This may be one of the most legendary routes in Gran Canaria to do on a mountain bike. It starts from one of the highest peaks on the island at an altitude of 2,000 meters and ends in the Atlantic Ocean. That is, from the Pico de Las Nieves to the Maspalomas Lighthouse, next to the Dunes. It is one of the longest descents on gravel and rock with a finish on asphalt. As you can imagine, this track will allow you to appreciate a large part of the contrasts offered by the island’s landscape, as well as enjoying the descent. We will tell you everything below!
Downhill from Pico de Las Nieves to Maspalomas MTB
First of all, you must bear in mind that it is not a circular route. That is, you will need to get to Pico de Las Nieves by car (there is no public transport here). It is a descent of a medium technical level, although it tires the arms a lot due to the multitude of potholes that we are going to find on the different roads.
In this track we have included one of the most mythical and hard descents on the island: Tunte. And, therefore, it also includes the climb of La Manzanilla. With about 330m of positive slope. Therefore, we recommend doing this route with an Enduro MTB bike. If your physical condition does not allow you to fully climb this hill on your bike, you can do a part on foot. However, it is essential to do it if you want to visit the famous trial-style El Diablo and the DH of Tunte on the way.
Details of the route
The recommended bikes for this route are undoubtedly long-distance Enduro MTBs, since we will spend most of our time going down technical areas of stone. You could also do it with an All Mountain, although you will suffer more going down. And, if you don’t mind doing the ascent on foot, you could even try it with a downhill bike… But, the climb will be tough.
| Distance | 36,6 km |
| Total ascent | 707 m |
| Total descent | 2.632 m |
| Estimated duration | 3/6 hours |
| Minimum drink | 1000 ml |
| Minimum food | 1500 kcal |
| Provisioning during the track | No |
| Technical level | Medium |
| Recommended bike | Enduro/All Mountain |
Keep in mind that the hard climb that we will find in the middle of the route you can take it easy. That is, you can do it walking to fully enjoy the descent.
✔ Tips before doing the route
Bring enough food and water to do the entire route. The track does not go through any store where you can buy. Although we will pass near the town of Tunte, we would have to deviate from the route and make a steep climb, so I do not recommend it. We also recommend bringing extra tubes, because the rock can easily make you prick.
The land down hills end in the town of Ayagaures. From here the track continues on asphalt to the Maspalomas Lighthouse. Therefore, if you have someone to pick you up in Ayagaures and you are not interested in getting to the Maspalomas Lighthouse, this is another option.
Download the track of this route
Below you will be able to download the track in .gpx format so that you can follow the route on your own. If you don’t know how to download it and follow it from your navigator or smartphone, we’ll explain it to you here. If you want to support us so that we continue to create content for you about Gran Canaria, we will appreciate if you purchase one of our tracks, either to enjoy incredible routes or as a donation.
We also have an epic track that starts from the northern coast of Gran Canaria to the southern coast by bike. Finally, below you can see all our tracks to discover Gran Canaria by enduro bike.
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