Maspalomas Dunes

The Maspalomas dunes cover about four square kilometres between the resorts of Playa del Ingles and Maspalomas, a field of pale sand blown into moving crescent dunes that shift measurably from year to year, with a brackish lagoon, La Charca, and a palm grove at the western end below a lighthouse of 1889. The sand is marine in origin, from shell and coral fragments, not blown from the Sahara as often claimed. It was made a nature reserve in 1987 after decades of resort building had taken parts of it, and it is under pressure: the dune volume has been declining, sand is trapped by hotels blocking the wind, and marked routes now restrict where visitors may walk. The lagoon holds migrating birds.

What you actually see

• The moving dunes - crescent forms that shift position year to year.
• La Charca - a brackish lagoon with migrating birds at the western end.
• The 1889 lighthouse - a tower marking the southern point.
• The palm grove - an oasis-like stand behind the lagoon.

When to go

Year-round; southern Gran Canaria is dry and warm in all seasons. Early morning and late afternoon give the best light and the coolest walking, since there is no shade at all in the dune field.

Honest expectations

Walking is restricted to marked routes to protect the dunes, and the reserve is enclosed by resort development on three sides, which is visible throughout. Sand surfaces reach extreme temperatures at midday. The dune system is shrinking.

Nearby

Playa del Ingles adjoins to the east; Puerto de Mogan lies west along the coast.