About the Walks

Why come hiking in Gran Canaria ?

I firmly believe that Gran Canaria is one of the last great hiking destinations in Europe still to be truly discovered by the British hiker. Gran Canaria’s nickname is the mini continent, and it really does live up to that name. There are many distinct areas and mini climates on the island, giving a great variety of hikes on one fairly small island.

Gran Canaria is a safe place to trek. Hikers from Scandinavia and Germany have already discovered the beauty of hiking holidays on the island, so I have decided with the help of my Guides: 'Don’t leave Gran Canaria without seeing it' to try to promote hiking in Gran Canaria to British and all other English speaking walkers.

I have tried to make all of the hikes and walks in my Guides achievable and enjoyable for everyone who is reasonably fit and enjoys a good walk in the mountains.

In Volume 1 'The Shorter Options' Guide, the majority of the hikes are from 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes, with a maximum ascent of 500metres, and are mostly from grade 2.5 to grade 5.

In Volume 2 'The Longer Options' Guide, the majority of the hikes are longer than 4 hours, usually with more than 500 metres of ascent and are from grade 6 to grade 9.

We find a good recreational walking speed on our paths is about 2 miles per hour (3 Kmph) and the maximum ascent we enjoy is about 1,000 feet (300m) in an hour.

We do not believe that walking or hiking should be competitive, it can be challenging but not punishing, even on the longer treks.

Rambling Roger Grades

All walks have been given a Rambling Roger Grade, here is a brief explanation of those grades:

Grade 1

The easiest and would be not much more than an hours stroll along a promenade, with under 100m ascent.

Grade 2

A 2 hour walk mostly downhill but definitely 'off road'.

Grade 3

Under 3 hours with an ascent of a maximum of 350m, probably more descent.

Grade 4

Up to 3 and a half hours with no more than 425 metres of ascent.

Grade 5

A maximum of 4 hours walking time with an ascent of up to 500 metres.

Grade 6

This is what I call an average mountain walk, usually over 4 hours with about 600 metres ascent.

Grade 7

Over 5 hours with maximum 700 metres ascent.

Grade 8

Just over 6 hours with over 700 metres of ascent.

Grade 9

Well over 6 hours and with an ascent of over 1,000 metres

Grade 10

This is a walk I would not do...

These grades are designed to give you a rough idea of the level of difficulty of each walk. All walks are undertaken at your own risk. Underfoot walking conditions etc. may raise the hike one Grade higher, any vertiginous sections will be mentioned in the text, but in my walking Guides they are few and far between.

All timings are true walking times and exclude water, photo and picnic breaks. On an average walk, I would add a minimum of an hour onto the timings given.

Signposts

These signposts are typical of what you will see if you are following a signposted route anywhere in Gran Canaria. The taller signposts have directions on them, such as in the photo, in my notes I call the posts with green or yellow marks 'finger posts'.