Letreros de Balos Rock Carvings

Every era has signed this rock. The figures cut by Gran Canaria's pre-Hispanic people, from human shapes and animals to geometric signs and lines of Libyco-Berber script, sit among marks scratched over the last two centuries and in recent years. They show most clearly along one stretch of the face, and the old grooves are faint: you have to look hard to tell them from the newer scratches. That search is the visit.

Around the rock, the dry ravine is covered in balo, the drooping endemic shrub that gave the Barranco de Balos its name.

• The carvings are enclosed by a fence, and parts of the rock were damaged before it went up.
• Pre-Hispanic engravings share the rock with marks from the last two centuries and today; look closely to tell them apart.
• There are no toilets, drinking water or information point at the site or nearby. Bring water.
• There is no wheelchair access.

The carvings sit in the Barranco de Balos, in the municipality of Santa Lucía de Tirajana. The nearest car parks are about 1.9 km away in a straight line, and the nearest bus stop lies at a similar distance, so whether you come by bus or leave the car there, expect a walk of at least that much. Carry water for it, because there is none at the carvings.

Best: early morning or late afternoon. Low, raking sunlight throws shadow into the shallow grooves, so the old engravings stand out far more clearly, and the heat is lower.

Avoid: the middle of the day. Overhead sun flattens the rock face and washes the carvings out, and a bare, dry ravine has no shade.

The engravings are protected archaeological heritage and stand inside a fence. Stay outside it and keep your hands off the rock. Never add a mark of your own: later scratches already cover parts of the face, and nothing cut into the stone can be undone.