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Gran CanariaGran Canaria · Summit and north

Gran Canaria day trips: Roque Nublo, Tejeda, Teror and the north, by car or on a tour

The trip everyone wants to do, Roque Nublo, needs a free booking from 10:00 to 17:00, and the La Goleta car park is closed. How to get up there without being turned back, what to see in Tejeda, Teror and the north, and when a tour is worth it.

Roque Nublo
free; booking required from 10:00 to 17:00 via La Goleta
Parking
La Goleta closed: park at Cruz de los Llanos or in Tejeda
Highest point
Morro de la Agujereada, 1,956 m (not Pico de las Nieves, 1,949 m)
Bus to the summit
line 18 from Faro de Maspalomas, €6
Organised tours
from €44 per person on GetYourGuide
West coast
GC-200 hit by rockfalls: check before you go

Updated 2 October 2026Facts checked against official sourcesContains affiliate links

Day trips & island tours
Gran Canaria, Caldera de Tejeda · Photo: Tamara k · CC BY-SA 3.0 es

In October · Gran Canaria

Air20–26 °CSea °C23 °CRainy days2Hours of sun a day7 h Weather and what to do →

The Gran Canaria day trips that pay off climb to the summit (Roque Nublo, Pico de las Nieves, Tejeda) and come back down through the green north of Teror, Arucas and Agaete. The rule that wrecks many plans: to start the Roque Nublo trail from La Goleta between 10:00 and 17:00 you need a free booking, and the La Goleta car park is closed.

You can do it all independently by car, or by bus if you are patient: from the south a summit day is long; from Las Palmas, the north is covered by buses costing €1.90 to €4.40.

N ↑ Roque Nublo1Pico de las Nieves2Tejeda3Artenara4Teror5Arucas6Gáldar7Agaete8Barranco de Guayadeque9Caldera de Bandama10
  1. 1Roque NublopeakDirections ↗
  2. 2Pico de las NievespeakDirections ↗
  3. 3TejedatownDirections ↗
  4. 4ArtenaratownDirections ↗
  5. 5TerortownDirections ↗
  6. 6ArucastownDirections ↗
  7. 7GáldartownDirections ↗
  8. 8AgaetetownDirections ↗
  9. 9Barranco de Guayadequenature areaDirections ↗
  10. 10Caldera de Bandamanature areaDirections ↗
Outlines: © OpenStreetMap contributors

Roque Nublo hike: booking, hours and where to park

Roque Nublo is a monolith about 80 m tall that tops out at 1,813 m, in Tejeda, inside the Parque Rural del Nublo; it has been a Natural Monument since 1994. Climbing it is free, but the Cabildo (island council) regulates access like this:

  1. Book for free at grancanariasenderos.com if you will enter the trail from the Degollada de La Goleta between 10:00 and 17:00. You can book for the current month and the next; the booking is made by an adult (18+), with a maximum of 5 bookings per user.
  2. Confirm the booking via the email you receive, within three days.
  3. Park at Cruz de los Llanos or in Tejeda village. The La Goleta car park is permanently closed, except for two-hour stays for people with reduced mobility, and parking on the yellow-marked verges around it will get you fined.
  4. Go to the checkpoint with the QR code and your ID card or passport. Global's line 18 takes you to the trailhead from Cruz de los Llanos (about 10 minutes) and from Tejeda (about 30); on foot from Cruz de los Llanos it is about 3.7 km, an hour.
  5. Climb: from La Goleta it is around 1.5 km each way, about 40 minutes up and 20 down.

Without a booking you can enter via La Goleta before 10:00 or after 17:00, or via the La Culata and Degollada de la Hoya de la Vieja access points, which don't require one at any time. There are only 60 places an hour for individual visitors and they sell out sooner at weekends; changes and cancellations are allowed up to 24 hours before. Residents of Tejeda and Artenara are exempt.

Pico de las Nieves and Gran Canaria's real highest point

Pico de las Nieves is the high viewpoint everyone visits, at 1,949 m, but it isn't the island's highest point: that is the neighbouring Morro de la Agujereada, at 1,956 m. The top of the Pico is a military zone, with an air-surveillance radar, which leaves the public with the viewpoint. The name (‘Peak of the Snows’) comes from its 17th-century snow pits.

Tejeda and Artenara: what to see at the summit

Tejeda has been part of the Most Beautiful Villages in Spain network (Los Pueblos más Bonitos de España) since 2015 and is the base for Roque Nublo. People come for the almond sweets (bienmesabe, marzipan) and, in January and February, the almond blossom. Guided sunset and night-time stargazing walks also start from here.

Artenara is the municipality of Risco Caído, the heart of the ‘Risco Caído and the Sacred Mountains’ cultural landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019: its cave C6 was an astronomical marker for the ancient Canarians. Ask in Artenara how to visit. Line 220 runs from Las Palmas, via Teror, for €5.15.

The north: Teror, Arucas, Gáldar and Agaete

Teror revolves around the Basilica of the Virgen del Pino, patron saint of the Diocese of the Canaries; the area around the basilica is a protected historic ensemble (Conjunto Histórico-Artístico). From Las Palmas, lines 216 and 229, €2.30.

Arucas is the rum stop: the Arehucas distillery shows off its cellar of 4,700 American oak barrels for €10 (children free), with no booking needed and free parking. It opens Monday to Thursday from 09:30 to 14:00 and on Fridays from 09:30 to 18:00; it doesn't open at weekends or on public holidays and may close early if it fills up. From the south, go in the morning.

Gáldar has the Cueva Pintada: €6 (under-18s free) and free on Sundays; closed on Mondays. Nearby, the Cenobio de Valerón, a communal granary of the ancient Canarians with more than 350 cavities, costs €3 for a ticket valid for a year and closes on Mondays.

Agaete has two sides. Puerto de las Nieves is where the Fred. Olsen fast ferry leaves for Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 80 minutes away (inter-island ferries). Inland, in the Valle de Agaete, Bodega Los Berrazales shows you vineyards, coffee and orange trees and finishes with a wine tasting; it opens daily from 09:00 to 19:00 (last visit at 18:00), with no booking needed for groups of fewer than 10. It doesn't publish its price: ask when you arrive.

Guayadeque and Bandama: ravine and volcano

The Barranco de Guayadeque, between Ingenio and Agüimes, is a Natural Monument and protected archaeological zone: cave houses, restaurants carved into the rock and a visitor centre.

Anyone after a ‘volcano trip’ has the Caldera de Bandama: 216 m deep, about 1,100 m across and some 5,000 years old. A trail leads down to the crater floor and the Pico de Bandama viewpoint is reached by road. From Las Palmas, line 311 costs €1.55. Gran Canaria has no active volcanoes; for those, see Canary Islands volcanoes.

In the Fataga valley is Camel Safari Park La Baranda: phone to check it is open before you go.

Day trips from Maspalomas or Las Palmas: by bus, car or tour

On your ownOn a tour
PriceBus 18 from the Faro: €6 each way; or a hire carOn GetYourGuide, from €44 (coach) and €70–79 (small groups)
Roque NubloYou book your free place and park at Cruz de los Llanos or TejedaTour companies have their own quota (30 people every two hours); ask whether you climb the rock or only see it from the viewpoint
From Las PalmasLines 303 + 305, more than 3 h each wayFrom €48 on GetYourGuide

From Maspalomas by bus, take line 18 at the Faro at 08:00 or 09:00 (€6 to the Roque Nublo stop, €6.15 to Tejeda) and come back at 13:00 or 17:30. Some departures are only the shuttle that starts in Tejeda: check that day's timetable at guaguasglobal.com.

From Las Palmas there is no direct bus to Tejeda: you go to San Mateo (line 303, €2.55) and change to the 305 (€2.55), with six departures on weekdays between 08:00 and 20:00. On Sundays and public holidays the 305 runs only three times: hire a car or book a tour.

The best organised Gran Canaria tours

Our pick

1

The summit from Las Palmas

Pico de las Nieves and Roque Nublo in a day from the capital; rated 4.7 in more than a thousand reviews.

2

The summits in a small group

A full day across the summit, rated 4.9; more stops, less coach.

3

Inland villages

Rural villages with a guide, if you would rather not drive the summit roads.

4

The classic north

Teror, Arucas and more by coach, one of the cheapest; check whether it stops at Arehucas.

5

Stars over Tejeda

Sunset and night-time walking at the summit.

See all options on GetYourGuide →Prices checked on 2 October 2026

For more walking, see hiking in the Canary Islands (the Gran Canaria Walking Festival takes place in mid-October); the rest of the island is in the Gran Canaria guide, and boat trips in Puerto Rico and Mogán.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need to book to climb Roque Nublo?

Yes, if you start from the Degollada de La Goleta between 10:00 and 17:00. Booking is free at grancanariasenderos.com; before 10:00, after 17:00 or via La Culata and the Hoya de la Vieja you don't need one.

Where do you park for Roque Nublo?

At Cruz de los Llanos or in Tejeda, because the La Goleta car park is closed; line 18 takes you close to the trail.

How do you get to Roque Nublo from Maspalomas?

By car, on a tour with pick-up in the south, or on line 18 from Faro de Maspalomas (08:00 or 09:00, €6), returning at 13:00 or 17:30.

What is the highest point in Gran Canaria?

Morro de la Agujereada, at 1,956 m. Pico de las Nieves, at 1,949 m, is the high viewpoint people visit, but not the island's summit.

What is there to see in Tejeda?

The village centre, one of the Most Beautiful Villages in Spain, the almond sweets and, in January and February, the almond blossom. It is the base for Roque Nublo.

Can you visit a volcano in Gran Canaria?

Yes, the Caldera de Bandama, a crater 216 m deep with a trail down to the bottom. There are no active volcanoes on the island.

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