Blog Oficial de Turismo de Gran Canaria

There is a special moment, at the end of a long, lazy day, when the light dances over the landscape soaking it in a warm glow, that makes everything we see through the lens of our camera seem magical. This is the golden hour. Then it's suddenly the blue hour, when the yellow and orange tones give way to pink hues, going on to fade to an intense blue.

The island of Gran Canaria has a lot of places where you can take in this symphony of colors.

Dotted across the Island are a great many windmills that were used for a variety of different things from milling grain for flour or “gofio”, pumping water for irrigation or even seawater to be used in the salt pans. Nowadays we’ve got wind turbines too, to help us power the Island. But the idea that somehow ecology is a modern concept is totally misguided. Centuries ago, our ancestors were already using water and wind to power those mills.

Construction of the Maspalomas Lighthouse was a real feat of engineering, so much so that they even had to build a small dock to bring in all the building materials. It is undoubtedly the most photographed lighthouse on Gran Canaria and its surroundings make it even more striking.

You can find it in the south, in the Island´s popular tourist area, and next to the Dunes of Maspalomas Special Nature Reserve, a unique collection of ecosystems protected by law since 1987. The dunes have also been the backdrop to some well-known TV shows and films like Netflix's “The Witcher” or “Clash of the Titans”.

As you take in Northern Gran Canaria´s rugged coastline you might catch yourself wondering how the God of Fire and the God of Water battled it out to create such a magical island full of secrets.