coast, on an open bay which is much exposed to sand-drifts. The houses rise in terraces on the steep hill-side, overtopped by tall Canary palms. The chief export is tobacco, which is little inferior to that of Havana. Cigar-factory of J. Cabrera Martín.

The main street, in which rises the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) of 1563, leads to a picturesque triangular plaza with the church of San Salvador and several handsome houses. Close by is the small Museum (Museo de Historia Natural y Etnográfico). A beautiful palm-avenue leads through the upper part of the town.

Excursions. To the N.W. we may ascend through the Barranco de la Madera, with its cave-dwellings (Cuevas de los Guanches) to the loftily situated pilgrimage-church of the Virgen de las Nieves (16th cent.); thence either to the Montaña de Tagoje (about 3300 ft.; with grand view of the E. coast, of Gomera and Teneriffe), or to the Pico del Cedro (7471 ft.) on the E. margin of the Caldera (see below), round which we may ride to the Roque de los Muchachos (7693 ft.) on the N. side.—To the S.W., following the old bridle-path which cuts off the windings of the road, we may walk or ride to (1 hr.) Buena Vista (about 660 ft.), whence a rough mule-track ascends to the (2 hrs.) Cumbre Nueva (4593 ft.), the chief mountain-pass in the island, where we have a grand *View of the abrupt rocks and the pine-woods of the central chain, of the fertile plains to the W., and of the distant Peak of Teneriffe. Then we proceed through pine-forest, past the venerable ‘Pino de la Virgen’, to El Paso (2060 ft.; inn), whence we may ascend the Cumbrecita (4445 ft.) and the Idafe, the sacred mount of the Guanches, on the S. margin of the Caldera. Finally we descend to the (3 hrs.) little town of Los Llanos (1000 ft.; poor inn, bargaining advisable). From Los Llanos it takes a day (7–8 hrs., there and back) to visit the *Caldera, a vast basin, nearly 5900 ft. deep and 3–4½ M. in diameter, situated in the heart of the island and rarely quite cloudless. A tedious ride up the Barranco de las Angustias brings us to the farm-building of Tenera (3642 ft.), whence we look down on the floor of the Caldera, which is partly clothed with pines. The best way to return from Los Llanos to Santa Cruz is to drive (34½ M.) by the road passing Las Manchas, Fuencaliente (2297 ft.), Mazo (1312 ft.), and Breña Baja; or we may ride across the Cumbre Vieja (6660 ft.), the pass between Las Manchas and the Barranco Aduares.