From all inclusive resorts to extensive golden-sand beaches and a rugged, mountainous interior, Gran Canaria is one of the most diverse destinations in Europe no matter what you’re after for your holidays.

During last visit to the, I travelled around Gran Canaria for 4 days to discover all the natural wonders and tourist attractions of the island!

How to visit Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is one of the main 7 islands in the Canaries, and as such, it presents all type of travellers with endless options, be it all inclusive holidays in breathtaking resorts, historical towns like no other in Spain or extreme sports.

After my visit to Lanzarote, I spent 4 full days in Gran Canaria, which I found enough to do some sightseeing in the morning and enjoy the beaches for the rest of the day. I tried to divide my trip equally between visiting tourist sites and spending time at the beach, so I came up with the following 4-day itinerary of Gran Canaria:

• Day 1:

  • Morning: Maspalomas Dunes

  • Evening: Yumbo Shopping Centre

• Day 2:

  • Morning: Roque Nublo

  • Afternoon:

    • Teror

    • Arucas

• Day 3:

  • Morning: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

  • Afternoon:

    • Paragliding in Las Palmas

    • El Bufadero

• Day 4:

  • Morning: Puerto Mogan

  • Afternoon: Playa Amadores

• Day 5: Aqualand Maspalomas Water Park

Maspalomas

Due to its better climate, most tourist resorts can be found in southern Gran Canaria. Beaches here are protected from the strong winds of the north, so most of the visitors head south to enjoy the calmer waters.

There are various great choices to stay in Gran Canaria, but without a doubt, the area comprising Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés is the most popular when planning your holidays in the island.

I personally decided to stay in Maspalomas, as it is a more lively area compared to Playa del Inglés, which caters mainly for families on long holidays. Maspalomas is filled with bars, restaurants and nightclubs, so it is certainly a better choice if you’re under 30 or travelling with friends.

In Maspalomas you cannot miss the famous dunes, a 404-hectare protected nature area formed during the last ice age, when strong wings blew the sand towards the coast of the island.

When you venture into the dunes, you will spot some of the best beaches of the island, most of them hidden behind the mountains of sand. Maspalomas is well known for its nudist beaches and active LGBTQ+ scene, so don’t be surprised to find holidaymakers enjoying the sun completely naked!

Roque nublo

Gran Canaria is a very mountainous island, and although most visitors stay near the coast, those who decide to visit the interior of the island will find some incredible landscapes and small villages that cannot be missed.

If you need a break from the beach and decide to visit the higher region of Gran Canaria, you should first head to Roque Nublo. Getting to Roque Nublo by road is not an easy task; although the formation is located only 38km north of Maspalomas, the extremely sinuous and narrow road up and down the mountains will take you a good 2 to 2.30 hours to reach its base. It’s almost impossible to reach Roque Nublo by direct public transport, so I recommend renting a car or taking one of the day tours offered by most hotels.

Roque Nublo is a phonologic rock formation derived from volcanic material that spewed up during particularly violent and explosive eruptions. These eruptions produced burning clouds, similar to the which destroyed Pompeii. Standing at a height of 67m, it has been eroded over time, and holds great symbolic value for the inhabitants of the island. 

This remarkable monolith was the subject of worship by the pre-Hispanic population of the island, forming part of the sacred mountainous ares in Gran Canaria. From the top, you’ll be surrounded by nothing but mountains and incredible landscapes, completely different from what you’ll find in the tourist towns near the beach.

For present day Canarians and visitor alike, it is, and has always been top of the list of places to visit. You’ll need to climb uphill for a few hundred meters to reach the main rock, so don’t forget to bring some water with you!

Teror

If you continue driving 1h north from Roque Nublo, you’ll reach Teror, one of the most charming towns of Gran Canaria. The capital, Las Palmas, is located only 20km north-east, so you can also easily visit from there.

With its traditional white houses with wooden balconies and pebbled streets, this small town of only 12,000 became one of the main spiritual centres of Gran Canaria after a shephard witnessed a Marian apparition back in 1481. Nowadays, Teror preserves one of the most beautiful and traditional historical centres of the island, I personally fell in love with it from minute one!

Most of the highlights of Teror are located around its main square, so that’s where we headed first. Since it was almost lunch time, we stopped at one of the restaurants surrounded the square to try some traditional food. I would highly recommend ordering the traditional meat cooked in the stone; you will be served very hot stone that you can use to cook and season the meet yourself, I personally loved it!

Right in the middle of the main square you will also find the impressive Virgin of the Pine Basilica. This basilica constitutes the most important building in Gran Canaria, as it houses the image of the Virgin of the Pine, patron saint of the island. The basilica is formed by three naves that culminate with semicircular arches and a yellow tower located on the right side of the facade.

Just in front of the basilica you cannot miss the Real de la Plaza street, one of the most emblematic streets in Teror. For centuries, this street has been the main commercial, political and cultural centre of Teror and still today preserves some of the most beautiful constructions of the town.

Arucas

It wasn’t originally in our plans, but I was so impressed by its church when we were driving by, that we decided to stop and enjoy Arucas for a few minutes.

Arucas is a very small town of 36,00 inhabitants located 9km west of Las Palmas. Its main attraction is the impressive Church of St. John the Baptist, built in a neo-Gothic style in 1909 using local stone and masons.

Although the current construction is quite recent, the original building dates back to 1483, when the Catholic Monarchs of Spain conquered the island. The church was expanded and remodelled in multiple occasions along the centuries until it was fully demolished in the early 20th century, when the current building was erected.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

No visit to Gran Canaria would be complete without visiting the capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Its old town, known as Vegueta, is the area where the city of Las Palmas originated after the Crown of Castile conquered the island in 1478, becoming the first Spanish emplacement in the Atlantic Ocean.

Today, Vegueta offers a gorgeous architecture and historical centre that served as reference for the creation of many colonial cities in America, as Gran Canaria was one of the last stops in Europe for all boats travelling to the new continent.

After leaving our car in a nearby parking, our first stop in Las Palmas was San Agustin Square, where you will find a church with the same name dating from 1786. The church is home the stucco image of Christ of the True Cross, patron saint of the city.

Only a couple of streets away and located right behind the cathedral, you will reach the Pilar Nuevo square. It used to be the gathering place for the women who came here to collect water from the central pillar, where today a stone fountain stands.

Here you will also find Columbus House, one of the most remarkable buildings of Las Palmas. With its beautiful doorways and balconies and impressive courtyards and carved wooden ceilings, this building was the former residence of the first governors of the island. It is said that Christopher Colombus stayed here in 1492 while one of his ships was repaired before heading to the discovery of America, hence its name.

Today, the building offers a very interesting display of pre-Columbian artefacts and ship models, including a replica of La Niña, one of the three ships used by Columbus in his journey. If you’d like to visit the exhibition, there’s an entrance fee of €4.