Tenefe Salt Pans

The salt here is still made the slow way. Sea water goes into open pans, the sun and the wind do the work, and the crystals are raked out by hand.

The family who run the works take you through each stage up close, from how the water is brought in to why they draw it at full moon. Beside the pans stands the works building, from the 1800s, painted a white that glares in strong sun. Leave time to walk around the ponds afterwards. The shop sells the finished salt, and the staff will tell you which kind to buy and what it suits.

• No shade on the pans. The ponds lie open to sun and sea wind; bring a hat and sun cream.
• Bring water. There is no drinking fountain nearby.
• Toilets are available at the works.
• Children do well here: the whole process is shown up close, with room to walk around the ponds.

The salt pans lie on the way between Maspalomas and Las Palmas, and make a stop on the road to Agüimes as well, so a car is the simplest way in.

Two car parks sit about 930 m and 980 m away in a straight line; the walk from either is longer than that. By bus, the closest stop is Salinas Del Matorral, about 2.4 km away in a straight line, which leaves a walk of more than 2 km at the end of the ride.

Best: a weekday morning, when the works are open and the staff are there to explain the process.

Avoid: weekends, when the works are closed.

The visit depends on the people who run the salt works being present, and the bare pans take the full sun as the day goes on, so the earlier hours are the cooler ones.