Canyons, Caves & Coast of Gran Canaria

The views of Mount Teide from the Parador and the walk up to Roque Nublo were the major highlights on this holiday. The walks were varied with some through forests, others on exposed ridges and some requiring steep ascents and descents of the many barrancos. One useful tip would be to acquire detailed walking maps of the areas to be visited as many paths are not shown on the standard 1 to 50,000 maps.

A great variety of routes, showing the different sides of the landscape of Gran Canaria, with spectacular, breathtaking views and beautiful flower meadows (April departure). The varied accommodation was excellent. I was very impressed also that the message about my being vegetarian had been passed on to our hosts. 

Highlights: every day's walking was fabulous. We were amazed by the scenery - we hadn't realised that Gran Canaria was so scenic and varied. We were very impressed by the lush vegetation in the north of the island. We walked in early March and were blessed by excellent weather but we could imagine some of the tracks being very challenging in poor weather.

The highlights were the walk from Cruz Grande to Cruz de Tejeda via Roque Nublo which was a great challenge and then the ravine walk the next day. Probably the most testing walking we have done on an Inntravel holiday.

Truly stunning walking across a wide variety of terrains - we loved every minute of it!

Delightful holiday with varied, if at times challenging walking. The descent of the real path to El Sao was well worth the effort. We had warm (mid 20s deg C), clear and sunny weather, which for December we understand is not always the case, but really made it for us. Accommodation was very good with welcoming staff, although evening meals could at times be a little disappointing. Overall a most enjoyable week.

Excellent views and the walks through the pine forests are particularly memorable. Spectacular scenery of the barrancos. We devised our own route to walk from Artenara to Tejeda using the map provided but this proved to be a mistake as the paths marked on the map did not seem to exist and we spent too much time and walked far too far. However, if it is possible to include in the walking directions an easy-ish route it would give people the option to walk to Tejeda from Artenara as there is plenty of time to do so in a day.

We found our walking poles extremely helpful, particularly in steep descents, and suggest clients are advised to this effect.  

Highlights included: The views from the terrace at the Parador (when we eventually saw them due to mist/rain). All of the tracks were superb with different scenery throughout the trip from mountains to pine forests with autumn colours. We also saw some amazing rainbows (although would have preferred to have seen the sun). Relaxing by the pool at the Finca on the last morning surrounded by orange trees.

This fairly challenging walking holiday does not fail to deliver stunning scenery and a thigh crunching experience. The transfer day from San Bartolome to Cruz de Terjede was the highlight of the week, long, strenuous but very beautiful, ending with a relaxing seat in front of a roaring log fire at the El Refugio. We think the next transfer day from Cruz de Terjede to Fontanales was equally beautiful but a day of continuous rain and low cloud meant we had to guess what it should have looked like. We also recommend that you take Inntravel's advice when staying at The Rural Finca Las Longueras to have lunch in Puerto de las Nieves as there are many sea front restaurants to choose from. Take a taxi back, as the walk along the road is not a great walk to end the week on, but don't miss the little Botanical Garden and the Necopolis.

The highlight of the trip was Cruz de Tejeda and we would happily have spent more days there to explore further. We recommend getting fit before you start the trip and carrying more water than you expect, especially if it's very hot.

Fontanales was very good but the Finca Las Longueras was a gem. The necropolis [near Agaete] was unexpectedly fascinating and lunch at the coast all you had suggested. Some more clarity about the possible incidence of wet weather on the top might have helped as if it is cloudy/misty there is a limited list of options at Cruz de Tejeda. The restaurant there was good but they do want you in and out at speed in sharp contrast to most places in Spain, mainland or islands! Never was food produced so quickly or cleared at such speed!

As soon as the weather improved/we descended the scenery and surroundings were simply SUPER.

Highlights were the first day circular walk and the walk from Fontanales to Las Longueras for views and flowers.

The walks were mostly long and strenuous but we really enjoyed the way the landscape and vegetation changed, depending on the altitude and direction. The Hotel Las Longueras and the visit to the coffee plantation and vineyard at Finca La Laja combined to make a relaxing conclusion to the week.

Wonderful mixture of scenery, views and flowers. Excellent hospitality and interesting food. Challenging, well-described walking...

This was one of the best weeks walking I have ever done! 

Day 2 walk, despite being long, was amazing, particularly the detour to the Roque Noble. Good 3G or 4G mobile signal in the hotels without wifi, allowing you to use a smartphone as a hotspot to connect tablets, etc, to watch UK TV, if required (if you have enough data available!)

The scenery was fantastic and each day of the walk provided different views and interesting surroundings. The walking notes were detailed and easy to follow and provided interesting background information. The variety of plants and trees was surprising and added to the enjoyment of the walks. There was plenty of opportunity to sample local food and drink in the hotels and at lunchtimes. We hope to book with Inntravel again soon.

Our first Inntravel holiday was a great success and we will definitely consider Inntravel for all future trips of this type. I would recommend anyone to spend an extra day at Cruz de Tejeda. There are a number of interesting walking options from there and the views from the ridge just outside the hotel of the Tejeda Valley, surrounding mountains and as far as Mount Teide on Tenerife are to die for. Throughout, there are several long, steep descents on rough paths so that walking poles are definitely worthy of consideration. Hotel Las Longueras was a great place to end the trip with a fantastic view of the mountains from the breakfast area, a lovely garden to relax in and an opportunity to chat to other guests at the communal dinner table.

Spectacular scenery but head for heights needed. Challenging walking but distances fine. Friendly local people, and some lovely cafes in Artenara. Sadly the weather during our weeks walking was very wet!

We had a fantastic holiday despite quite extreme weather conditions. The walks were challenging and the landscape breathtaking. We enjoyed meeting other walkers on the same route and ended up sharing walks and mealtimes together. We recommend bringing gear for all weathers as we had hail stones, 3 degrees celsius and torrential rain which we weren't expecting - next time we will pack rain ponchos and thermals!  We recommend a little cafe on the descent into Agaete at the converted church at Refugio El Hornillo - run by German hosts - we had a delicious lunch, warm hospitality and a very welcome break. 

Beautiful scenery - when you can see it. In January the hills and mountains can be in cloud and the north side of the island can be cold and wet, pack appropriate clothing.  Book any personal transfers well in advance and make sure that they are confirmed.

Interesting holiday gives a flavour of true Gran Canaria. Walking good, have to be relatively fit to do all the walks, we enjoyed it, would do another similar holiday. Great views.

We enjoyed walking independently and it was great to arrive at the next accommodation and discover that our bags were already there! We also enjoyed meeting other Inntravellers staying at various hotels throughout our holiday.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined the walks Hidden Gem of the Canaries and Canyons, Caves & Coast of Gran Canaria

We had a fantastic holiday and very much regret returning to England! We all - including our two sons aged 18 and 20 - enjoyed every aspect of the holiday, especially the stunning scenery, the warm hospitality and the excellent food. We extended the trip to 12 days by adding three extra nights to the beginning of the holiday (on our own) and two to the end (extended by Inntravel). For those extra days we contacted Rambling Roger (www.ramblingroger.com) to buy walk plans and take advice on where to stay at the start of holiday (Hotel Casa de Los Cammellos in Aguimes).

Based on our experience, we would also recommend early December as a good time for the trip. We had no rain until we were safely in the final hotel and all of the paths were reasonably firm and not overgrown. Day time temperatures were great for walking (approx. 20 degrees centigrade) and the nights were cool in the mountains, warmer by the coast. The downside is a parched landscape (except in the beutiful woods) and fewer flowers and trees in bloom, but we could still pick oranges, prickly pears, almonds and even some guavas and figs. (We should mention that Grand Canaria had suffered drought conditions that year - 2017).