Gran Canaria Nature Reserves

Almost 43% of the territory of Gran Canaria is protected. This means approximately 66,571 hectares of land, which is almost 1,000 square metres of protected land for each inhabitant of the island.

An anecdotal piece of information is that only 1% of the island's population lives on protected land. The Parque Rural del Nublo is an interesting case in this regard. This rural park, which stretches over eight municipal areas in the centre of the island and covers a surface area of 26,307.4 hectares (the size of La Gomera island), but it supports a tiny population of around 5,000 inhabitants. This fact is ironic in the light of the environmental problems caused by overpopulation on Gran Canaria, mainly in the Northeast of the island where lives the greatest part of the population.
However, the islanders are becoming increasingly aware of the need to take care of the environment and preserve nature .

The volcanoes that form the islands' backbone saw the light of day at about the time the Atlas Mountains were formed in North Africa millions of years ago. The highest volcano, Gran Canaria's Teide at 3718m (12,195ft) is Spain's tallest peak and the third tallest volcano in the world after two in Hawaii. All the volcanic activity has ensured that the soil is very fertile, but there are no rivers and the islands have been periodically plagued by water shortages. Most of the drinking water on some islands comes straight from desalination plants.

The following are some of the nature areas on Gran Canaria that deserve special mention:

Monumento Natural de Bandama (Natural Monument):
This nature area, which covers a surface area of 325.7 hectares, includes parts of the municipal areas of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (the capital), Santa Brígida and Telde
Parque Rural del Nublo (Rural Park):
This is the largest protected nature area on the island. The 26,307.4 hectares of this park are spread over eight municipalities, namely Tejeda, San Nicolás de Tolentino, Mogán, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Artenara, San Mateo, Valleseco and Moya
Parque Rural de Doramas (Rural Park):
covers an area of 3,586 hectares in the municipal areas of Moya, Valleseco, Firgas, Santa María de Guía, Arucas and Teror
Parque Natural de Tamadaba (Nature Park): This nature park, which covers a surface area of 7,538.6 hectares, with its pine groves, lies within the municipalities of Agaete and San Nicolás de Tolentino.

The Canaries bask in an eternal-spring climate, with mean temperatures ranging from 18°C (64°F) in winter to 24°C (75°F) in summer. On a hot day at the beach, it can still be pleasantly cool if you get up into the mountains, and you'll definitely need warm clothes if you reach any high altitudes during the winter. Except for Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the northern side of the islands is sub-tropical, while the south, including the first two mentioned islands, is drier and slightly warmer. There is not much rain except on parts of the windswept northern coasts, and what there is tends to fall on the northern side of the more mountainous islands. The flatter islands, with no mountains to trap rain clouds, receive hardly a drop of rain. On occasion, especially in summer, the sirocco (the hot wind from the Sahara) blows in from Africa, turning day into twilight and coating everything with grime. It's at its worst in the eastern islands, and is known locally as the kalima.

The long catalogue of protected areas on Gran Canaria is completed by the Natural rural monuments of Montañón Negro, Roque Aguayro, Tauro and Arinaga.

There are also a number of areas that have been declared as "Natural Rural Landscapes", namely La Isleta, Pino Santo, Tafira, Las Cumbres, Lomo Magullo, Fataga and Montaña de Agüimes.

Lastly, there are a number of areas that have been declared as "Areas of Interest", these being Jinámar, Tufia, Roque de Gando and Juncalillo del Sur.