Gran Canaria

The go-to Gran Canaria travel guide for discovering the best walks and car tours.

Strap on your boots and discover Gran Canaria on foot with the Sunflower Gran Canaria travel guide. And on the days when your feet may have had enough, enjoy some spectacular scenery on one of our legendary car tours.

The Sunflower Gran Canaria guide is indispensable for hiking in Gran Canaria or seeing Gran Canaria by car. For many years Gran Canaria was the most underrated of the Canary Islands among countryside enthusiasts, but with the restoration of the old trails (the so-called Kings Highways''), the island has been truly discovered by walkers. There''s more than a month''s walking in this guide to show you why!

The island is often referred to as a ''continent in miniature''. If you travel across Gran Canaria by car or on foot you''ll see why for yourself!

From the hub of the cumbre, the island''s great saddle, ravines are born and fan out seaward like spokes on a wheel, gouging enormous valleys in their wake. Between them there are magnificent barrancos (ravines). Each has its own little secret to share.

In the Barranco de los Cernicalos there are knee-deep grasses and a chuckling stream; the Barranco de la Aldea hides an emerald-green reservoir; the Barranco de Güígüí opens out to an incomparable beach. These are but a few of the island''s breathtaking ravines... and this is only the start of what you will find when out walking in Gran Canaria.

The best months for walking on Gran Canaria are October to June (for the wild flowers, foliage and freshness in the air) but, increasingly, hikers are exploring all the Canary Islands on foot in summer as well.

Inside the Sunflower Gran Canaria guide book you''ll find:

• 60 long and short walks - more than a month''s walking
• 1:50,000 topo maps, including all the latest officially waymarked trails
• 6 car tours - highlighting access to all the walks en route
• Fold-out touring map - with walk locations - ideal for planning
• Plans - of Las Palmas, Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés
• 12 picnic suggestions - short walks and leg stretchers
• Timetables for local transport
• Online update service - the latest news available to the publisher

This guide is part of the Landscapes Series, with 50 destinations - dubbed ''the blue Bibles'' by the Sunday Times and chosen by readers of Which?as one of the four top travel guide series (from a field of 18).

A great little guide book to get you off into the interior of this beautiful island. Each walk is concisely and accurately described. (Mike, Amazon)

Dear Noel, Thank you for your wonderful book on Gran Canaria. I''m in my third year of teaching in Las Palmas, and over the last 18 months have found your book a godsend, as it''s enabled me on numerous occasions to traipse around the cumbre. PS: This is the obvious one: I''ve never felt moved to write to a writer before! (SL, Las Palmas)

Still the best [hiking guide for Gran Canaria]. I''ve gradually assembled the alternatives (Rambling Roger, Rother and local publications), but keep returning to the Sunflower guide. (TC, Amazon)

Whatever your age or ability, whether you tour the island on foot or by car, we''ve got some glorious walks and car tours to ensure you have a memorable Gran Canaria holiday. We look forward to showing you around.