Trip Report - GR131 - Hiking and camping in Gran Canaria in February 2026

This is an extension to the Fuerteventura post as I went from one Canary Island to the another.

Below is a quick trip report of the Gran Canaria leg I completed earlier this year in March 2026:

• Public Transport - Buses on the island is reliable, cheap and all accept card. But make sure to download the official GuaguasGLOBAL app to access the most up to date timetable and schedule. Google maps get’s you close but does have up to the minute updates.

• Camping Gas - I couldn’t find any screw top gas canisters in Las Palmas itself. I had to catch a bus out to Tamaraceite and get the camping gas at Decathlon. The return journey took about 2 hours for me as the schedule didn’t really line up.

• Water - Similarly to Fuerteventura, you’ll be relying on shops and restaurants for water as the island is quite dry in the summer months and tap water comes from desalinating sea water which can upset sensitive stomaches. Bring a water filter too as Gran Canaria is not as dry as Fuerteventure which provides more water sources.

• Campsites - There were very few people at the official campsites. I was alone at Llanos de la Pez and there was only 1 other person at Llanos de la Mimbre (Tamadaba). Keep in mind that booking your space as a foreigner can be quite the process. I put together this short guide of what is involved.

• Weather - I was quite unlucky that it rained every day I was there. The weather is also very region specific; it will be fine along the coast (especially in the south) but completely miserable in the mountains at the center of the island.

• Food - The route takes you through at least one town a day which makes getting food easy. There are plenty of nice restaurants open and lots of little supermakets to restock on supplies.

• Cash - Most places accepts card. I only spent about 20 EUR in cash for my entire thru-hike of Gran Canaria.

• Road walking - The first day from Maspalomas to San Bartolomé de Tirajana (locally known as Tunte) was terrible. 70% of the day was road walking along windy mountain road where I did not feel safe at all. If I had to do this again, I would skip this leg and simply start at Tunte.

• Phone Reception - Reception was great. The only where reception was near the campsite in Tamadaba Natural Park.

• People - Expect to have the trail to yourself as there are very few people walking the GR131. During my time, I met about 6 others and most of them were going in the opposite direction.

• Trail - The trail from day 2 to 4 was amazing. You cover lots of elevation providing stunning views with changing terrain from rocky mountains to lush forests. I just wish I had better weather as my views were obscured about 80% of the time 😅.

I put all my planning notes and lessons learnt on this page: https://www.chalkypeaks.com/gr131-gran-canaria-maspalomas-to-puerto-de-las-nieves-4-days

Trip Report - GR131 - Hiking and camping in Fuerteventura in February 2026

In late 2025, I started looking for warmer destinations when things were starting to get cold in London 🥶. After a bit of research, I found out about the amazing GR131 trail which crosses all of the Canary Islands. Considering flights were very cheap (50-60 GBP excluding luggage), it made it a no brainer.

Below is a quick trip report of the Fuerteventura leg I completed earlier this year in February/March 2026:

• ✈️ Airport Transfers - The prebook shuttle from the airport to Corralejo was very handy but does wait around at the airport for quite a bit. The trip time may also take longer than expected as it makes multiple stops to drop everyone off. So if you’re the last person like I was, it can take an extra 45min on top of getting into Corralejo.

• 🔥 Camping Gas - I could not get a screw top gas canister. A lot of hardware stores sold the puncture types which were massive and not really suitable for backpackers. After quite a bit of looking, I managed to find a gas canister with easy-clic connection at a spar supermarket. I was lucky enough that I had an easy-clic to screw thread adapter.

• 💧Water - You’ll be relying on shops and restaurants for water as the island is very dry and you won’t find many natural water sources. The locals recommend that you only drink bottle water. Tap water is safe to drink, but as it comes from desalinating sea water, it can have a funny taste and may upset sensitive stomaches.

• 💨 Wind - Wind can be a pain. Definitely, strap everything up unless you feel like playing tag with your gear.

• 🍕Food - Food was very easy to get along the trail. Each day you pass through at least one town where you can get something to eat and restock on supplies.

• 💶 Card and Cash - Many shops and restaurants accept card. The only spots which required cash are the small traditional Spanish style bars. Having about 50-100 EUR should be more than enough.

• 🚖 Emergency Transport - Ride sharing services such as Uber and Bolt are not available on the island.

• 📱Phone Reception - Reception was quite good along the trail. The only place where reception was not the greatest was between Pájara and La Pared. However, in saying that, please ensure that you have offline navigation available.

• 🌲 Scenery - In general, the atmosphere was amazing and the scenery was surreal. Although, it doesn’t have the dramatic sights of places like the Alps or the green grasslands of the UK, Fuerteventura has its own vibes.

• 🛣️ Road Walking - There are sections which required bit of road walking with the worst being the trail leading into La Pared where I was questioning life choices.

• ⛴️ Ferries - It might be silly but one of the highlights was catching a ferry from Fuerteventura over to Gran Canaria to continue the hike.

I put all my planning notes and lessons learnt on this page: https://www.chalkypeaks.com/gr131-fuerteventura-corralejo-to-morro-jable-6-days

Trip Report - GR1 - Hiking and Camping the Madeira Crossing in May 2026

Hi All,

Thought I share my experience with hiking the GR1 - Madeira Crossing (West to East) which might help your owns trips.

I starting planning the trip late last year basing the route off the MIUT (ultra marathon). Coincidentally, in early 2026, the GR1 - Madeira Crossing was made official which just so happens to overlap with of what I was hoping to do. One major setback was that they changed the rules where now the PR1 can only be walked in 1 direction (south to north), which of course, does not in my favour. Below are some tips, tricks and observations:

• Keen GR1 hikers should definitely based their trip around getting tickets to the PR1 and do it from East to West.

• Campsites can be booked 3 months in advance. It is how I managed to secure lucrative spots such Fanal and Ponta de Sao Lourenco.

• Camping permits were never checked at any campsite.

• The number of people at each campsite when I stayed including myself: Fanal (1), Bica da Cana (3), Chão dos Louros (5), Pico das Pedras (3), Chão das Feiteiras (6), Ponta de São Lourenço (3).

• I booked all the trails 2 weeks in advanced. The only ones which had limited spots were for PR 6 - Levada das 25 Fontes and PR 8 - Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço. All others had plenty of availability at all timeslots.

• I was only checked once for my access permits to the trail. This was around Pico Ruivo by a Forestry Guard who was going to lock up the PR1 gates.

• I didn't do the PR1 :(

• PR 1.3 - Vereda da Encumeada is closed. To get around this, I took a bus from Encumeada to Sao Vincente (2 EUR) and restocked on supplies. From Sao Vincente, I tool a Bolt to Ilha (20 EUR) and walked up PR1.1 towards Pico Ruivo.

• PR 10 - Levada do Furado is closed. I hiked an alternative path via the various campsites in the south and then headed towards Mount Suna.

• Weather was terrible. I was on the trail for a total of 7 days, 5 of which was just rain. Trails were extremely muddy and the west most tunnel on PR 17 - Caminho do Pináculo e Folhadal was flooded in sections up until the ankles. Hint, just get your shoes wet and plough on through.

• Ride sharing services like Bolt and Uber are great to help bridge some of the gaps. They are super reliable during the day and generally, wait times is only about 10-15 minutes. However, at night, it is a different story. Unless you're a big fare (like from Achada do Teixeira or the airport to Funchal), drivers won't take the job.

• Google map is not accurate. I found that using RomeToRio more reliable but do cross reference this with the official timetables on the SIGA website.

I put all my planning notes and lessons learnt on this page: https://www.chalkypeaks.com/gr1-madeira-crossing-porto-moniz-to-canical