Teror is the spiritual capital of Gran Canaria, and the reason is a small statue of the Virgin. According to legend, in 1481, shepherds saw a light in a pine tree, and when they climbed up, they found an image of the Virgin Mary, who became Our Lady of the Pine, the patron saint of the island. The basilica built in her honour dominates the main square, a large pale-stone church with a broad front and a carved interior, and on 8 September each year, thousands of pilgrims walk through the night to reach it for the festival, carrying gifts of fruit and flowers.
The old town around the church is the best preserved on the island, with long streets lined with traditional Canarian houses, each with a balcony of dark wood carved in intricate patterns and hung with geraniums. The wooden balconies, often painted green or brown, are what everyone photographs. The streets are quiet outside the weekend, but on Sunday mornings a market fills the square, selling vegetables, cheese, cakes and the famous Teror sausage, a soft, spiced chorizo that is a local pride. Try it on bread for breakfast.
For a rider, Teror is a pleasant mid-mountain stop on the way into the high interior. It sits at about 600 metres in a green, damp part of the island, on the edge of the northern slopes where the trade-wind clouds drop their moisture, and the land is full of ferns, banana plantations and eucalyptus. From here, the road climbs south to Valleseco and Cruz de Tejeda, in a series of bends that gain height quickly, with long views over the valleys and the sea. The surface is mostly good, but narrow and winding, with sharp corners. Traffic can be heavy on weekends, especially near the basilica, so aim to arrive early.
Teror is large enough to have fuel and supermarkets, so it is a good place to prepare for the mountain loop, where services are more scattered. There are bars around the square serving coffee and snacks, and a number of small restaurants where you can have a plate of grilled meat with wrinkled potatoes and spicy mojo sauce, the signature of Canarian cooking.
The best season is spring, when the hillsides are green and the air is fresh. Cloud often lies over the town in the morning and burns off by late morning.