Overview of Gran Canaria-
the third largest island in the archipelago, Gran Canaria is located
some 211 kilometres from the North African coast. It is also well
known for its resorts and has been a popular holiday destination for
many years. Gran Canaria is often referred to as a continent in
miniature, an island where you can experience both extremes of
landscape and temperature. The land ranges from lush valleys, through
dark pine forests to Sahara like sand dunes, and the temperature
ranges from hot and arid through to cool and snowy on the mountain
slopes. As with Tenerife, the northern part of the island is cooler
than the south and the bulk of the resorts tend to be located toward
to the south and east of the island.
Although it is smaller than both
Fuerteventura
and Tenerife,
it shares their volcanic history. Circular in shape, the island has a maximum
altitude of 1950 meters and has much fine golden sand that is blown over from
the Sahara Desert, the dunes at Maspolonas are world famous and this area is
renowned as one of the top European holiday destinations. This is a compact
island and no where is more than an hours driver from the airport, In theory you
can drive around all of it in a single day, however due the complexities of the
road layouts, this is probably not such a good idea.
This island is the most densely populated of all the
Canary Islands
and almost half of the population are located within the capital city Las
Palmas. The capital city is very cosmopolitan and it has a large number of
sophisticated shops, restaurants and bars. This city is certainly a rival to
anything Tenerife has to offer. It has a population of some 360,000 and is a
major port of historic significance. There is evidence that Christopher Columbus
stopped in Las Palmas in 1492 on his way to the new territories. Las Palmas over
the years has played host to the arrival of many luxury liners and although not
so fashionable now as a holiday destination in its own right, it still has a lot
to offer to both the holiday maker and the holiday home owner.
This island has everything the holiday maker or the person seeking to
buy a holiday home could want. There is much to do and Gran Canaria boasts no
less than 32 natural protected areas, in fact the whole island is under
protection as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. It is very easy to escape form the
holiday resorts and a trip to experience the rest of its features is well worth
the effort, the bird park “ Palmitos” which is located towards the south of the
island is definitely worth a visit
As well as the fine scenery and beaches, culturally there is also a
lot to offer. Gran Canaria does place an an emphasise on history and the arts
and these are very much in evidence especially in the capital city. Perhaps a
direct rival to Tenerife, Gran Canaria does have the better beaches, it even has
a mountain that gets the odd sprinkling of snow (although it must be said, Mount
Pico de las Nieves is nowhere near as impressive as Mount Teide. Unlike most of
its near neighbours, this island does have something to offer in terms of
heritage, there are many Guanche sites littered around the island.
The Guanches, (originally meaning a native of Tenerife) but then used
to describe the indigenousness population of all the Canaries occupied the
islands prior to the 15th century. Originally they came form North Africa and
started the earliest civilisation on the Islands, today , there are a but a few
remains of them. What can still be seen is mainly in the shape of tombs, like
the ancient Egyptians, they had a habit of mummifying the dead and some of these
are on display in the museums in Santa Cruz. Alas much evidence of occupation by
the Guanches has been lost, often to the encroaching tourist industry, however
the authorities are now acting to preserve what remains for antiquity.
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Guide to Gran Canaria, Spain
