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The Canary Islands/The Islands..... an indepth look!Fancy finding out a little more about the individual Canary Islands .... read on ..... GRAN CANARIA
Gran Canaria and Tenerife are located in the centre of the Canary Islands’ archipelago. The ‘round island’ as it is known because of it’s circular shape – is 47 km (29 miles) wide and covers an area of 1,532 sq km. Its highest peak, Pozo de Las Nieves (1949 m/6431 ft above sea level), is situated right in the centre of the island. Gran Canaria is the third largest island of the Canaries and boasts 236 km of coast with sandy beaches, predominantly located on the southeast coast. This is also the area where you’ll find the famous beaches of Playa del Ingles and Maspalomas with their amazing sand dunes. The southwest and west coasts are dominated by cliffs, and in the north and northeast of the island the coastline is very diversified, offering a wide variety of beaches and coves. The centre of the island is mountainous with a few high peaks and many gorges radiating out towards the sea. Gran Canaria has a reputation for being the most cosmopolitan of the islands and has Gran Canaria is often referred to as a ‘mini continent’ ….not only because it happens to be situated between 3 other continents itself, Africa, Europe and the Americas, but also for its variation in weather which is affected by the Gulf flow and landscape around the island. The north is usually cooler than the sometimes fiery heat of the south. Inner regions, being mountainous, can be cloudier and colder with more rain. Most of the tourist trade is situated around the resorts along the South coast. The most important of these are San Agustin, Playa del Ingles, Maspalomas and Puerto Rico. Puerto de Morgan is a pretty port and well worth a visit. FUERTEVENTURA
Fuerteventura is famous for it’s enormous sand dunes and long sandy beaches ( the island boasts over 150 ) some of which are the most beautiful in the world. These are actually a result of the islands geographical location. Fuerteventura is some 60 miles from the coast of Morocco and for tens of thousands of years sand from the Sahara has been blowing on to the islands shores, resulting in some of the best beaches known to man!! The island is also well known for it’s history as it is regarded as being the oldest of all the Canaries and this is illustrated by the architecture and history on show as you drive around the island. The island was actually formed around 70 million years ago and the strange contours and rock formations come from the various volcanic episodes. However there is no need to Fuerteventura is one of the sportier islands and is a haven for surfers, windsurfers and divers who come down every summer for the various watersports events that the island hosts. Fishing is also a popular past time here and fresh fish a great delicacy. If you’re a fan of fishing it’s worth visiting the fishing village of Corralejos in the north of the island. The capital of Fuerteventura is Puerto Rosario a small and pretty town with just 15.550 inhabitants. Worth a visit is Casa de los Coroneles in La Oliva, a manor house from the 18th century and also an example of the beauty of the islands architecture. LANZAROTE
At 37 miles long, Lanzarote is the fourth largest island in the Canaries. As with the other Canary Islands, Lanzarote is Volcanic in origin and it’s amazing landscape has been used in movies such as the ‘Planet of the Apes’. There were many eruptions during the 18th and 19th centuries and these left the island with some strange lunar rock type formations. The outcome of these is that the island is often described as ‘Martian’ or from another world! In fact the inhabitants of the islands used to say that on the Seventh Day of the Creation God forgot Lanzarote ! If Volcanic remains and rocks are your thing then of all the islands Lanzarote is really the one where you should settle. Amongst the many stunning Volcanic features of Lanzarote is the longest Volcanic Tunnel in the world, the Atlantida Tunnel, which is over 7 km long and includes the La Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua.
Also worth a visit is the National Park of Timanfaya. This park is like no other, 200 km of land born out of hundreds of volcanic eruptions! A bus will take you through the park itself or you choose to be a little more daring you can travel by … camel! Lanzarote is a truly stunning place to live and thanks to local authority regulations on the amount and style of development (there are no billboard advertsand no high rise buildings in Lanzarote with the exception of the Grand Hotel in Arrecife) the landscape remains largely unspoilt and almost totally natural. |
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a large and lively capital Las Palmas. The population of Gran Canaria is young in comparison with that of the rest of the country and Europe, given the fact that the largest part of the population is between the ages of 15 and 45 years!
panic or change your plans as the last eruption occurred around 7,000 years ago! 
Yet it’s not just about Volcano’s….like her sister islands Lanzarote has several beautiful white beaches such as at Playa Blanca and Papagayo. Lanzarote's inhabitants have also made a great effort to cultivate the land and driving around you will find large plantations of fruits and vegetables. Most surprising is perhaps the region of Geria which houses vineyards between volcanic craters!