Las Canteras Sand Nativity is one of many attractions in Gran Canaria’s warm Atlantic Christmas.

A reef that you can spot at low tide protects Las Canteras beach from the pounding ocean, like a long protective arm shielding Las Palmas de Gran Canaria’s emblematic sands. Seen from dry land, it’s just a brush-stroke on the horizon. The sand bar now also forms part of the island’s gentle Christmas. At the northern end of the beach, the skylight on the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium plays the role of the Christmas Star.

The unique trees of Gran Canaria offer their particular summary of the island’s history and biodiversity.

The unique trees of Gran Canaria have their own given name and the people of the island speak to them as old friends, venerable elders or a mother in whose shade several generations have grown up. This is the case with La Castañera Grande de Las Lagunetas, an over 300-year-old chestnut in Vega de San Mateo whose wood ash was used to heal the navels of children who were born on this island sheltered in the grove.

Like an actor refusing to leave the stage at the end of his scene, the sun is reluctant to abandon Agaete, in the north-east of Gran Canaria. By its side, the Dragon’s Tail also squeezes the last few moments out of the day while its pyramid-shaped cliffs are bathed in the sunset’s gold and bronze tones.