Independent Walking Holiday in Gran Canaria's Highlands

Don't Miss

Explore the town of Tejeda, with its pretty white-washed houses and amazing views. Visit the bustling Sunday market, where the all manner of local delicacies and fresh produce is on sale from stalls set up around the main plaza. If you are interested in the island’s flora, we highly recommend a visit to the impressive Botanical Gardens in Las Palmas, which showcase an amazing collection of the archipelago’s endemic flora. If you are feeling really active and adventurous, you could explore the island on horseback or join a group for multi-adventure (climbing, abseiling and archery) or for kayaking, canyoning or bungee jumping, which all take place at various locations within an hour of Artenara.

Getting there

The attractive Tejeda is set high in the mountains at the heart of the UNESCO World Biosphere. It sits amidst some of the most dramatic scenery on the island at the head of a huge rust-red ravine that plunges westwards towards the coast. Around the town, the terraced hillsides are planted with thousands of almond trees which blossom spectacularly in February.

Artenara curls around the western end of Gran Canaria's great central ridge - the "Cumbre". At 1270m, the village is the highest on the island. The pale façades of its deceptively simple houses look out across the vast bowl of the Tejeda valley. The locals have learned that it is still impossible to improve on a bedroom hewn from the lava. Cool in the heat.

The village boasts several bar-restaurants and two shops.

• By Road
• By Rail
• By Air Regular flights from regional and national airports to Las Palmas, see our website for more information.
• By Sea

Why do we like them?

Upland Escapes are the perfect choice for walking holidays and hiking breaks around Europe. Combine interesting, often unique destinations, maximum flexibility and true expertise in all the areas they work, and you have got yourself a recipe for a memorable walking trip indeed. You couldn't expect to find a friendlier team, and we can't wait to meet them in their Cotswold farm-office!

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What do they say?

Upland Escapes offers flexible, independent walking holidays in spectacular upland scenery - the sort of pristine mountain landscapes that we (three otherwise down-to-earth, matter-of-fact sort of people) find make our souls sing! Upland Escapes are designed to be suitable for everyone, regardless of your fitness levels or walking experience. You really can walk as much of as little as you like – or not at all. We carefully identify small, simple villages, hamlets and small towns (not resorts!) in which to base ourselves, places which are relatively untouched by tourism, where traditional mountain ways of life are still in evidence and which benefit greatly from low-impact, sustainable tourism. From this base you can choose from a large array of different walks and other activities, designing your days to suit you and your travelling companions best, thus really getting to know the area as an insider, not as an onlooker or a passer-through. If you like you can join our resident Upland Manager and others on an organised walk, benefitting from their excellent local knowledge, contacts and experience, and you can also choose to receive our famous deli-style packed lunches, which we make using a wide selection of locally produced and often organic fruits and vegetables (often from neighbours’ gardens), meats and cheeses, breads and cakes, giving you the opportunity to really savour the flavours of the region. By buying locally, by staying in real villages in remote rural regions, by supporting small-scale, family-run enterprises and by exploring on foot (the most environmentally friendly form of travel) we can bring much needed business, significantly extend the “season” and all the while preserve and conserve the unique attractions of some of Europe’s most beautiful upland communities.