Hiking in Gran Canaria

walking All the Canary landscapes in Gran Canaria

La isla de Gran Canaria ( Grand Canary island ) belongs to the Canary archipelago which is located in the Atlantic ocean, 150km far away from the Moroccan coast. Gran Canaria is the second most populated island and the major part of it lives in the northeast and south part of the island.

Generally, it’s much more beautiful for those who want to hike in the island, to explore the west and central area of the island, where the wildest and greener part is. Though being a small island, it has a maximum altitude of 1947m and offers many different types of walks and hiking trails with difficulty.

Best trails IN GRAn Canaria 

 

Gran Canaria has a Footpath Network with more than 1000 km. It means that there are many routes that one can choose but the best hikes of Gran Canaria are located in the “cumbres” (the central part of the island) and as well there are really nice walks and trails in the north and west coast of Gran Canaria with unique beaches in all the Canary islands.

-Hiking traverse from Agaete to Maspalomas: In the hike below there is a long distance traverse that joins Agaete and Maspalomas walking through the most beautiful spots of the island as Tamadaba Natural Park, Artenara, Tejeda, Roque Nublo, Pico de las Nieves, Tijarafe, and Maspalomas. 

-Caldera de Bandama: easy hike near Gran Canaria that shows a beautiful caldera of the volcano of  569 m with a protected landscape.

-Acusa Seca – Acusa verde: hiking from Acusa Verde to Acusa Seca shows really nice views of the roques of Gran Canaria and passes by an interesting archeology spot where the aborigines lived thousands of years ago.

Hikes in Tamadaba Natural Park: in Tamadaba Natural Park there are many paths through the canarian pine forest and Roque Faneque is one of the best hikes of Tamadaba.

Natural Monument of Roque Nublo and other roques: the most hiked paths are in the top of Gran Canaria, in the summits area. Roque Nublo, Roque Bermejo or Pico de las Nieves are the most beautiful spots to walk to.

 

Gran Canaria walking holiday

how to get to gran canaria

How to get to Gran Canaria

For arriving to Gran Canaria from the outside of the archipelago there are two different ways, by plane and by boat in case you are traveling with car or any vehicle.

From Cádiz and Huelva there are connections with Gran Canaria by boat with the following companies: Trasmediterranea and Naviera Armas

The better option to take to fly to the island may vary depending from the place of departure.

From UK, Germany, Ireland and Spain, Ryanair is one of the airlines that have really cheap connections with Gran Canaria and other Canary Islands.

In Spain and France, the Spanish airline Vueling have daily connections from different cities and offer as well low prices.

From France, Switzerland and UK can be interesting to have a look to Easy Jet.

In the Scandinavian countries Norwegian and SAS have direct flights and for those who are under 26y.o can be interesting to check out the prices because in the price is already included a 23kg baggage.

Can be possible to have cheap flights with Norwegian and SAS  from North America stopping normally in Oslo and taking another flight to Gran Canaria.

public transport gran canaria

How to get around

In Gran Canaria there are different roads where is not allowed to do hitchhike, those that the signal is in blue colour (motorways and dual carriageway. Anyways is possible to do it in the entrances of this roads always before the traffic signal that notices you are getting on the motorway. Can be really useful to go and ask directly to drivers in touristic parking lots or in petrol stations. In the west and central area of the summits there are fewer cars running but in isolated places can be easier sometimes to get a ride than in crowded roads.

Renting a car in Gran Canaria can be a good option for travelling around the west coast if the costs are shared. Cars can be rented for less than 15 euros per day and petrol is really cheap (below 1€/l in 2018).

Public transport in Gran Canaria

There’s a good public transport network in the north, south and east parts of the island. On the west coast there are only a few lines running and for example, from the summits area to the west there isn’t any bus running. The prices of the buses are not as cheap as expected, especially in the south where the tourism is focused. Google Maps works perfectly with the public transport option and shows the fastest way to go and schedule.

Notice that every time you change the bus you need to buy a new ticket, so for going from A to C stopping by B you will need to buy a ticket in the bus for going from A to B and from B to C afterwards. In case you can avoid changing lines is going to be cheaper cause every time you pay for a ticket you are already paying more than 1 euro for getting in. In the following link can be found the prices of the bus and the different routes that run the island. PricesLines

 

wild camping gran canaria

Accomodation

Wild camping or bivouac in Gran Canaria is regulated, as in other regions of Spain, by every town and rural municipality and it’s hard to know all the regulations but in general is NOT allowed. Here we are not going to tell you where we stayed without being caught, we will post only the legal places to pitch your tent. In Gran Canaria there are 8 different camping areas where having a permission is completely free to stay with your tent for a maximum of a week. You can fill the form and choose where you are going to pick your permission. These areas are equipped with toilets and drinking water.

In the hiking areas there are a few hostels you can find in Hostelworld that can be great option after some days doing wild camping.

Airbnb can be as well a good resource in those cases where there’s not a hostel or when you are a group of 3 or more. You can get 25€ off for your next trip!

 

Using couchsurfing in the north and in the city of Las Palmas is a great option and it can be tried in the rest of the island but there are less hosts.

visit gran canaria

What to see and do

Get lost in the dunes and beaches in Maspalomas, the south of the island.Explore the beautiful villages around the east coast as Telde, Agüimes, Vegueta… Visit traditional and gorgeous villages around the center of the island as Teror, Tejeda, Artenara, Acusa Seca… Swimming in natural pools on the north coast can be perfect when the waves are really big. Discover the cliffs of the west coast and hike to isolated natural beaches.
weather in mountain gran canaria

Weather

Gran Canaria has 2 parts that are way different, a rainy and foggy one and another dry and sunny. The weather in the north and northwest of the island can be opposite to the east and south because the clouds are stopped by the mountains. Rainy days are focused during winter and during summer it doesn’t rain. Temperatures at sea level oscillate between 18-26ºC but in the summits area can be colder especially during winter and snow can fall.
best time to go to gran canaria

Best time to go to Gran Canaria

The Canary Islands and how not, Gran Canaria, are characterized by a wonderful weather, an endless spring. Any time is good to explore Canary Islands. The average temperatures in summer is between 23 – 25ºC and in winter between 17 – 19ºC. Because of these, it can be a good getaway during winter though is the touristic high-season.

Dangers and tips

Protect your skin from the sun, all year round. Know when you will be able to refill your reservoir and carry enough water, more during summer when temperatures can reach 40ºC. Avoid hiking during the midday.

There’s no danger of being attacked by animals. Only jellyfishes can hurt you while swimming especially during winter. Several beaches have very strong currents.

Be aware of the weather conditions while hiking and driving, heavy rain causes flash floods in the steep valleys and rockfalls may occur.

Gran Canaria Hiking Map

 

This hiking map contains the most impressive walks in Gran Canaria and all the information and facilities that you may need when walking in the island. Remember that in Opentopomap you can find the online topo map of Gran Canaria. In every hike that is posted in this website, it contains the resources to find the walking map of each route of Gran Canaria.

gran-canaria-hiking-map