Small, sleepy mountain villages stretch along the narrow, winding country roads, over which occasionally elderly buses rumble, in which the peasants sometimes still transport their goods. Cobbled, old village streets meander between the little white houses in the village, where countless generations have lived one after the other. Friendly, open-minded people who serve simple, honest but incredibly tasty cuisine in small, simple inns: this is Gran Canaria, where the very first tourists in the seventies still met everywhere.
This Gran Canaria still exists – the interior and above all the wild, rough mountainous area around Roque Nublo and the Pico de las Nieves is like a time machine: preserved is the original Gran Canaria and the simple but happy way of life of the people today. Hardly anything has changed here for many years.
Just enjoy life for once
The many pine forests and the landscape characterized by the rugged and barren rocks and the small, tranquil and far-flung villages with their friendly people are an insider tip for those who want to get to know the “real” Gran Canaria – away from the tourist crowds and the hustle and bustle of the beaches that have only been around for a few decades. But many do not get lost in the hinterland.
Here you can just switch off – and enjoy life. The rooms in the few small hostels are simple but clean, the service is always friendly and always ready for a little chat. Do not be surprised if you are even invited to pick grapes in the vineyard or milk goats – that’s just part of it.
The food, which you get in the small, cozy dining rooms is often plain – very typical for the country – but of excellent quality and even for local conditions usually quite inexpensive. You don‘t need much to make yourself feel good.
Why not just walk?
The narrow and winding country roads are also slow to take by car – and usually you don’t get everywhere. You can also easily walk inland to Tejeda and to Artenara, with the backpack and at a slow pace.
You will be rewarded on the way with an incredibly beautiful and impressive landscape that is nowhere else to be found and with fantastic views from many higher points. From Tejeda you can have a look at many places even to Tenerife, which is at least 100 km away.
You will then pass by the many landmarks of Gran Canaria, the Roque Nublo, the still inhabited cave dwellings in San Matias or the awe-inspiring Montanon Negro, an ancient, now extinct volcano, from whose summit you can see all over northern Gran Canaria. Over many small Barrancos, most of the year dried up river valleys, you can then descend on narrow paths down to the sea.
On the way you can simply enjoy life – in one of the most beautiful and liveable places in the world.
