Explore Gran Canaria on a Gravel Bike: tracks, stages and video

Touring Gran Canaria island on a gravel bike can be one of the best experiences you’ll ever have in your life. This island is a paradise on earth, ideal for cycling and suitable for bike packing. It is possibly the best bike packing route in the Canary Islands.

A track to explore Gran Canaria on a Gravel Bike

In this post we share with you the challenge of travelling around the whole island on the most important dirt tracks. And, at the same time, to pass through some of the essential places to visit in Gran Canaria. Gravel Bikes are perfect for getting to know the island by doing a mix of asphalt roads in good or bad condition, dirt tracks and easy trails. Here are all the details of the track, which you can divide into stages depending on your physical fitness and the days available.

Full track Gran Canaria on a Gravel Bike

Below you can download the complete track of the gravel bike route around the island. This track is in .gpx format and you can follow it from your Garmin navigator or even with the Guru Maps app from your smartphone. Here we explain how to do it.

In how many days can I do the complete track?

Bear in mind that the complete track has almost 10,000 metres of accumulated positive height gain and that it is 339 km long. This is the best track you will find for touring Gran Canaria on a gravel bike. Therefore, we recommend you to be cautious when planning and calculating the time it will take you. Take as a reference previous routes you have done and your physical condition. There are some 20% gradients. If you are going to do the route in bike packing mode, check the gearing of your bike to climb these slopes with the bike loaded.

To do the track in a relaxed way you can take between 4 and 6 days, but taking into account the data we give you, you decide how to distribute the kilometres. Please note that when the complete track was recorded to cover the whole island of Gran Canaria, it was done in four stages. However, in 2023 a small part of the complete track was updated, so the description and division of each stage is only indicative. In any case, we have decided to leave the information here in case it would be useful for you to know what you will find in each area of the island.

✔ Stage 1: Arucas – Las Palmas de GC – Telde – Valsequillo – Pico de Las Nieves

The first stage of this spectacular route through Gran Canaria on a Gravel Bike begins in Arucas village, a beautiful town in the north of Gran Canaria. Next, we will go to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria by secondary roads and dirt roads, passing through Los Giles, with spectacular views of the capital of the island. Then, we will continue along the maritime avenue until its completion. Here we will advance until we reach the Telde ravine, from where we resume the path along a dirt track until we reach the historic center of Telde.

From there we will go to the Valley Valle de Los Nueve to travel a dirt track towards the town of Valsequillo. Once there we will link up with the mythical Las Haciendas track, which ends at the Caldera de los Marteles. At this point we will walk a little through gravel, to find a hidden path that connects with a track with views of the Risco Blanco. This track will take you to Pico de las Nieves itself. One of the highest points on the island and where we will end Stage 1.

You can enjoy a video of the stage 1, but it is only available in Spanish.

✔ Stage 2: Pico de las Nieves – El Burrero – Arinaga – Maspalomas – Chira – Ayacata

The second stage begins by going down one of the most mythical roads in Gran Canaria, known for being one of the hardest ports in Europe. We will link it with a secluded dirt track adorned with cactus and red earth, in the purest style of the American Wild West. We will arrive at the coast, to travel along tracks and dirt and sand trails (all cyclable), skirting beautiful beaches until we reach the Maspalomas Lighthouse. Point where we will go up to the Chira dam along a hard and cinematic road lost in the middle of the south of the Island. We will change to dirt tracks that will leave us in the vicinity of the Ayacata crossing.

You can enjoy a video of this stage below, although it is in Spanish.

✔ Stage 3: Las Niñas – Los Azulejos – La Aldea – Artenara – Firgas

The stage 3 continues from the well-known Ayacata junction. It begins by going down the Las Niñas dam to the Mogán road. This is one of the most beautiful roads in the Canary Islands. Then we will pass through Los Azulejos, incredible mountains of colors.

Then we head to La Aldea, where we will begin to go down dirt tracks surrounded by cactus like in the Wild West. We will get to the beach of La Aldea to rest with a good coffee overlooking the sea.

Subsequently, this route continues climbing over land and abandoned roads to Andén Verde, where we will enjoy the views of the dragon tail. Then go up the legendary Tirma dirt track to the Tamadaba forest.

Here you have the option of camping or continuing to Artenara, a beautiful town and a place to eat well. Next, the tour of Gran Canaria on a Gravel Bike continues along dirt tracks to Cruz de Tejeda. At this point you can make a stop to enjoy a Canarian sweet. After this break, the route continues along secret trails, only known by local riders and takes you to the vicinity of Firgas village. Here we end the track of stage 3.

Below you can enjoy a video of this track in Spanish.

✔ Stage 4: Firgas – Moya – Fontanales – Guía – Arucas

Stage 4 of the route through Gran Canaria on a Gravel bike starts from the Los Chorros (Firgas) junction along secret trails of red earth. From here it begins to climb towards Valsendero by road and dirt tracks, where we will link with a port to the town of Moya. At this point you must face the last hard ascent of the track until we reach Pinos de Gáldar, where we will link through gravel tracks with Fontanales. From there it goes through secondary roads mixed with dirt tracks lost between the mountains of the north of Gran Canaria.

Later, it reaches Guía, to continue towards Arucas along the mythical Cenobio de Valerón road, a very representative archaeological site of the island. Finally, the route connects with Arucas by a last dirt track to put the finishing touch to this mega route in Gravel Bike through Gran Canaria.

Next, you can watch a video of the last stage of this track, but remember that it is only in Spanish.

We hope you enjoy this track to get to know Gran Canaria by MTB or gravel bike. If you have any questions, leave us a comment. We are sure that this doubt can be common for other cyclists. Finally, if you don’t have time to organise this tour around the island, below you can see all our gravel bike routes around Gran Canaria. They are shorter routes and most of them are circular, we even have a special pack with 5 tracks.