For the variety of countryside Gran Canaria is so called "Continent in miniature".
Big differences between the North and the Center of the island can be found, whereas in the North there are more green places full of authoctonal vegetation, and the South with a warmer clima and vegetation adapted to it.The island combines places as different as long beaches in the South zone, where the good climate and the sun shines practically all the year round, and the forests of the highest zones, where the temperature is much more fresh due to the Altitudee and to Alisios (Atlanticwinds).

Gran Canaria offers superb conditions for the practice of the rural tourism. The pleasant and mild climate, fundamental incentive of the Archipelago for any type of tourism, is for the rural tourism as well. It allows the practice of infinity of outdoor sports, being "senderismo" pathwalking the most popular. In the island there are more than 300 kilometers of footpaths. The first roads in the island were not constructed until the end of XIX century. It existed a series of ways, footpaths and paths that communicated the most important points of the island. This road network, known like "royal paths", has been recovered and rehabilitated so that the traveller can enjoy the natural beauty of Gran Canaria.

The important network of rural houses distributed by the different municipalities makes that the tourists benefit of all the comfort. The lodging establishments is varied and complete. The recovery of the rural houses, respecting its classic structure and the traditional architecture, keep the surroundings of the places intact. The "cave-house" is an example of this architecture. These houses surprise by fresh and pleasant in summer and warm in winter.

The cultural and natural resources of Gran Canaria are many and diverse. The island counts on with an ample supply of museums and centers of crafts for all those people interested in knowing the culture the islands. In many of their towns local celebrations are celebrated where ancestral traditions emerge that get together the inhabitants of the island of nowadays with the customs of the first inhabitants.