In terms of its geography and landscape, Gran Canaria is an incredibly diverse and unique island.

It’s got huge dramatic cliffs, magnificent snow capped peaks, miles and miles of sandy beaches, coves, fascinating volcanic craters, lush ravines and subtropical vegatation all crammed into a relatively small space.

Gran Canaria is located in the centre of the Canary Islands, 210 kms from the coast of west Africa. The nearest port in Spain is Cadiz, which is 1250 kms away. It’s around 47 kms wide and has a total surface area of 1,532 sq km. So as you can see it’s quite small. It’s known as the “Round Island” because of it’s rounded shape (curiously enough!).

The highest mountain on the island is called Pozo de Las Nieves, which stands at over 1949 metres above sea level.

It’s the third largest island of the Canary Islands and has an impressive 236 km of coastline with sandy beaches. Most of these are located on the south-eastern coast of the island.

On the southwest of the island, the landscape is dominated by cliffs, whereas in the northwest, you’ll see a very diversified coastline - a wide mixture of mixture of coves and sandy beaches. If you head inland, you’ll see huge mountain peaks with gorges flowing all the way down to the sea.