Blog Oficial de Turismo de Gran Canaria

La Aldea de San Nicolás is one of those privileged places for anyone who wants to gaze at the stars and feel that they can almost touch them.  

The astronomic viewpoints in Gran Canaria help you really make the most of the Island’s excellent star-gazing conditions.

Frank was born in a place in Gran Canaria where the firmament is just another extension of life and forms part of the culture, the history and the language because you can really speak to the heavens here. Born in San Mateo, he grew up around Cueva Grande (Big Cave), at the island’s peak, where human beings and the infinite seem to go hand in hand. “I have been aware of looking at the sky since I was very little, four or five years old,” recalls this astronomy-mad teacher whose memory is a sort of planetary system around which family celebrations and lunar eclipses orbit and coexist.

Restoration of the emblematic Santa Catalina hotel in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is writing a new page in its history.

Gregory Peck took refuge there after playing Captain Ahab, shooting scenes from ‘Moby Dick’ on the Las Canteras beach, under the watchful eye of director John Huston. The hundred-year-old memories in its rooms also conjure up smoke from Winston Churchill’s cigars, echoes of the voice of the soprano Maria Callas, the smouldering gaze of Ava Gardner and the dreamy although somewhat distracted look of Agatha Christie, probably because a mystery novel was always brewing in her head, even while she relaxed by the Atlantic in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

In Gran Canaria there is a large part of belenes (nativity scenes) with its own craftsman label.  They are made by specialists who put their soul in the design of this art.

The Interpretation Centre of Risco Caído and the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape highlights the values of this World Heritage site.

There was a time when the aborigines of Gran Canaria were able to create a bond between Heaven and Earth. It happened on the island’s highlands. Those people created a unique world with their own hands, involving the starts in the process. The most spectacular example of this dialogue between humans, the Sun and the Moon, happened eight centuries ago, in a cavity located at 1200 m of altitude, excavated in volcanic rock. The sunlight and the silver halo of the full moon magically came through the rectangular skylight designed for the purpose, giving light, in turns, to each one of the figures engraved on the walls of Risco Caído cave number six. But there was nothing magical about it, only observation, technique and belief.

The Crafts Fairs held next to Faro de Maspalomas (Maspalomas Lighthouse) in Spring and Summer show the depth of the Island’s Traditions.

The waves, the breeze and the sea currents draw spirals and all kinds of whimsical meandering shapes next to the dike and breakwater at the foot of Faro de Maspalomas (Maspalomas Lighthouse). Gran Canaria’s Nature has been and still is a constant source of inspiration for the creation of beauty, like a guiding light. Like the Lighthouse has been doing for over a century. For this reason, and as naturally as the waves break on the shore, it is hard to imagine a most suitable space for two must-go dates for all looking for in-depth knowledge of the Island’s traditions. These dates are Faro de Maspalomas (Maspalomas Lighthouse) Summer Crafts Fair and Faro de Maspalomas (Maspalomas Lighthouse) Southern Spring Crafts Fair. In both cases, the Atlantic Ocean is the best background to the displayed crafts.