Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
1,565km²
Area
293km
Coastline
1,956m
Highest point
Pico de las Nieves
863,943
People
23°C
Warmest sea
September
186km
To the mainland
When to go to Gran Canaria
Best for the beach from July to October.
The sea is warmest in September (23 °C) and coolest in March (19 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to November.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
One of the main islands of the Canary archipelago
Gran Canaria is an island in Spain. It belongs to Canary Islands. It covers 1,565 km², with 293 km of coastline. Its highest point, Pico de las Nieves, rises to 1,956 m. About 863,943 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 186 km away.
Getting there
- Gran Canaria Airport (LPA)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at LPA airport (Gran Canaria Island)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesLas Palmas de Gran Canaria (Gran Canaria) - Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Gran Canaria) - Morrojable (Fuerteventura), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Gran Canaria) - Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Gran Canaria) - Arrecife (Lanzarote)
- 186 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Gran Canaria.
- 130beachesPlaya de los Cuervitos, Playa Anfi del Mar, Playa Meloneras and 127 more
- 366viewpointsMirador del Pico de los Pozos de las Nieves, Mirador de Degollada de las Palomas, San Bartolomé de Tirajana - Mirador de Fataga and 363 more
- 10lighthousesFaro de Punta Sardina, Faro de La Isleta, Faro de Maspalomas and 7 more
- 21ferry terminalsAnfi, Muelle Cambullonero, Puerto Rico and 18 more
- 10marinasSalvamento Marítimo Las Palmas, Suites, Balito and 7 more
- 419named peaksPico de las Nieves, Campanario, Clouded Rock and 416 more
- 7volcanoesPico de las Nieves, Salida y llegada de, Senderismo, treeking, Gran Canaria, Tejeda, Canarias, Pico de Bandama and 4 more
- 40waterfallsCascada, Cascada Bonita, Cascade and 37 more
- 6castles and fortsCastillo de la Luz, Castillo de Mata, Castillo de San Francisco and 3 more
- 220ruins and archaeological sitesCuatro Puertas, Horno de Techas, Cueva del Rey and 217 more
- 13dive centresCanary Diving Adventures, Leagues Ahead Diving, El Azul Gran Canaria Dive Center and 10 more
- 8surf spotsDunkerbeck, Muellitos Surfspot, El Lloret Surfspot and 5 more
- 81waymarked walking routesCamino de Santiago de Gran Canaria, Camino Pál Pino de Santa Brígida a Teror, Ruta de la Sal and 78 more
- 21campsitesPresa de Las Niñas, Camping Site Morro de Santiago, Altos del Pozo and 18 more
- 731hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 2,145restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Gran Canaria in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Gran Canaria, each with its own numbers.
61beaches and covesCoastya
1lakeLakeyas
Largest lake
0.26km²
Chira Reservoir
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
30.7°C
Chira Reservoir
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
23.5°C
Playa De La Aldea
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
61 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Playa de Meloneras23.3°C
- Playa de las Canteras23.4°C
- Playa de Tauro23.4°C
- Playa de Patalavaca23.4°C
- Playa de Puerto Rico23.4°C
- Playa El Veril23.4°C
- Playa del Cura23.4°C
- Playa de las Burras23.4°C
53 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Chira Reservoir0.26km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 523 m above the sea. 28 % of it is below 200 m.
- 8 %0–50 m
- 19 %50–200 m
- 28 %200–500 m
- 30 %500–1,000 m
- 15 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria383,516 people
- Telde123,265 people
- Centro88,546 people
- Santa Lucía71,863 people
- San Bartolomé de Tirajana53,588 people
- Arucas36,259 people
- Maspalomas36,065 people
- Ingenio29,319 people
- Agüimes28,924 people
- Gáldar24,209 people
- Carrizal22,000 people
- Mogán21,690 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 20 |
| Night low (°C) | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 18 |
| Sea (°C) | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| Rain (mm) | 18 | 22 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 24 | 28 |
| Wet days | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Sun h/day | 6.4 | 7.0 | 8.2 | 9.0 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 7.7 | 6.4 | 5.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 22 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 31 | 29 | 22 | 19 | 21 | 22 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +0.3 | −0.4 | −0.2 | −0.3 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.1 | −0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +1.3 |
| 2023 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +1.6 | +2.1 | +1.9 | +1.8 | +1.7 | +1.7 | +1.4 | +1.2 |
| 2024 | +1.5 | +2.0 | +1.4 | +1.7 | +1.0 | +0.3 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.5 | +0.9 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.7 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +0.3 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Tenerife
Spain2,038 km²3,715 m105 km away
FuerteventuraSpain1,662 km²813 m164 km away
La GomeraSpain368 km²1,484 m161 km away
LanzaroteSpain808 km²649 m226 km away
La PalmaSpain708 km²2,426 m235 km away
El HierroSpain268 km²1,501 m238 km away
GraciosaSpain27 km²266 m250 km away
AlegranzaSpain10 km²289 m258 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q178925) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
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Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
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waterfalls
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islands
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rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit