Salt mines of Tenefé

Salinas de Tenefé is one of the best-preserved relics of the salt industry on Gran Canaria, sitting on the island's southwestern coast within the municipality of Santa Lucía de Tirajana. The complex occupies a headland known as Punta de Tenefé, right next to the Parque Marítimo El Saladar, a marine research area valued for its endemic coastal flora. It is a place where human industry and the raw volcanic landscape of the island's south meet in a striking way — at sunset the shallow salt pans turn a distinctive shade of pink, making Tenefé a favourite spot for watching the day end.

Where did these salt pans come from?

The salt pans were built in the late 18th century, with the primary purpose of supplying salt to fishing boats working the Canarian fishing grounds off the Saharan coast, as well as meeting local demand for the mineral. They were constructed around the same time as the Matorral salt pans, at a time when demand for salt used to preserve fish was extremely high — a fact that made both complexes among the most important in the entire archipelago.

How did the salt-making complex work?

The facility occupies a waterfront plot of roughly 20,000 square metres. In its original layout, three windmills pumped seawater up to the highest part of the site, from where it flowed down through a sequence of evaporation ponds. Those windmills gave the site its older name, Salinas de los Tres Molinos — the Salt Pans of the Three Mills. Today Tenefé is regarded as the best-preserved example of clay-bedded salt pans anywhere on Gran Canaria.

What protection status does the site hold?

On 26 April 2005, the complex was declared a Site of Cultural Interest (Bien de Interés Cultural), under the category of Ethnological Site. That recognition reflects its importance not just as a remnant of a local industry, but as living evidence of a traditional craft — salt harvesting — passed down across generations on the island.

What can visitors see on site?

The old salt worker's house, the casa del salinero, now hosts the Salinas de Tenefé Interpretation Centre. A visit to the complex combines two complementary parts: a walk around the salt ponds themselves, and a stop at the interpretation centre, housed on the upper floor of the salt worker's house. The exhibits cover the history of salt extraction on the island, the tools and methods once used by local salt workers, and the role salt played in Gran Canaria's fishing economy.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly are the Salinas de Tenefé located? On the southwestern coast of Gran Canaria, in the municipality of Santa Lucía de Tirajana, on the Punta de Tenefé headland next to the Parque Marítimo El Saladar.

When were the salt pans built? In the late 18th century, to supply salt to fishing boats sailing to the fishing grounds off the Saharan coast.

Why were they once called Salinas de los Tres Molinos? Because of the three windmills that originally pumped seawater up to the highest point of the facility.

Is the site protected? Yes — since 26 April 2005 it has held the status of Site of Cultural Interest as an Ethnological Site.

What should visitors prioritise during a visit? Combine a walk around the salt ponds with a visit to the Interpretation Centre set up in the former salt worker's house.