Gran Canaria issues strict new rules for UK tourists 'starting from March 2025'

Visitors to Roque Nublo, the natural monument and emblem of Gran Canaria, will need to make a reservation in advance online, via a new system being introduced by the Cabildo to protect the area.
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Gran Canaria is implementing strict new rules for UK tourist starting from March 2025. From February 3, visitors to Roque Nublo, the natural monument and emblem of Gran Canaria, will need to make a reservation in advance online, via a new system being introduced by the Cabildo to protect the area.

The site, which attracts approximately 1,500 visitors a day, will have this measure to control crowds, protect the environment, and ensure a high-quality tourist experience, the European Union holiday hotspot has confirmed, in a blow for British holidaymakers.

The initiative, spearheaded by the Department of the Environment for the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, in collaboration with Public Works and Mobility, aims to reduce traffic in the area and manage the number of visitors to this popular attraction.

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The new reservation system will go live on January 15th, allowing tourists to plan their visits during peak hours, between 9am, and 5pm. Individual visitors will be limited to 60 entries per hour, with each person allowed to book up to five reservations. Entry will be monitored via QR codes issued during the booking process.

School groups can visit under specific regulations, with daily access capped at 60 students, divided into groups of 30 if necessary. Active tourism companies are allowed groups of 30 people every two hours, contingent on providing a valid license number.

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Residents of Tejeda and Artenara can access the site by presenting a valid ID or residency certificate. Those arriving via adjacent hiking trails will not require a reservation. In May, Maspalomas 24h reported that the presence of waste at Roque Nublo was shockingly high.

And the Minister of Environment, Climate, Energy and Knowledge of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Raúl García Brink, accused some visitors of a “lack of civility”, who have “no consideration for the common space, showing their poor education and little respect for nature and the island community, leaving a mark of 'garbage' in places of great landscape and environmental value”.