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Agüimes
Panorama of Agüimes
Panorama of Agüimes
Flag of Agüimes
Flag
Coat of arms of Agüimes
Coat of arms
Municipal location in Gran Canaria
Municipal location in Gran Canaria
Agüimes is located in Province of Las Palmas
Agüimes
Agüimes
Location in Province of Las Palmas
Agüimes is located in Canary Islands
Agüimes
Agüimes
Location in Canary Islands
Agüimes is located in Spain, Canary Islands
Agüimes
Agüimes
Location in Spain, Canary Islands
Country  Spain
Autonomous Region  Canary Islands
Province Las Palmas
Island Gran Canaria
Area
 • Total 79.28 km2 (30.61 sq mi)
Elevation
275 m (902 ft)
Population
 (2018)
 • Total 31,152
 • Density 392.936/km2 (1,017.70/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+0 (GMT)
Climate BWh

Agüimes is a town and municipality in Spain. It's located on the eastern side of Gran Canaria, one of the beautiful Canary Islands. It's part of the Las Palmas province.

About Agüimes

Agüimes is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the coast. It is also 26 kilometers (16 miles) south of Las Palmas, the island's capital city. The main highway, called GC-1, runs east of the town.

In 2013, Agüimes had a population of 30,214 people. The total area of the municipality is 79.28 square kilometers (30.61 square miles). The town itself is located 275 meters (902 feet) above sea level.

How Agüimes' Population Has Grown

The number of people living in Agüimes has increased a lot over the years. Here's a quick look at how the population has changed:

Year Population
1991 16,156
1996 18,284
2001 20,124
2002 22,567
2003 23,572
2004 24,460
2013 30,214

Agüimes' Weather

Agüimes has a warm, dry climate. It's known as a hot desert climate (BWh). This means it gets a lot of sunshine and not much rain.

Climate data for Agüimes, Las Palmas (altitude 150 m, data of 1953-1965)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 18.5
(65.3)
19.4
(66.9)
20.8
(69.4)
21.0
(69.8)
23.0
(73.4)
24.0
(75.2)
27.4
(81.3)
27.3
(81.1)
25.8
(78.4)
24.1
(75.4)
21.2
(70.2)
18.8
(65.8)
22.6
(72.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 14.8
(58.6)
15.2
(59.4)
16.3
(61.3)
16.5
(61.7)
18.4
(65.1)
19.2
(66.6)
22.6
(72.7)
22.4
(72.3)
21.6
(70.9)
20.2
(68.4)
17.7
(63.9)
15.4
(59.7)
18.4
(65.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 11.1
(52.0)
11.0
(51.8)
11.8
(53.2)
12.0
(53.6)
13.9
(57.0)
14.5
(58.1)
17.8
(64.0)
17.6
(63.7)
17.4
(63.3)
16.4
(61.5)
14.1
(57.4)
12.0
(53.6)
14.1
(57.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 41
(1.6)
37
(1.5)
11
(0.4)
5
(0.2)
4
(0.2)
1
(0.0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
7
(0.3)
32
(1.3)
89
(3.5)
62
(2.4)
289
(11.4)
Source: Worldwide Bioclimatic Classification System

Economy and Jobs

Agüimes has seen a lot of growth recently. A large industrial area was built on land that used to be tomato farms. This has created many new jobs and brought different businesses to the area. A new port was also built and opened in 2007.

Fun Things to Do

Agüimes wasn't always a big tourist spot. But after its old town was carefully restored, it became a great example of a traditional Canarian hill town. The streets of the old town feel calm and timeless. You'll find cool statues and sculptures hidden around, adding fun surprises to your visit.

Rural Tourism

The town has a plan for "rural tourism." This means they've developed other small visitor centers in the area. The biggest one is in the Guayadeque ravine. This area is famous for its many cave houses, some hundreds of years old. There's even a whole village dug into the hillside that people still live in today! It has its own cave chapel, a cave bar, and cave restaurants.

Stargazing at the Observatory

The Temisas Astronomical Observatory is another popular place to visit. It's located on Montaña de Arriba, near Temisas. They often host events where you can learn about astronomy and look at the stars.

Sports and Adventure

Sports are very important in Agüimes. The area is known for its "world-class" windsurfing and scuba diving.

Windsurfing

The windsurfing world cup at Pozo Izquierdo is a major event on the PWA World Tour. The coast here offers challenging windsurfing conditions all year round, perfect for experienced windsurfers.

Scuba Diving

The main area for scuba diving in Gran Canaria is the 'El Cabrón' marine reserve. It's right next to the town of Arinaga. Divers can explore caves, arches, walls, and volcanic reefs. You can see a huge variety of sub-tropical marine animals here, from tiny seahorses to rays and even angel sharks.

Table Top 100506 -09crop
A diver watches a parrotfish and a Turkish wrasse (Thalassoma Pavo) while scuba diving in the El Cabrón marine reserve, Gran Canaria.

Historic Places

In the center of Agüimes, you'll find the large, domed Church of San Sebastián [es]. It's in Plaza Nuestra Señora del Rosario and is a great example of Canarian Neoclassical architecture. Building the church started in 1796, but it wasn't finished until 1940.

Templo Parroquial de San Sebastián
Templo Parroquial de San Sebastián

About 23 kilometers (14 miles) southwest of Agüimes, on the island's south coast, there's a full-size copy of the San Sebastián Church. It was built in 2014 by a hotel owner named Eustasio López González, who was from Agüimes. This replica is part of a fancy hotel complex, the Lopesan Costa Meloneras Hotel in Maspalomas. The hotel buildings are designed in a Canarian Spanish Colonial Revival style. They aim to look like the historic buildings of Agüimes, including the church copy.

The Agüimes municipality has many important historical sites. One well-known site is the El Maipés necropolis in Agaete. Also, the caves and granaries at the Audience site in Temisas, and the caves and hills in Avila, were declared important cultural sites in 2016.

Gallery

See Also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Agüimes para niños

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