/ 
AGAETE : facing the west
Agaete is one of the most emblematic villages of the Canaries. Its tradition began with the pre-hispanic settlers, which used to fish in this coast. There is historic evidence from the times of the conquest of the islands describing the way the aboriginals used to fish: beating the surface of the sea water and diving to drive the fish towards their vegetal fibre nets.
La Rama, a popular party taking place every August as part of the Virgen de Las Nieves festivities, is a remembrance of that primitive fishing activities, since tradition tells that the aboriginals used to beat the sea with tree branches praying for rain to their gods. The whole northern area of the island, being Galdar the main settlement, was inhabited by the ancient canarios, and the Maipes Archaeological Site proves it. This aboriginal necropolis of burial mounds lays portraits, in a very enjoyable and easy to take tour, the way the ancient settlers lived and their burial rituals.
The spectacular cliffs stretching out from the Tamadaba Natural Park have the white clouds as solely companions. To the right of the promenade, the Las Salinas natural pools are a cosy cooling shelter in the summer and a breathtaking breaking point reef in the winter. These pools were used as sea salt ponds obtaining the salt by evaporation of the water from the 16th century to the 1960s.
In the wharf, a few steps away from the Fisherman’s Guild building, the Virgin of Las Nieves chapel is home to a 16th century Flemish triptych which is still preserved in Agaete.
