From March 2025, UK tourists visiting Gran Canaria will face stricter rules. Those wishing to visit Roque Nublo, the island’s natural monument and emblem, will need to book in advance online.
This new system is being introduced by the Cabildo to protect the area, which attracts around 1,500 visitors daily. The move aims to control crowds, safeguard the environment, and ensure a high-quality tourist experience.
The Department of the Environment for the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, in collaboration with Public Works and Mobility, is behind this initiative. It seeks to reduce traffic and manage visitor numbers to this popular attraction.
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The reservation system will be operational from January 15th, allowing tourists to plan their visits during peak hours, between 9am and 5pm. Each hour will see a limit of 60 individual entries, with each person allowed to makeup to five bookings.
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, reports Birmingham Live.
Active tourism companies are permitted groups of 30 people every two hours, provided they have a valid license number.
Locals living in Tejeda and Artenara can visit the site by showing a valid form of ID or proof of residency. Meanwhile, hikers arriving via nearby trails do not need to book in advance.
The level of rubbish at Roque Nublo was found to be alarmingly high in May, according to Maspalomas 24h. The island’s Environment Minister, Raúl García Brink, slammed some visitors for their “lack of civility”, accusing them of having “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”.