The Holiday World amusement park is a very popular destination with both visitors and locals from nearby Maspalomas.  It has been totally rebuilt and has only become more popular since then.  There is a traditional fair with a 27m high Ferris wheel, roller coaster, laser dome and a shooting gallery.  There are also animal shows, with animals such as seal and parrots.  There is also a centre with a bowling alley, arcade, health spa, gym, and cafes and restaurants.  There are also two nightclubs, one of which is a salsa club what draws huge crowds on the weekends.  If you walk five minutes away there is boating lake, kids’ playgrounds, pony rides, and even a go-kart track

For a great day with the whole family, Sioux City is the place to go.  This is a 320,000 square meter recreation of the old American Wild West that all are sure to delight in. They are open from 10 to 5 everyday except for Mondays and are located in Cañón del Aguila in San Agustín. Get the feel of the Wild West and meet cowboys like Doc Holiday or get caught up in a bank robbery or a sudden shoot-out between some cowpokes and the law in Sioux City.  There are attraction such as, “duel until death”, ”bank robbery”, “saloon fight”, “town square hanging”, “Indian rain dance” and acrobats performing stunts with lassos, whips and knives.  This recreation has it all, gunfights, barbecues, saloon gals and sheriffs.  There are also typical houses, a church, ranch, bank, and saloon.  To make the place seem even more real there is country and western music filling the air.  Of course no replica of the Wild West would be complete with out Indians, so be sure to visit the Indian reservation as well.  As if all of this was not enough, there is a petting zoo for the kids. 

Overlooking the Barranco de Fataga, the biggest gorge on the island, Mundo Aborigen is a reconstruction of an ancient Canarian village. It is devoted to preserving the Guanche way of life and was declared a site of Cultural, Social, and Historical interest by the government.  There are over 100 human sized figures that are set up in life-like poses and recorded animal noises that give the scene some realism and gives insight in to the Guanche way of life.  There is a trail that visitors follow which leads through recreations of everything, a doctor doing surgery, a farmer sowing a field and a convict executed with a stone.  There is an anthropological museum to highlight the most important parts of Guanche culture.  This site is open from 9am to 6pm everyday and is located just up the road from Playa del Inglés in San Bartolomé de Tirajana

The Parque de los Cocodrilos, Gran Canaria’s only zoological park, was opened to the public in 1988. Before that it was privately run by the Balser family, people who had capably restored to health many crocodiles, chimpanzees, monkeys and birds that had been previously abused.  Today Cocodrilo Park, in Villa de Aguimes, has more than 300 crocodiles, an aquarium with tropical fish, a spider house with tarantulas and a parrot house, too.  The crocodiles are the main attraction here, there is an exhibition illustrating their development from eggs to adults.  The species hail from Florida, the Nile, and many other locales.  The best time to view them is during the feeding times, noon, 2pm, and 4:15pm, because they are at their most active.  The other show offered is the parrot show that takes place at 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm. Some other exotic animals that are popular are the Bengal tigers, jaguars, camels, and the pygmy goats. The park is open from 10am to 6pm everyday except Saturday.  If you are staying in Maspalomas or Playa del Inglés there are buses that pick people up from various hotels. 

A very popular tourist attraction near Tocodomán in San Nicolás de Tolentino is Cactualdea, a cactus park with 1200 different types of cacti of all different shapes and sizes.  The cacti have been brought in from all over the world, as Mexico, Madagascar, Guatemala and Bolivia. The thousands of cacti are growing intermingled with palm trees, dragon trees and aloe plants.  The plants are spread over a 15,000 square meter property. There is also a model Guanche Cave here is great fun to explore and a restaurant that offers typical Canarian foods.  Another interesting site to see here is a large amphitheatre that was once used for Canarian wrestling matches.  Other events that take place in the amphitheatre are people telling folklore, milking animals, and a few local Canarian games. A wine cellar that has over 250 types of local wines to be sampled is quite popular with the adult visitors to Cactualdea.  There is a greenhouse where you can buy many types of cactus plants, all of which meet the sanitary requirements allowing them to be transported to other countries.  It a visit here is something you are interested the opening hours are from 10am to 6pm everyday.

Reptilandia Park, located in Galdár, has over 150 different species of reptiles in outdoor terrariums, as well as three indoor exhibition rooms. They are open from 11am to 5:30pm everyday except for Christmas and New Years.  Some of the animals that can be found her include snakes, lizards, frogs, iguanas, tortoises, turtles, crocodiles and alligators. There are also some tarantulas and scorpions, plus monkeys, lemurs and parrots. Some of the smallest and most endangered monkeys in the world can be found here. The two main attractions are a 7 meter long Chinese python and a Komodo dragon, the largest type of lizard in the world.  The Komodo dragon can reach weights of up to 100kg, and Reptilandia Park is the only place in Spain that this species can be seen.  You can watch the Komodo dragon and the snakes being fed at 3ph every afternoon. 

One of the best places for a day out with the family is Aqua Sur, located near Maspalomas. It is open from 10am to 5pm year round, except from July to September when it stays open until 6pm.  It costs 21 euros for adults, 15 for children and seniors and those under 3 get in for free.  It is the largest water park in all of Gran Canaria, covering 76,000 square meters.  Just the pools are 5,300 square meters.  There are 33 slides and numerous attractions; for instance, Surf Beach, Congo River, Crazy Race, Kamikaze, Rapids, Winder, Aquamania, Twister and Polinesia.  Polinisia is actually its own mini park.  There are also swimming pools for adults or older children and another for infants, as well as mini golf for all ages. Two of the newest added attractions are Mamut and Adrenalina.  There are exciting twists, turns, drops, and spirals to ride on with mats or inflatable rafts.  To keep you fuelled up for all this fun there is a pizzeria, self-service restaurants, ice cream parlours, bars and a coffee bar.  Other amenities offered here are shops, changing rooms, and free parking.  There is outstanding fun here for every member of the family.

Palmitos Park is a well known tourist attraction in Gran Canaria which is best known for numerous topical birds from all around the globe, as well as an aquarium, an orchid house, a cacti garden, a butterfly house, hummingbirds, peacocks, cranes, flamingos and even an alligator pit.  It is open from 9am to 6pm, 7 days a week and the entrance fee is €16 for adults and €11 for kids.  There is a bus, number 70, from Puerto Rico to the park that leaves at 10:00, 10:45, 11:45, and 12:45 and returns at 13:30, 15:30, and 18:00.  If you prefer to take a taxi it is around 18 euros each way.  Before you set out for there you should double check that it is open, the telephone number is 928140276 and the website is www.palmitospark.es and is in English and Spanish.
Located at the base the mountains, near to Maspalomas, it is one of the most relaxing places to visit.  It is worth taking an entire day to enjoy.  It is quite large, over 200,000 square meters, and has lakes, streams, springs, over 51 types of palms, and 230 varied species of birds.  There are 1,000 palm trees and 15,000 plants in this park. A large majority of the 1,500 birds that live there are free to fly and roan throughout the park. 
At one thousand square meters, the aquarium on the premises is quite dazzling.  It holds sea and freshwater fish, including the foremost collection of coral fish in Europe.  Amazingly it is possible to put your hand in a tank of red belled piranhas.  The natural environment of all the different types of fishes has been meticulously recreated in detail, even a recreated riverbed, and it is just exciting to see the fish as it is to see the environment they swim in. 

Another very popular attraction is the bird of prey shows, where you can see eagles, owls and peregrine falcons fly down low over you and perform remarkable acrobatics.  Some of the birds can do nose dives that reach speeds of up to 200km/h.  They climb currents until they are far in the distance and then come shooting back down when a trainer throws a lump of meat. So that all the birds can be found whenever the trainers want they all are fitted with transmitters.  The show is held on top of a mountain in an auditorium with beautiful views all around.  During the performance there is a commentator that provides information about the flights and the feeding, behavioural, and reproductive facts about the types of birds in English, Spanish and German.

An additional exciting attraction is the parrot shows.  In these shows there are clever birds performing a variety of tricks; like riding bicycles, doing jigsaw puzzles, painting pictures and counting to ten. There are 8 parrot shows a day which last 25 minutes each.  The reason for the frequency of the shows is that popular ones like this one help fund conservation projects for the many endangered species living in the park.
If you want to get a close look at a fierce predator you should investigate the Caimans.  Caimans are freshwater alligators and are closely related to lizards.  They spend most of the time underwater and can actually open their mouths under water with out eating.  This is because of their unique anatomy and it allows them to eat underwater.  They live in marshlands and are quite aggressive creatures. 

There are many other types of animals in this park as well. There are two Gibbon primates and three Orangutans that live together.  All of them are extremely nimble and effortlessly swing and hop from one branch to the next.  The natural habitat of Gibbons is Asia, from India to the Indonesian Islands of Borneo, Sumatra and Java.  Orangutans only live in the countries of Sumatra and Borneo.  It is because they come from similar environments and have similar lifestyles to each other that the Gibbons and Orangutans live in the same enclosure. 

If you want to take a break from the animals there are also many fascinating plants to see as well.  One of these highlights is the Cactus Garden, with an extensive collection of cacti and aloes. There are hundreds of different species there, some growing to be more than 4 meters tall.  The cacti are able to live in the dry environment because they are xerophytes.  That means that they are adapted to live in very arid environments, in this case cacti have a wide, but shallow root system.  Cacti also have spikes to fend off predators as well as lower the plants temperature by 10 ºC to 15ºC.  One of the cacti is oddly named “silla de la suegra”, meaning “the mother in law's chair”.

The orchid and butterfly houses are also great places to visit.  The orchid house is home to hundreds of orchids of all shapes and colours in an ideal environment so that they can be enjoyed to the fullest.  It is the largest collection of orchids in all of the seven Canary Islands.  There are over thirty thousand different orchid species in the whole world, with the most common found in tropical areas and the oddest which are native to Australia.  Orchids are able to store some food and water in their leaves, an adaptation that helps them survive and grow an almost any environment except for the Arctic.  Orchids grow so slowly that they can live for up to 57 years.  The butterfly house, the largest in Europe, has hundreds of butterflies in it. Being in the butterfly enclosure is an unforgettable experience because the hundreds butterflies are allowed to fly freely in the area.

GRAN CANARIA CULTURE

A key period in Gran Canaria’s cultural history was when the island was absorbed into the Spanish empire in the close of the 1400’s.  This integration allowed Hispanic culture and its traditions to spread over the island.  After the Spanish took over the port on Gran Canaria became very important, which encouraged people to settle on the island, further spreading the Spanish culture.  This island was always open to new things so it happily assimilated other peoples, while still holding on to its traditional background.  Gran Canaria is now ell known for its blend of cultures in its archaeological, architectural, artistic and ethnographic legacy, no small feat in such a small place. 

There are many museums in Las Palmas, the capital, which reflect on the history of Gran Canaria.  A few of these are the Museum of Science and Technology, Christopher Columbus’s house and the Atlantic Centre of Modern Art.  There are also many festivals, of many different types, that are always going on all the time all over the island.  Some of the festivals are known all over the world, such as; the International Film Festival of Las Palmas, the Festival de Música de Canarias, the Festival de Ópera, the WOMAD, World of Music, Arts and Dance, and the Theatre and Dance Festival of Gran Canaria.

The main concert hall in this auditorium in named after a famous tenor from Las Palmas, Alfredo Kraus.  It seats 1656 people and has 3 levels in a hexagonal shape.  There are 16 other concert rooms that hold from 16 to 589 people.  One of the exceptional features of the main hall is that the wall in the rear of the concert stage is a huge pane of triple glazed glass with a curtain that can be lifted.  It reveals outstanding views for the audience members of the ocean, and sometimes for special performances there are barges with fireworks for special effects.  Its acoustics and location have made the concert hall a favourite location for performers from all over the globe and all ages.  All music, from Van Morrison to the London Symphony Orchestra to modern jazz, is welcome here.  Despite the fact that there is no information on concerts more than a week ahead of time, most concerts are always sold out.

One of the most attractive buildings in Las Palmas is the Casa Museo de Colón.  With its elaborate doorways, charming latticed balconies, huge courtyards, and carved wooden ceilings, it is representative of the many aspects of Gran Canaria’s architecture.  It was originally the home of one of the island’s first governors, and it is thought to be where Christopher Columbus stayed in 1492 when his ships were being repaired for their long journey. The house and museum commemorates Columbus’s journey to the Americas, as well are the part that the Canary Islands played in the discovery. The edifice was rebuilt in 1777, and in 1952 there was a museum added that has 13 exhibition rooms, a library, study centre, and rooms for lectures and temporary exhibits.  In the museum there are many pre-Columbian artefacts, models of ships, a replica of the cabin of the ship La Niña, some navigation instruments, and some maps and charts.  There are many paintings as well as other artefacts that relate to Columbus’s trip to the Americas and how it relates to the Canary Islands.  If you would like to visit it, the hours are 9am to 7pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday.  The house and museum are open everyday except for May 22nd and December 22nd and 31st.