GRAN CANARIA INFORMATION

Gran Canaria, sometimes known as Grand Canary, is the third largest island of the Canary Islands, with a diameter of 50 km. The Canarian archipelago is located 210 km from the northwest coast of Africa, 3000km from Paris, and 1050 km from Spain.  The Canary Islands are divided into 2 Provinces; the Eastern Province, named Las Palmas and the Western one is called Santa Cruz de Tenerife.  The Las Palmas province consists of three islands: Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, as well as 6 islets. Santa Cruz de Tenerife is: Tenerife, La Palma, Gomera and Hierro. Gran Canaria is situated southeast of the island of Tenerife and to the west of Fuerteventura. Gran Canaria has a population close to 790,000, with almost half residing in the capital of Las Palmas.  The currency used in Gran Canaria is the Euro because it is a part of Spain.  In Gran Canaria there are 21 divisions or municipalities : 

There are many myths and legends about the origin of the Canary Islands; some even believe them to be the lost island of Atlantis.  Science shows that the Canary Islands are only around 30 million years old. It sounds old but in geological time is just a blink of an eye. Gran Canaria was first populated by the Guanches from 3000 BC, who called it Tamarán.  It is thought the Guanches originally came from North Africa and were descended from the Berber people.  However, some believe them so have come from other places, theories ranging from Celts, mainland Portuguese or Spanish, or Vikings. The speculation comes from the fact that some of the natives were described as blond haired and blue eyed. Wherever they came from the Guanches had limited farming, and mostly used herding, hunting and gathering, and the majority lived in caves. They lived in a Stone Age society where weapons and tools were made from wood, stone and clay.  The first people to visit the islands were the Moors, but it was the Romans who named them Insulae Canariae, from where Canary Islands came.  Gran Canaria was then left untouched by outsiders until early in the 15th century when all the European powers wanted a piece of it.  The Guanches fiercely resisted invasion but by the late 1400’s Gran Canaria was ruled by Spain, as it has been since.

Gran Canaria is sometimes called a Miniature Continent because of all of the different climates and variety of landscapes that can be found. The northern part often tends to be cooler while towards the south it is warmer and sunny. The east coast of the island is flat and has most of the beaches while the western side is rockier and mountainous.  The climate of Gran Canaria stays reasonably constant through-out the year, the island having up to 10 inches of rainfall per year in the North, Central and Western areas. Valleseco typically has the highest level of rain; very little rain falls in the South. The west coast is very beautiful with very little tourism because much of it is a National Park Area.  The majority of the annual 2.2 million visitors to Gran Canaria stay in the southern part of the island.  The number of tourists has been growing in leaps and bounds since Gran Canaria became a popular destination in the mid 1950’s.

Gran Canaria is very popular because it has a spring climate all year round. A study conducted by the University of Syracuse led an American newspaper, USA Today, to publish the fact that Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has one of the best climates in the world . The reason the summer is not overwhelmingly hot is because the trade winds create a cool breeze throughout the island. Gran Canaria is also quite popular because the unusual layout of the island has lead to a large diversity of microclimates. While the climate on the costal regions is dry and sunny almost all the time, at higher altitudes the influence of the sea is reduced and the clouds are retained by the mountains. It is possible for people to go sunbathing and swimming on the beach, then drive an hour and be playing in the snow on the mountain tops.