The Guardian of Bentayga, The Dog of Bentayga, etc.

Here is is. Who's a good boy? Sit! Good boy!

Last year, when we were on our way back, and rather steeply up, from Cuevas Del Rey, a young couple graciously gave us a little lift, thus saving a bit of walking up on a wide zigzag. They themselves were looking for a rather curious rock formation, which they called El Guardián del Bentayga, The Guardian of Bentayga. Roque Bentayga is a prominent volcanic formation in the middle the Caldera de Tejeda, and the dog-shaped rock in the photo was looking at it, with Tejeda village in the background.

Roque Bentayga, as seen from around Cruz de Timagada

The couple did have the location on their phone and the photos of the formation itself, but they somehow hadn't found it. They showed us their map and we were able to help them, although it was the very first time we saw the puppy in question. 

You can see the road leading to the Cuevas del Rey going around Roque Bentayga

I thought it would be a nice thing to go one day and have a look at it myself. Walks around the Caldera are spectacular, no matter were you go and whether or not you find what you are looking for. This particular little walk has the big advantage of being easily doable with public transport. You can visit The Dog by car, if walking is not your thing. 

Road to Cuevas del Rey continues on the left, in the dense shade

The wikiloc "route" that the young couple had can be found here (Perro del Bentayga). It is not really a route, just a pointer of where to park. It also gives you an idea of the distance, which is extremely short. So, what follows is a short description of how to make it into a walk. 

White houses of Artenara, the highest village on the island, seen on the top of the north wall of the Caldera

So. Starting from Tejeda, you can catch an extremely infrequent bus, number 18, which goes to Maspalomas. I caught the 11.30, which took me one stop to "Las Moradas", where the narrow GC-607 road going to Roque Bentayga starts. I walked on the road. There might be paths that I could have taken instead, but they are not obvious, and most certainly not official, so not maintained. The road branches soon, one branch going to Bentayga itself, I took the one on the right, going to El Roque. The ground parking from the wikiloc route is about one and a half kilometers away. There is a bit of up and down, but really little considering where you are. The parking is on a part of a rocky crest adjustent to the road. The Dog is to the right of the biggest squarish rock of the group, as you look from the road. 

The biggest rock of the crest. You can see how eroded and full of cavities it is. There are a lot of little caves and grottoes all over the place, worth having a look around

And this is all there is to it really. It is certainly a lesser known rock fromation, but still a quite popular photospot with locals, and the crest is obviously well-trodden. There little paths branch, go to caves, up and down the rocks and occasionally end abruptly. As in any other place, don't go down where you can't see a clear way back up and vice versa, but apart from that there is nothing to it.

Trying to hide, eh?

After taking all the pics I could, I headed back to Tejeda, first returning to Las Moradas and then via Cruz de Timagada, where one of the best almond-blossom routes of Tejeda passes. There are no almonds yet, but they will be a nice add-on in a couple of months time. The paths are well-signposted starting from Las Moradas, there is no chance of getting lost.

I was back in Tejeda at about two, so the whole thing took only two hours and a half. In hindsight, I should have re-visited  Roque Bentayga while I was so close, but I was aiming at a 3pm bus to San Mateo. It could be a nice option though if you are ok with taking either of the last buses from Tejeda to San Mateo and Maspalomas, both at 5pm.

Another photo of the main attraction. From here he looks more like a big cat, a jaguar, maybe?

So, apart from an endless amount of faces in the rocks,  we have quite a few elephants, including one that kisses a camel, and a now a dog. I am sure there are lots more. 

It literally just occured to me that that The Dog reminds me most of Jeff Koons´s Puppy. Funny how the mind works.