Walking on Gran Canaria

Walking on Gran Canaria

Introduction

Most keen walkers from the U.K. or northern Europe get a bit fed up with the cold damp winter, muddy paths, miserable picnics and daylight fading during the afternoon. Well everyone deserves some winter sunshine and a walking holiday on Gran Canaria is the perfect antedote to the northern European winter blues!

Paths through ancient terraces

Towards Roque Nublo....

Where it is and Climate

Situated approx 150 Km (90 miles) off the west coast of Africa (Morocco / Western Sahara) and 1350 Km (840 miles) south of Europe; Gran Canaria sits well out into the Atlantic and thus has a cooler more temperate climate than mainland Africa. Throughout the year, the average daytime temperature varies from 20 degrees in winter to 26 degrees in summer.  So it is an ideal venue for year round walking. However November to February are the months with the highest rainfall with between 3 and 5 days of rain per month. Having previously visited both Morocco and southern Spain for walking holidays, I shall be returning back to Gran Canaria for my winter “fix” of sunshine in early March where I expect to walk during warm days with plenty of sunshine! Take a look at my holiday.

What is the walking is like?

Sometimes described as ‘a continent in miniature’, Gran Canaria has a variety of landscapes: forests, hillsides covered in pink almond blossom, rocky paths and slopes, almost lunar (volcanic) landscapes, and lush green valleys.  Although there are coastal walks, the best hiking routes are to be found in the centre of the island, where the scenery is varied and often dramatic.

Well signed paths!

Most of Gran Canaria is hilly and mountainous so don’t expect a week of flat easy walking. That said, even in the mountains, there are some shorter and easier walks described by the local walking expert Rambling Roger. Expect a combination of mountain (rocky) paths, forest paths, old mule tracks and driveable dirt track roads. Rambling Roger has published a series of walks throughout the Island, which can be purchased online.  He also is able to send GPX files of the routes if you want to use a GPS device to aid your navigation.

Where to stay

This is a difficult one with no easy answer. Travelling around Gran Canaria even using a car can be a bit slow.  We have even found roads closed for repair with no advanced warning on more than one occasion!

Tejeda

Puerto de Mogan

The greatest concentration of walks are in the centre of the Island.  However in the cooler months the centre of the Island is the coolest place so you might prefer to stay on the coast and drive for an hour (scenic drive) to get to your walk. There is also plenty of cheap (for mass tourism) accommodation down on the coast at Maspolomas. It is the road from Maspolomas that you would take to get inland towards most walks.

If you are more likely to have shorter walks combined with touring and want to stay somewhere with more character on the coast, then a harbour front cottage in Puerto de Mogan is the place to stay.

If you don’t mind it being a little cooler and want to stay in the mountains then take a look at the pretty village of Tejeda, which is where we will be based this coming winter.  From Tejeda both short and long walks can be had straight from your accommodation.

Useful Resources

Rambling Roger is the definitive source of information about walking on the Island.

Maps. To accompany Rambling Roger’s walks, Discovery Walking Guides have produced a 1:50 000 scale map of Gran Canaria which is available from Stanfords.

Mountain HouseHolidays organise a week’s walking holiday at the beginning of March each yearbased in Tejeda.

Roque Nublo

Mountain House Holidays is owned by Jane Livingstone and Michael Hunt, both qualified International Mountain Leaders.  All of the walks they lead during the holiday have been walked beforehand and researched.

Munro Walking (Bagging) Holidays

Munro Walking (Bagging) Holidays

Mountain House Holidays have added an exciting Munro Bagging holiday into their itinerary this year as a response to requests from some regular clients. Based from The McDonald Hotel in Kinlochleven we shall be offering a week of guided Munroe walking, 17th to 24th August. A Munro is a Scottish mountain over the height of 3000 ft or 914.4m. There are 282 Munros.

 

Although much will depend on the weather, we hope that our itinerary will include:

Ben Nevis, Scotland’s highest mountain by the CMD Arete, 2 Munros, Carn Mor Dearg 1220m and Ben Nevis 1344m;

Gulvain 987m from Loch Eil;

The Old Man of The Mamores, includes 3 Munros, Stob Coire a Chairn 981m, An Gearanach 982m and Am Bodach 1032m ;

Ballachulish Horseshoe, includes 2 Munros, Sgorr Dhonuill 1001m and Sgorr Dhearg 1024m;            and

Sgor na h Ulaidh 994m and Stob an Fhuarain 968m (Glencoe’s Hidden Treasures).

Depending on the make up of the group we may include the Aonach Eagach ridge or another suitable alternative.

 For this holiday we are breaking away from the normal style of package we provide. Instead we are charging a fee of £200 for the weeks guiding and suggesting that participants book their own accommodation either at the McDonald Hotel or somewhere else locally.  The McDonald Hotel has a campsite, log cabins and rooms available.  There are other B&B’s available locally.

Each evening we’ll meet in the “Bothy” Bar of the McDonald Hotel and plan the next days itinerary.

People wishing to attend for just part of the week can do so at £40 per day.

Jane and Mike from Mountain House Holidays will be attending this holiday and are both qualified as International Mountain Leaders.

Walking in the Warm! - Spain

Walking in the Warm!

Walking in the warm has become a dream as the British winter is now taking hold. A wet summer followed by a wet autumn, now a wet cold winter has left me dreaming of some warmth and the chance to walk in some sunshine.

Walking holidays don’t need to be expensive, especially if southern Spain is your destination.  There are cheap flights from all U.K. airports to Malaga which can be the gateway to a wonderful walking holiday in Andalucía’s Alpujarra region. The Alpujarra is the area nestling into the southern slopes of Spain’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. The area has been mainly influenced by the Berber Arabs who colonised this area from the 8^th Century and is characterised by pretty white villages linked by a network of paths, mule tracks and watercourses known as Acequia’s.

February warmth in The Alpujarra

Mountain House Holidays (operating from their mountain house high in the Alpujarra) have a vast local knowledge of the walking in the area and their walks are led by qualified International Mountain Leaders. There are walking holidays scheduled for February, April and May.

Walking in T shirts is not uncommon in winer!

The walking in the Alpujarra is classic hill walking so don’t expect flat easy paths, but is well within the capabilities of those used to walking at a basic level in British hills (South Downs, Peak District, etc.). 

A flavour of the area can be gleaned from Chris Stewarts superb book, “Driving over Lemons.”

Favourite walks included in the Itineraries usually include:

Walking beside an Acequia near Lanjaron

A circuit in the Poqueira Gorge, which takes in the delights of the prettiest three villages, Capileira, Bubion and Pampaneira. The walking here is a mixture of walking through ancient terraces as we ascend the valley before taking in the delights of the “whitewashed” villages with their narrow streets, public Lavado’s where old ladies can still be seen doing their washing and of course the odd bar!

A circuit in the Taha, a name given to the valley beneath Trevelez which is Spain’s highest village, famous for its dry cured ham. The walking here takes a line on an old mule track through improbable cliffs, past goat farms, ancient bridges, terraces and white washed villages.

A circuit above the spa town of Lanjaron. This walk follows ancient mule tracks through terraces, follows acequia’s and gives superb views down to the coast and on clear days across to the mountains of North Africa. 

Lanjaron is famous for it’s spa water and as a “resort” has many craft shops, and a range of bars and restaurants.

Alpujarran Street scene

Mountain House Holidays offer you a complete package, starting from when we meet you at Malaga Airport through until when we drop you back at the airport at the end of your holiday. You just arrange your flight and insurance, we organise your travel in Spain, your full board accommodation and a week of fully guided walking led by qualified walk leaders with a full local knowledge of the area.

For those who prefer “self guided” holidays, we are able to organise accommodation and provide written details of the walks we lead.