Discover the Charco Azul in Agaete 

The island of Gran Canaria has many places that seem to be taken from fantasy novels, most of them have accessible paths to admire their beauty. 

What is Charco Azul in Gran Canaria? 

This is one of the few corners of the island with water all year round. El Charco Azul is a natural swimming pool located in the area called Andén Verde, a place where you can swim while enjoying the views around it located in an area in the northwest of Gran Canaria.

It is also one of the least visited places on the island, due to the poor condition of the roads leading to it. However, it is a highly recommended visit and worth making. If you want to take advantage of your trip to the area, you can see other places of interest such as Mirador del Balcón or Barranco de Guayedra.

How to get there? 

This will largely depend on the area from which you plan to start your tour. For that reason, I will explain to you how to get there from two main places on the island such as the capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and from the southern point of the island which will be Maspalomas. 

To reach Charco Azul from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, I recommend you drive north towards Agaete. Once you have passed Agaete you must continue along the road to the west of the island until you reach the village of El Risco where you can park. The total travel time to the village from the capital is usually 55 minutes to 1 hour. 

However, if you are going to start your route from the southern part, assuming you leave Maspalomas, you will have to go the same way as the previous one, taking the motorway to the north of the island towards Agaete. If you take this route from the south the average travel time is usually 1 hour and 20 minutes.

From both routes you will enjoy beautiful landscapes. Finishing with the stage of how to get here, I would like to remind you of some interesting facts that I consider important. If the day you are going to visit this place is a Sunday or a holiday, I recommend you go early and in good time, because there are usually problems with parking, as it is a very popular excursion with the locals. 

Once we arrive at the village of “El Risco” which is only 14 kilometres from Agaete, we can start the journey to El Charco Azul. El Risco is a small village where today about 300 inhabitants live, keeping one of those corners open to the enjoyment of seekers of unconventional places.

Route on foot to El Charco Azul 

The only way to reach El Charco Azul is on foot from the village or its surroundings. Therefore, once you have parked your vehicle, you should head towards the bars that are located on the bend. There you can follow the marks and signs to the path, in case you have trouble finding them, you can always ask the locals, who will provide you with a traditional family welcome from the people of the village. 

The path to El Charco is practically flat and is almost 4 kilometers long, which in time would be about 45 minutes there and another 45 minutes back more or less. It all depends on how fit you are or whether you have children or older people with you.

The path is usually not very difficult, especially if you are used to hiking or some kind of sport. But watch out, As it is not an approved trail, you should know that if it has rained recently the road can be complicated because the stones around it can cause accidents. 

From my personal point of view, I could recommend it for children because of the short distance to be covered and the exotic nature of the countryside to distract restless children. The path is quite wide, try to watch where there are more steps so you don’t have to make big jumps or turn back. 

However, you should know that there are parts where you should proceed with care, which is why I would not recommend it for older people where a fall can cause serious problems. Going into the ravine you can appreciate the different colors that the slopes are taking, or you can look at how the palms have grown in the agricultural plots

Once we finish the walk, we will identify at first the Charco Azul of Gran Canaria, in which depending on how much it has rained you will be able to see more or less water, but it will always have. 

No one can argue with you that after the tour, you feel like taking a bath in Charco Azul. If you have your doubts about whether to bathe or not, because you don’t know where the water inside comes from, I have to tell you that it’s water from a stream in the Tirma Mountains. 

The flow of the Charco Azul will depend on the time of year, although the place is already a pleasant visit, during any season. But it is true that in the summer months of June to September you might find little water.

In any case, for those who prefer to go there in the summer, there is the option of following the line marked by the ravine to the coast and enjoy a sea bath at Playa del Risco, another place far from the tourist routes where sand and gravel were extracted in the past. What did you think of our post about the Charco Azul de Gran Canaria? Tell us! We look forward to reading your proposals and experiences if you do this route. Remember that you can always look for similar experiences on our website.