The dunes of Maspalomas are one of the hotspots you must visit when you are in Gran Canaria. The dunes are located on the southwest coast of the island and are a protected nature reserve since 1987.

A lot of people think that the sand was imported from the Sahara but this is not the case. The dunes have formed naturally over the years, starting during the last ice age, when the Atlantic Ocean was laid dry and the wind blew the sand towards the coast of the island. Due to the wind, the dunes are still ever changing but always beautiful to look at!

Visiting the Dunes from Las Palmas is easy! Take bus 30 (direction Faro de Maspalomas) and get off at busstop Av. de Tirajana, 14. Plaza Agaete. From there it’s a five minute walk to the Hotel Riu Palace Maspalomas from where you can enter the dunes.

Things to keep in mind when you are reaching the ocean; first of all, there is a nudist beach (there are signs on the beach telling you you are entering the nudist beach). But the dunes are also known for couples and groups of people hooking up. If you don’t want to walk into people having sex in the dunes, turn aroud when you enter the nudist beach.

Important: before COVID the dunes were free to access for everyone. When the pandemic hit in March 2020 and Spain went in to a very strict lockdown, no one entered the dunes for around 2,5 months. In those 2,5 months that the Dunes were untouched, they were higher and more beautiful than ever. It’s then that the government decided they should protect the dunes better and restricted access to the dunes. You are only allowed to walk through the dunes over the designated paths.