Welcome to my website...

... which is designed to encourage healthy active people to walk and explore the magnificent mountains of Gran Canaria, Spain.  My name is Roger, known as Rambling Roger.  My wife Eileen and I have lived on Gran Canaria for over 15 years, and we have discovered many varied hikes for all abilities of walkers on this island.

We believe we have written the best English language guide book for walkers in Gran Canaria, but would be happy to offer advice to anyone considering a hiking holiday on our beautiful island, whether it be just for themselves or a walking club etc.  We can also recommend English speaking walking guides for you if required.

Nouveau !
		Les deux Volumes de "Ne quittez pas la Grande Canarie sans l'avoir vue..." sont maintenant disponibles également en français.

'Don’t leave Gran Canaria without seeing it'

I have now completed 2 guide books for walking and investigating the wonderful interior of Gran Canaria, one called Volume 1 'The Shorter Options' Guide, this guide is intended more for the casual hiker ( who wants a half day walk ) and visitors who want to discover the real heart of Gran Canaria.  Volume 2 'The Longer Options' Guide is for the serious hiker who wants a full day trek. Volume 1 'The Shorter Options' Guide has 20 circular and 15 routes from A to B with the local bus times included, there are also over 30 there-and-back walks, all of these walks are designed to be half day hikes.  This Guide also includes lots of information of what to see and do in the many rural villages and towns, with suggestions of where to enjoy local specialities.       Volume 2 'The Longer Options' Guide has 20 circular and 5 routes from A to B with local bus times included, these walks are full day walks and are designed for the serious hiker.  All walks have full GPS information. I am are aware that there are already some hiking books in English about walking and trekking on Gran Canaria, but none written by a local resident with years of experience of the hiking routes on this island.   Both Rambling Roger's Guide(s) are available in Printed or PDF version.

My advice to all visitors to Gran Canaria and the title of my Guide is:  ‘Don’t leave Gran Canaria without seeing it’.
 

Gran Canaria is one of the 7 main Canary Islands

... and is part of Spain and the E.U. therefore the currency here is the Euro.  Gran Canaria's coast holiday resorts have been a popular holiday destination for many years, but few British visitors have hiked the interior.  Gran Canaria is just a four hour flight away, in the same time-zone as the UK and hence the ideal destination for a weeks walking holiday - cheap last minute flights to Gran Canaria's airport Las Palma ( LPA ) are often found via Skyscanner, Liligo or book direct with Monarch Airlines.

The highest point of the island Pico de las Nieves is approx 1950 metres ( approx 6,000 feet ) above sea level and you can drive to it in under an hour and a half from leaving the coast.
 

Gran Canaria really does live up to its nickname of a miniature continent...

The island is very green and agricultural in the north, the centre has forests, lakes and several villages of inhabited cave houses.  The south has some spectacular scenery across uninhabited ravines and canyons, known as Barrancos, and there are several large volcanic craters, known as Calderas.

Many of the footpaths you will be walking on are old donkey tracks, known as Camino Reales, there used to be a large network of tracks connecting all the villages and towns together, often by much shorter and direct routes than the modern roads that have replaced them.  The beauty of the real Gran Canaria is in the heart of the island and is unimaginable from the motorway that connects the airport to large resorts of hotels and apartments, bars and restaurants etc. in the barren south and east of the island.

Up the Camino Real