Gran Canaria, one of the islands of the Canary Islands, was the perfect destination for a sunny escape in mid-February. We left behind a grey and near-freezing Germany as we boarded our flight from Munich to be my boyfriend’s favourite vacation spot - he’s been coming here since he was a child with his grandparents - so it was a special choice to spend both my 28th birthday and our first Valentine’s Day together.
One of my favourite moments from our five days on Gran Canaria was when we rented a car to explore as much of the little island as we could in a day. We had a 12-hour rental although ended up dropping it off back at the airport after about nine. We saw plenty; check out my detailed Gran Canaria roadtrip guide here!
One of the highlights of the roadtrip was up to the highest point of Gran Canaria: Pico de las Nieves. One of the best spots to visit on this impressive stratovolcano is the famous Roque Nublo. The Roque Nublo is an 80-metre tall volcanic rock, the third highest point on the island at 1,183 metres above sea level.
There’s a great little hike up to the platform just in front of the stark Roque Nublo with epic views of the entire island, as well as the neighbouring island of Tenerife on a clear day. It’s a bit of a fun scramble up there, so make sure you’re able to tackle that (it’s no walk in the park) and be sure to wear good shoes. There’s also no shade on this hike, and it was already very hot in the February sun.
ROQUE NUBLO HIKE DETAILS
When: year-round, but it's busy and very hot without shade in the summer months
Where: near Tejeda and Pico de las Nieves on Gran Canaria
Difficulty: intermediate, with some rocky clambering sections
Length: the 3.75km roundtrip took us just under an hour
Directions: The parking for the Roque Nublo hike is here. Unfortunately, it’s very small and the popularity of the hike means it’s usually always full. You can park on the street, but it’s tight and windy, so be sure you park outside the white painted lines. From there, there’s only one route straight up to the platform of Roque Nublo, plus a few scrabbling outlooks to explore for even more viewpoints - I particularly recommend trying to find the little triangle window viewpoint which you’ll come across just before the ledge directly under the Roque. You can follow our exact route on Strava.
Bathrooms: no
Public Transit: no
The view just after the start of the hike
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Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
