I hadn’t expected ever to visit Gran Canaria, a small Atlantic island overrun by millions of tourists yearly. But I had to secure my last World Heritage Site of Spain: I am now at 49/49. The decision to go there was made easier due to some EasyJet vouchers that I still had from Covid times. And because there's an interesting way to leave: I hopped over to Casablanca in Morocco on a tiny propeller flight.

I rented a car for 24 hours and first drove the winding roads to Roque Nublo. It was so busy that the parking lot was full already and cars were parked at the roadside for a km or so. The hike up to the main rock is only 1.5km long, but it is a tricky rocky path and I encountered a woman that had fallen and hurt her ankle (on the way back I saw her being carried away by firemen). The trail ends at a large plateau, from where you have good views of the Roque Bentayga and even Teide on Tenerife. And you get close to Roque Nublo of course, a key feature in the ‘Astronomy Skyscape’. There’s no interpretation provided here (there must be rock drawings as well but who knows where?) and all other visitors seemed to be on a family outing scrambling over rocks.

The websites of the Interpretation centers at Roque Bentayga and Artenara both say you have to contact them before visiting. I did, and Bentayga turned out to be closed for renovation. But Artenara was open, ‘tentatively’ they said. The Interpretation Center in Artenara has a replica of Cave 6 of Risco Caído. This is the cave with the best rock drawings (pubic triangles) and an elaborate projection of sun and moon light connected to the changing of the seasons. This is imitated via a video display in the replica cave, there’s also a detailed explanation in English available. As it is free, it is interesting enough for a quick 10-minute visit but not much more than that.

Other sublocations seem either difficult to drive to, and/or difficult to reach on foot, with closed caves that need someone with a key. You get the idea that the landscape is the real star here (it's a Biosphere Reserve as well) and that is enough for the Canarians. Not that Gran Canaria needs more visitors anyway…

The Canarian Museum in Las Palmas is worth visiting for getting to know the Guanche, the indigenous inhabitants who revered and created this landscape. This is a serious museum, over a century old, and not some tourist trap. Maybe go there first, as it will give you a better insight into these people (I found interpretation in the core zone is lacking). There’s a collection of intriguing pintaderas, which are stamps decorated with geometrical motifs. They also have a room full of skulls and a few mummies, preserved by natural circumstances.