Gran Canaria is recognized in the world for being a paradise in the Atlantic Ocean, offering some of the best weathers available with temperatures that never reach extremes, a coastal region like no other and landscapes where modern and traditional architecture is combined with incredible mountains and dunes. Gran Canaria is definitely a destination to take into account for sure. 

Now, as a tourist destination, Gran Canaria involves many places to visit and different locations in the island, there are other interesting things to know about it in terms of culture, social behavior, history and more. Here are a few curiosities about the island of Gran Canaria that are worth knowing and might actually be useful at the time of visiting it.

Some of the best weather in the world 

Probably something that is repeated quite a lot regarding Gran Canaria as a cliché is that the island has some of the best weather in the world. Actually, this statement is truly valid and not only a marketing tactic. 

You see, according to studies the climate conditions in the island are ideal due to several reasons: the archipelago and specifically Gran Canaria is nearby the Tropic of Cancer in Atlantic waters, which along with the eternal draft of trade winds decrease temperature and more importantly, keep Sahara´s temperature away. It should not be forgotten that Gran Canaria is actually in African “soil” or “water” if you will. Temperatures don’t reach over 22 degrees Celsius on average.

The perfect island for pirates, apparently

Due to its strategic location, also because of the weather and for other reasons, Gran Canaria is an island that has been attacked by pirates in the past, not only once or twice, but on several occasions. This has had a bigger impact than it seems at first glance. 

For example, on Gran Canaria there are plenty of fortresses, castles and walls designed to stop pirates and intruders that tried to invade the island in previous centuries. In 1585, Sir Francis Drake tried to enter and conquer Gran Canaria, but he failed his attempt. Van der Does, a Dutch pirate tried again in 1599 but he failed as well. Canarians are proud people who you do not want to mess with. 

Gran Canaria as a historic golf island 

For golf fans, Gran Canaria is one of the most emblematic places in the world, not only because it has plenty of golf courses and a large culture around this sport, but also due to the history behind this feature of the region. 

For instance, Gran Canaria was the first place in which an open golf course was built in Spain, inaugurated for the first time in 1891 by English visitors and residents that lived in the island at that time. 

More than 60 years later, in 1951, the golf course was expanded and moved to the bottom of the volcanic mountain called Caldera de Bandama. This volcanic elevation reaches up to 700 meters on its highest point, providing an amazing view from the golf course while players try to complete the eighteen holes. 

The largest botanical garden of Spain 

The island of Gran Canaria is home to the largest botanic garden in Spain, so for people interested in this matter there is no better place to go in Europe. Jardín Botánico El Viera y Clavijo is the home of different sorts of exotic plants that can be studied and seen by the audience. 

Since the garden is also a scientific and study center of plants and distinctive types of species, nowadays this place has the biggest collection of endemic and naturally originated plants of the island and other regions of the Canary Islands and Macaronesia as a whole. 

Nonetheless, while the nature of the Viera y Clavijo Botanic Garden has a scientific and study approach, it is also a tourist location that is ideal for bringing kids over. For example, it is surrounded by protected natural spaces like La Isleta or Jinamar, which are very interesting since at these places there are endemic sorts of vegetation that grow only there, like the Lotus Kunkelii.