This is the first time we have travelled to this Canary Island. We’re quite familiar with Tenerife, and La Palma, of course, so we thought we would take the opportunity to spend a bit of time here. First impressions – it’s a huge island, with lots of traffic. The island is volcanic and steep, and the roads correspond in steep and windy! So much traffic, it’s a bit surprising. Anyway, all that was a little bit unexpected, but once we got settled it’s been good. We’re staying in the middle of the island, near a town called Tejeda. Here for a week, before we head over to Las Palmas for the few days, then it’s time to go home.
The landscape like all the Canary Islands is incredibly beautiful. Dramatic skies, hillsides, everything. We can see Roque Nublo, Roque Betangya, and have glimpses of El Teide on Tenerife from the flat! The elevation here specifically, is 1200 metres. On La Palma we were at 200m at Tazacorte then 700m near Puerto Naos.
We have done two hikes and will repeat one of them in a day or two. The network of footpaths are very well signposted. It looks like they have spent quite a bit of effort updating the markers. The hikes here seem less remote than the hikes we did on La Palma. There’s always a town in view, or barking dogs and bleating sheep to hear somewhere in the distance.
From our flat we hiked up to Roque Nublo, which is very mind bending! It is very much a symbol of Gran Canaria, this pillar that sits high up in the middle of the island. It’s a great hike, but it is also a driving destination, so it’s very busy at the top. From the parking area it’s a 1.5km hike to the Roque. It is not an easy path, it is steep, and anything but even. Some scrambling, and definitely no hand rails. We saw many people who really should not have attempted the hike, either through fitness, or inadequate footwear; one little toddler was screaming the whole way down, as his dad refused to pick him up. Seemed quite cruel, actually. Don’t take your little kids up there either. Just our opinion…
The elevation gains are pretty crazy, over the 10km hikes we gain 650+ metres. Views are worth it though, here are some pics. Also, I have been playing with time lapse videos, which I think are mesmerizing. Obviously, because I keep recording them. Hope you enjoy.
These are all timelapse videos from our cottage near La Cullata. Morning sun, evening mist, or the light changes of a day turning to night. I found it so beautiful, and the time lapse videos were an easy way to capture what photos could not.
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