“It remains a mystery,” he says, “but we know that this place was the last point of defence for the island’s native people”. He’s talking of Gran Canaria’s pre-Hispanic inhabitants. DNA analysis shows that they were likely Berber tribes that arrived somehow across the wild Atlantic Ocean sometime in 5^th century BC from the north of Africa.

Unlike the other islands in the Canarian archipelago, these inhabitants have no collective name, but they were the original Canarios – residents of Gran Canaria for millennia before the Spanish conquest in 1483. “What we do know”, Guillermo tells me, “Is that the island was divided into two kingdoms, Gáldar in the north and Telde in the east, each with its own leader, or guanarteme.”

From our lofty plinth, we can see the other soaring basalt monolith, the Roque Nublo in the distance – also revered by the original population.

I’m here on the island on a bit of a hunt for the guanarteme, their communities and to learn how they lived through the intriguing remains that still exist. They worshipped the sun, earth and stars, and their god and bringer of good luck and creation was called Acoran.

These native peoples lived here in relative isolation for hundreds of years until the Spanish arrived in 1478. There followed several years of fierce fighting with huge losses on both sides, but eventually the native population was decimated by the superior weaponry of the conquistadors, and those who were left were forced to convert to Catholicism and change their names.

Either way, he was baptised Fernando Guanarteme in 1481 with the catholic monarchs acting as his godparents. The baptismal font still exists in the town of Gáldar, which is my next stop.

There are more relics of the original inhabitants on Gran Canaria than any of the other islands, and Gáldar perhaps has the most, but there’s one particular attraction here that outshines them all. A short stroll from the main town square – site of the infamous baptisms – is the Museo y Parque Arqueológico Cueva Pintada. Inside this museum is an incredibly preserved painted cave from pre-Hispanic times.

Red, ochre, black and white geometric patterns adorn the walls and there are carved hollows for storage, sleeping or other unknown reasons. The natural and hand excavated caves were the way of life for the native people, perhaps best shown on a grand scale on the opposite side of the island in the Guayadeque ravine, which is full of cave homes.

They had an acute sense of the timings of the sun. At Risco Caído – arguably one of the modern wonders of the world – there is a window that lets the sun enter to project a light onto the interior wall of a house, from the summer solstice to the winter one, it draws out the story of conception and pregnancy.

I continue my journey to Maipés or the badlands, to walk around a harsh looking landscape dotted with hand-constructed stone mounds. It was the final resting place for many of the native population, a millennia-old cemetery with more than 700 tombs, some of which allow light to enter at certain points on the solar calendar.  To learn more, I’m heading to the capital city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The name cenobio translates as ‘monastery’ as it was originally thought to be a burial site, but theories now suggest it was much more likely a community grain store, a sort of troglodyte supermarket.

In the cool streets of Vegueta, the capital’s old town, I find the Museo Canario. This museum is dedicated to the history of the original Canarios. There are artefacts of all kinds here, from tools and cooking vessels, to pintaderas – geometric stamps or seals thought to identify each tribe or community. The most eerie but interesting room contains the mummified remains and skeletons of the native inhabitants and explores the funerary rites of the society.

The chic space offers menus that bring a sense of modernity to traditional Canarian cuisine.

I’m intrigued to try the slow-cooked pork with gofio cream. Gofio is toasted flour – often corn but also wheat – that is a leftover from the pre-Hispanic times, meaning that his toasted grain has been part of the Canarian diet for thousands of years.