Many Roque Nublo guides written before 2025 tell you the same thing: drive to the car park at Degollada de La Goleta, walk about 1.5km up, done. That car park is now closed to private vehicles, and since 3 February 2025 the trail from La Goleta needs a free, timed reservation for most of the day. Turn up in the middle of the day on the old instructions and you will not get in.
The walk itself has not changed, and it is still one of the best short hikes in the Canaries. Bookings are made at reservasroquenublo.com, capped at 60 people per hour, and you now reach the trailhead by parking in Tejeda or at Cruz de los Llanos and taking the Global line 18 shuttle bus or walking in.
From Palmas: Pico de las Nieves & Roque Nublo Full-Day Trip
A 7.5-hour guided day from Las Palmas to the island's high interior, with no car, parking or shuttle timetable to organise. Not available from the southern resorts.
- Bandama crater, Pico de las Nieves, Roque Nublo, Cruz de Tejeda and Teror
- Live guide in English and Spanish
- Pickup at named Las Palmas hotels and landmarks, about 09:10–09:45
- Lunch not listed as included
Total price from
€48
Includes taxes and fees
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The parking you have read about is gone
The roadside car park at Degollada de La Goleta is closed to private vehicles, with spaces there kept for people holding reduced-mobility permits. If a guide mentions arriving early to beat the queue for spaces at the trailhead, it is describing a car park that no longer takes your car.
In its place are two official car parks, both small:
- Tejeda village centre: around 30 spaces, about 30 minutes to the trailhead on the shuttle
- Cruz de los Llanos: around 10 spaces, about 10 minutes on the shuttle
Global line 18 runs the shuttle every 30 minutes between 09:30 and 18:00, skipping the 10:00, 12:00, 14:30 and 16:00 departures, at normal public transport fares. Those gaps matter when you are fitting a bus to a booked slot.
The alternative is walking. From Cruz de los Llanos it is about 3.7km, roughly an hour, to the access control at La Goleta, and then the regulated trail up to the rock begins. That turns a short walk into a proper morning.
How does the Roque Nublo reservation work?
The booking is free and quick. On reservasroquenublo.com you choose a date, a one-hour time slot and the number of people, up to five per booking. A QR code arrives by email and is scanned at the access control at Degollada de La Goleta.
A reservation is needed between 09:00 and 17:00, according to 2026 reports from La Provincia, CITA and local hiking guides. The Cabildo de Gran Canaria's own access page still gives the regulated window as 10:00 to 17:00. If you will reach the gate between 09:00 and 10:00, book anyway: it costs nothing.
Outside the regulated hours, access from La Goleta is free without a booking. That makes sunrise the obvious workaround, provided you pass the access point before the regulated window opens. The catch is that line 18 does not start until 09:30, so an early start means walking in from Cruz de los Llanos or Tejeda.
The rule applies only to the La Goleta access. Walkers arriving on other trails, such as the route from La Culata, do not need a reservation, according to the Cabildo.
How long is the Roque Nublo walk?
Sources genuinely disagree, and the gap is too big to average away.
| Source view | Return distance | Climb | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most guides | ~3–3.75km | ~180–250m | ~1–1.5h |
| One 2026 guide | ~5.5km | ~300m | ~2–2.5h |
The shorter figure matches the signposted 1.5km each way from La Goleta on the regulated trail. Whichever you believe, add the new approach: the shuttle ride, or an hour on foot each way from Cruz de los Llanos.
The trail is rated easy to moderate and well maintained, and most reasonably fit adults and children of about 8 and over manage it comfortably. It is still a mountain path at altitude, so wear proper shoes, carry water and a layer, and check the weather before you drive up.
Should you take the guided tour instead?
For one group of visitors, yes. The "From Palmas: Pico de las Nieves & Roque Nublo Full-Day Trip" on GetYourGuide is a 7.5-hour guided day with an English- and Spanish-speaking guide, starting and finishing in Las Palmas. It removes the car, the parking and the shuttle timetable from the equation.
The route, as the listing describes it:
- Bandama crater
- Pico de las Nieves, the island's highest point
- Roque Nublo
- Cruz de Tejeda, with a tasting of local cheese, honey and fruit
- Teror, the village and its basilica, before the return to Las Palmas
Pickup is from Las Palmas only, at named hotels and landmarks between about 09:10 and 09:45. It is not available from Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés or the other southern resorts, so if you are staying in the south this is not your tour. Lunch is not listed as included in the base price.
It is priced at around €48 per person, highly rated across more than a thousand reviews, though the price you see varies by the currency and region your booking page shows. We could not confirm how long the group spends walking at Roque Nublo, so check the itinerary detail on the listing if the hike itself is the point.
Book it if you are based in Las Palmas without a car and want the island's high interior in one day. Skip it if you are in the south, or if a slow hour at the rock matters more to you than covering five stops. The capital itself is covered in our things to do in Las Palmas guide.
Staying in the south instead? Our Gran Canaria volcano sunset tour guide covers a similar full day with pickup from Mogán through to Las Palmas.
Can you combine Roque Nublo with Pico de las Nieves?
Easily, and most self-drive visitors should. Pico de las Nieves is Gran Canaria's highest point at 1,956m, and it is a short drive from the Roque Nublo area: sources give anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes, depending on where you start.
As a base-to-summit guide, Pico de las Nieves is about 45 minutes' drive from Maspalomas and about 60 minutes from Las Palmas, and access to the summit area is free at any hour. Our Gran Canaria car hire guide is worth reading before you take on the climb from the coast.
Walkers can link the two on foot instead. A loop of about 4.2km from Llanos de la Pez via Pico de las Nieves to Roque Nublo takes around two hours, and it avoids depending on the shuttle.
When is the best time to go?
Early morning or late afternoon, on every source's advice, for softer light, cooler air and a better chance of the famous mar de nubes, the sea of cloud that fills the valleys below the summits. Early starts also fall outside the regulated booking hours.
After dark is its own reason to come back up. Our Gran Canaria stargazing tour guide covers the same summit area once the sun is gone.
On the season, sources disagree. One places the sea of cloud mainly between May and October; another says it is most common in the cooler months, particularly after rain or when the coast and mountains are far apart in temperature. Treat it as a possibility in any month rather than a promise in one.
For stargazing, Pico de las Nieves on a new-moon night between March and September is the usual first recommendation on the island.
Did the 2019 fire damage the trail?
The August 2019 wildfires burned about 3,510 hectares of the 26,000-hectare Nublo Rural Park, around 13.5% of it.
A local walking-guide author reports green regrowth on previously blackened trees, and describes the hiking paths seen on that visit as in good condition. We could not find any source that assesses the current condition of the La Goleta to Roque Nublo path specifically, so we are not going to tell you it has fully recovered. The trail is open and regulated, which is the practical answer.
If you are choosing where to stay with day trips like this in mind, our where to stay in Gran Canaria guide compares the island's bases, including how each works with or without a car. For seeing the interior without doing the driving, the Gran Canaria jeep safari runs from the southern resorts.
FAQ – hiking Roque Nublo
Featured image: El Coleccionista de Instantes Fotografía & Video / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0
