Almost every day, I get dms on Instagram asking about my favorite hiking routes on Gran Canaria.
Gran Canaria has many hiking routes, and all of them are worth it. Pedro from @traveltogetthere made a hiking blog with 5 must hike routes on the island. Make sure you check out this blog as well!
In this blog I will give you a top 5 of my favorite hikes that I have done on the island.
These hiking routes are different lengths and difficulty levels but I will do my best to explain as well as I can.
Also a small disclaimer: I am not a professional hiker but I do some hikes every now and then, so keep this in mind while I tell you about my experiences. If you are a professional hiker, the hikes will probably be a bit easier for you and the other way around.
1. Los Azulejos de Veneguera
In Azulejos there are 2 main routes. We did the second route (make sure you follow the path)
The route starts on the right side of the juice stand (when you face the stand). When you park your car at the juice stand, you can admire the ‘rainbow’ mountain. You can get yourself a freshly squeezed juice made of some typical Canarian fruit before starting! When you walk towards that mountain you will see a sign on your right that says ‘ruta 2’, go up at this sign and follow the path from there.
The hike has a big height difference, so I wouldn’t recommend doing this with children.
During the whole hike you have amazing views and you are surrounded by nature.
In this hike you also have the Instagram famous pool. Be aware that this pool is only filled with water when it has recently rained!
- Distance: 7KM
- Difficulty: Hard, because of the height differences.
- Additional notes: Make sure you have a screenshot of the route on your phone as there are places without reception.
2. Alamo
This hike is perfect if you would like to do a small walk in nature. The hike is famous for the ‘stairs’ that are in the middle of the forest. It is also called the ‘stairs hike’. The hike starts in Teror and it is more or less circular. I would recommend parking your car in Teror and it is also easy to reach by bus.
The hike will take you about 1,5 hours depending on how much time you take admiring nature.
This hike is also perfect to do on a cloudy day as the hike is covered by trees so a clear blue sky is not necessary. For more details about where to start the hike, check out this page.
- Distance: 5KM
- Difficulty: Easy
- Additional notes: There are some stairs involved in this hike, so it is not the best idea to go with small kids or if you have vertigo.
3. Caldera de Bandama
The Bandama crater is also an easy hike. I really liked the fact that you can walk all the way into the crater as well as walking around the crater. When you walk around the crater you have amazing views to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Telde. Inside the crater you have some information and a few historical ruins from when people lived there.
If you enjoy history and a bit of exercise this is a great hike, also if you like to enjoy the views of the island, it is also worth visiting.
Don’t forget to drive to the top of the road so you get a panoramic view over the crater!
- Distance: 3KM around, going into the crater: additional 1KM
- Difficulty: Relatively easy but going into the crater is quite a bit of height difference.
- Additional notes: bring a vest or sweater
4. Tejeda
This next hike is definitely one of the more difficult hikes on the island. Of course in Tejeda you have several hiking routes, but I will talk about one specific one.
We parked the car at the Roque Nublo car park and walked down to Tejeda, we had a quick drink in the town of Tejeda and walked back up to Pico de Las Nieves. A big part of the hike is a hiking trail but there are a few parts where you have to walk on the road. When we reached Pico de las Nieves, we walked back to the Roque Nublo parking lot. This route is circular. The elevation is over 900 metres, so I would recommend preparing well for this route. Also make sure you use sunscreen even if it is cloudy.
- Distance: 15KM
- Difficulty: Hard
- Additional notes: Bring enough water, there is a lot of height difference, so wear proper shoes!
5. Tamadaba
The fifth hiking route on Gran Canaria is located in Tamadaba park. The park has 7,500 hectares of nature; it is also part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Also in this park you have dozens of hiking routes, but I will tell you about one specific route.
We started at: Lugarejos, this is also where we parked the car. Lugarejos is one of the water reserves on the island. We crossed the bridge and walked up to the top of Tamadaba park. Once we were there we walked to the viewpoint ‘Mirador Llanos de la Mimbre’. From here we walked 1,5 KM on the road in Tamadaba and we walked down to the crossing where the road meets.
From there we walked back to the water reserve.
The hike was long, but definitely worth the views and the nature.
- Distance: 16KM
- Difficulty: Medium
- Additional notes: on weekends it can be busy in this Nature reserve
The hikes are not written in any significant order, I liked all of the hikes and I think that in addition with the first hiking blog, you have a great assortment of hiking routes on Gran Canaria.
I hope all these routes help and you are able to find a hiking route that you enjoy.
If you are still not sure which route to pick, feel free to DM me ( @travel_gran_canaria ) and I will send you a full list, also with long walks included.
If you are not into hiking but you do want to see the island and discover all the things that Gran Canaria has to offer, check out our road trip blog.
Enjoy Gran Canaria!
Elise
