Caldera de los Marteles

A gravel path drops into the caldera, and you can stand on the floor of a crater shaped by an eruption in which water played the leading part. From the roadside the hollow sits like a bowl pressed into the summit. Turn round, and across the road Las Palmas shows in the distance. The air is fresh and the place is quiet.

The reserve around it lays out the island's volcanic history: phonolite lavas and ignimbrite sheets from Gran Canaria's first volcanic cycle, Roque Nublo material above them, dykes cutting through. The slopes carry planted Canary pines, yellow-flowered Teline microphylla and Poa pitardiana, a grass found only on Gran Canaria. The crags give raptors such as the Barbary falcon a place to nest, flocks of canaries move through the trees, and the Gran Canaria giant lizard lives here. In Los Cernícalos ravine (Barranco de los Cernícalos), inside the same reserve, grows the best-preserved wild olive woodland on the island.

• There are no toilets and no drinking water at the caldera or nearby. Fill up before you drive up.
• The summit is cooler than the coast, and the wind finds you on the open ground. Bring a jumper.
• The path into the caldera is loose gravel. Trainers with worn soles will slide on it; wear shoes with grip.
• The entrance is not wheelchair accessible.

The approach is by road, climbing towards the summit. A car park with a view sits about 360 m from the caldera in a straight line, with a hiking trail crossing it; a second, at Fuente Los Cascajales, is about 1.3 km away. Look for an information board and a guidepost marked Caldera Los Marteles, both around 350 m out. A gravel path leads down into the crater itself.

On foot, the caldera lies on the hiking route between Cazadores and Pico de las Nieves. Without a car it is a walk: the nearest bus stops, Casas del Rincón and Montecillo, are about 2.7 km and 3.3 km away in a straight line.

Best: a clear, dry day.

Avoid: days when cloud sits on the summit, and the hours after rain.

The panorama, with Las Palmas in the distance, needs clear air, and the gravel path into the caldera is slippery enough without being wet.