Vol2 - The Longer Options

Volume 2 - The Longer Options Guide has been written to help any hiker to Gran Canaria to investigate and discover the fascinating interior of the island.

Many visitors comment on the lack of history and culture in the touristic resorts, the reason being that almost no-one lived in that area until mainstream tourism arrived 50 years ago. Those hikers and walkers who explore the centre and north of Gran Canaria will find a wealth of things of interest, such as villages of occupied cave houses, small museums run by local people, large reservoirs and many impressive churches, usually surrounded by attractive and peaceful plazas.

This Guide is designed for those who enjoy a good 4 hour plus trek in the hills or mountains, and for those who regularly go walking or hiking.

This Guide has 25 full day walks, 20 are circular and 5 are linear, with bus times given to enable you to return after the walk. View Guide index

All 25 walks need the correct equipment, and if you are not accustomed to long walks in the mountains Volume 1 'The Shorter Options' Guide would be a better choice for you.

The walks in this Volume 2 'The Longer Options' Guide have more ascent and descent than the walks in Volume 1, are all over 4 hours ( 12Km in length ) they are all on proper paths, if you find yourself scrambling up a rough hillside you have almost certainly gone off track. All walks in this guide are from Grade 6 to grade 9. You will probably find your walking speed slower here, due to the amount of ascent and descent, and also the probable higher temperatures. All 25 walks include a map, GPS waypoints of the most important junctions (all routes have a downloadable GPX tracks and waypoints ) details of how to get to the start of the walk, and full walking instructions, with several photographs.

Gran Canaria really does live up to its nickname of “Continent in Miniature” there is some spectacular scenery in the mountains, with a great variety of mini climates, producing a wide variety of crops etc. The beauty of the centre of the island is unimaginable from the motorway that connects the capital city Las Palmas with the touristic resorts of the south coast. I really do believe that Gran Canaria is very underrated as a walking holiday destination.

When selecting your walks from this Guide I would recommend at least one walk in as many different areas as you can manage on your visit to Gran Canaria.

In this Volume 'The Longer Options' Guide, I have split the island into 5 regions or zones. In each zone I have listed the newly signposted routes and given some suggestions for some more challenging routes.

This Guide is designed to help everyone who wishes to walk or hike the real Gran Canaria and discover how much variety there is on a relatively small island. In each one of these 25 walks (20 circular and 5 linear) there are many things to discover and investigate. As I am a local resident, changes are updated much more often than any other commercial guide books.

My first walking Guide was published in 2008, and was based on the same loose-leaf format as this guide. Several things have changed, the maps are now of a much better quality than in the original guide, now based on the DWG Tour and Trail map for Gran Canaria. Most of the shorter walks in the original guide have been taken out and been replaced by longer walks, several of the least popular walks have also been replaced, and a few other walks have been improved. Of the original 25 walks less than half are unchanged.

Below is an example of a walk that is typical of the hikes you will find in this Vol 2 Guide. This complete walk is FREE and is a great example of the quality of walks you will find on Gran Canaria. *Please note - this walk is not in my Guide - this is a free extra walk.. I hope you enjoy it and will want to purchase my walking guide to do many more great hikes here.

All the walks in my Volume 2 'The Longer Options' Guide fit onto 4 sides of A4 paper.

Each walk is titled, a brief overview of the walk is given, including its grade and length, also a map indicating the route, and also the part of the island where the walk is situated.

My Guide also includes how to get to the start of the walk and how to get home afterwards, including suggested driving route, bus times etc.

GPS waypoints are given for all major junctions, the best viewing points, items of interest, the most important heights are also included.

Download Free Walk - The Altavista Walk > *IMPORTANT NOTICE ! (October 2019) - this walk cannot be accessed at the moment because the GC 216 from Cruz de Acusa to Tamadaba is still closed and the walk would also be badly fire damaged.