The Canary Islands are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Morocco and Western Sahara. As one of the largest Canary Islands, Gran Canaria is a fantastic location to explore by motorbike. With great weather all year round, excellent roads and breathtaking views it is truly spectacular!
Enjoy high quality roads with little traffic, spectacular views and endless curves. The landscape is so varied that you will never get bored. It is an absolute paradise for motorcyclists!

The route starts in El Risco, a small town located fairly north on Gran Canaria. You will soon leave the built-up area and meander through the beautiful landscape. Right swinging, there is almost no straight to discover here. You haven't gone through one bend yet or the next one is already coming up, it doesn't stop.
The first ten kilometers you drive to the north, soon you see the sea looming. For a short time you drive parallel to the water, until you come to Cenobio de Valerón. This is a spectacular Aboriginal barn of a collective character. Located on a high mountainside of Mount Gallego, is this site that the ancient inhabitants built more than 500 years ago, taking advantage of the geological conditions of the volcanic cone. In it, and aided by stone peaks, more than 350 cavities were opened, which are located on different levels and were used as storage of grain and other foodstuffs.
The strategic character of this location makes it a real natural fortress, unnoticed from the outside and set in an almost vertical mountain wall.
The image of the caves and the surrounding towering cliffs leave unforgettable memories for visitors, who can learn about the ancient inhabitants who have lived here over the centuries.

You continue the route while winding along the GC-291, which soon turns into the GC-70. Via this road you drive through the interior of Gran Canaria, which is not a punishment at all. Nice villages, beautiful views and pieces of forest alternate, you don't have to be bored for a moment. What is striking is the beautiful asphalt you drive over, the Spaniards know how to build roads!

Arriving in Agaete you have the opportunity to visit the Museo de La Rama. La Rama (the branch) takes center stage during the celebrations of the 'Virgen de Las Nieves' in Agaete. Over the years, this event has developed into one of the most important summer festivals in the Canary Islands. It is not just any celebration, but has great symbolism for the people of Gran Canaria. In 1972, the festivities were therefore declared a festival of national tourist importance.
In the Museo de La Rama you can taste the essence of this celebration every day of the year. The museum gives a picture of the various elements that play a role at the party. From the 'papagüevos', giant carnivalesque dolls, to the various decorations on the feast and the branches that gave the feast its name. The museum is located in a specially designed building with six different exhibition areas.

After Agaete you descend south along the coast. The road you drive on is great again. No straight to discover, beautiful views are presented to you after every bend. Sometimes also a view over the sea, in short, enjoy! After about 15 kilometers it is time to interrupt this beauty for a well-deserved cup of coffee.
After the coffee, the party is not over yet, the swinging continues for another 20 kilometers. What a punishment! In between all this driving force, don't forget to stop at the many beautiful places with fantastic views.

Just south of La Aldea de San Nicolás you pass the Cactualdea Park, the largest cactus park in Europe. A cactus with palm trees, aloes, peacocks and turtles. Six meters. This is how much the tallest cactus of Cactualdea Park measures, the indisputable protagonist of the best pictures that this incredible garden bestows. And so it is common that, when entering the largest cactus park in Europe, one is surprised at the sheer size of the many specimens of the more than 1200 species that make their home here. An area of 15,000 square meters in La Aldea de San Nicolás in western Gran Canaria that can be crossed in a smooth and enjoyable one hour walk.
Cactualdea offers much more than just spiny plants from exotic places like Madagascar. Between the rippling water, just past the amphitheater, the artificial volcano erupts towards the steps leading to the beautiful garden. A large stone path runs through the cacti where an infinite number of cacti can be discovered surrounded by palm trees, aloes and cardoons while free roaming peacocks, ducks, turtles and donkeys look on carelessly. Then comes the visit to the cave and of course some snacks in the bar or buy souvenirs.

After the cacti you drive over the only mountain pass that is rich on this route, the Degollada de la Aldea with a height of 658 meters. Although this height is of course not much in the world of passes, you still have an impressive view from this pass.
After this pass you wind along Los Azulejos to the lunch place. While most people won't spend hours at the unusual rock formation of Los Azulejos, a short visit is highly recommended.
The rock formation of Los Azulejos is located along the road from Mogán to San Nicolás de Tolentino about 10 km from Mogán. The rocks owe their name Los Azulejos to the special colors they display. These resemble the colors of the well-known Portuguese tiles, the azulejos. When you look at the rocks you will notice many different shades, from blue to green and dark red. These differences are the result of oxidation. The color palette of Los Azulejos offers an impressive view.

At the restaurant where lunch is planned you will also come across a small museum that has been filled by the owner of the restaurant over the years. Housed in a typical Canarian house, the museum allows restaurant patrons to learn about the customs and tools used by herders, farmers and people of the island. From old bicycles to one of the first switchboards, but also documents, bottles, implements and agricultural tools. Nice to stroll through!

After lunch you swing north again and via one more coffee stop you reach El Risco after 180 kilometers, where the route also started. Also in this last part there are a number of places directly on the route where you really have to stop to enjoy the view for a moment to realize what a beautiful island Gran Canaria is.

Have fun driving this route!