Photo: Jarek ProkopLa Aldea de San Nicolás is one of those last resorts away from the mass tourism that remains in Gran Canaria. A small town in which traditions and links with popular customs are still alive. In Payless, your cheap rent a car in Gran Canaria, we invite you to discover it and to enjoy with its inhabitants the spectacular environment that characterises La Aldea.
The first thing you should know is that until recently, getting here was a real challenge. The road that linked the town with Agaete, the closest urban centre, was considered one of the most dangerous in the country: a total of 365 curves that ran along steep cliffs was the test that had to be met by the adventurous tourists who wanted to get lost in its streets. Now, a much more modern and safe road (and with less spectacular views) connects both towns. Climb aboard your cheap rental car in Gran Canaria and enjoy the journey while crossing the banana plantations of Gáldar and currency the mountain ranges and ravines typical of this orography.
Once in La Aldea, leave your cheap rental car in Gran Canaria well parked and get ready to be part of the history of the Canary Islands. To fully understand how the ancient inhabitants lived, you can not miss a visit to the Living Museum, an initiative that emerged from the residents themselves and that, today, is one of the main tourist attractions in the area.
The project emerged as an attempt to keep alive the popular wisdom, strongly rooted in the elderly people of the town. In this way, a group of teachers made the decision to take them to the school so that the students could know their experiences first-hand. The idea was so well received that afterwards, it was the young students who came to the farms, residences and houses of the elders, where they explained how the water was collected, the “gofio”, how the clothes and footwear were made, etc. And little by little, what was a school initiative was transformed into a real museum, already visited by more than 5,000 people each year.
The Living Museum of the Village is a true tribute, where it is recreated with precision how life was in the town for decades so that the visitor has the feeling of having travelled in time. The details are everywhere: in the decoration, the tools, the aesthetics of the facades ... According to the International Scientific Committee of Museums, this is the most important living museum in Europe, a true jewel unknown to many.
To visit, you must drive with your cheap rental car in Gran Canaria to La Aldea on the first Sunday of each month, when the flea market also takes place.
