Gran Canaria Beaches: Tiny Tufia

Tufia beach and hamlet in east Gran Canaria Tufia beach and hamlet in east Gran Canaria

Tufia hamlet is famous for it's existential battle against the Spanish government. Its beach, tiny as it is, is the headquarters of resistance.

Little more than a cluster of whitewashed houses by the sea, Tufia is far more shabby than chic and only has a chiringuito bar during the summer. However, it's become a battleground between the Spanish government and residents.

Built without permission in the 1960s in an area that is now a nature reserve, almost all of Tufia's 90 houses are scheduled for demolition. The locals are fighting to protect their seaside homes and have even arranged international art festivals to publicise their fight. It'll take a brave politician to send in the bulldozers as Tufia is a cause celebré amongst Gran Canaria's alternative crowd.

Alex Says: Tufia has now been spared although the front row of houses will have to be moved. Read that story here.

Tufia's history goes back a lot further than the Sixties. Up on the bluff above the modern hamlet is a Canarii lookout point / fort dating back to pre-Hispanic days. The Tufia headland was strategic as it gave the Canarii the best view of the whole east coast in the days of slave raiding and conquests.  

Tufia beach is a scrap of volcanic sand that's mostly underwater at high tide.  However, it's sheltered by east coast standards and is a charming place for a picnic (bring everything because you never know when the chiringuito man will open). The snorkelling just offshore is amongst the best in Gran Canaria. 

Get to Tufia by taking the El Goro turnoff on the GC1 motorway and following the road through the dunes to the coast. Park at the top of the hamlet and walk down through the houses (you can't get lost) to the beach. Or walk north and down to Aguadulce beach; it's the east coat's prettiest but is almost always too windy to use.

Instead of facilities, Tufia has oodles of free charm. 

 

Additional Info

  • Lifeguard: No
  • Calm water: Yes
  • You're sitting on: Sand
  • Sand colour: Volcanic black
  • Looks best at: Sunrise
  • Nudist: No
  • Hippy rating: 6
  • Lat/Long: 27.962564, -15.379825
Start from: Get directions Show Street View

Join the Gran Canaria Info newsletter list

endanlfifrdeisitnoplptruessv

Beaches

We're loading the markers, please wait a few seconds…

Click on a beach, then click on the title for the beach's own page right on this website.

 

 

Follow us on Facebook

Tip of the day

  • The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!
    The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!

    If there is one thing we hate it is visitors being tricked in Gran Canaria. In the past we've warned about overcharging at Gran Canaria chemists, and rip off electronics shops in resorts. 

    In this Tip Of The Day we return to the island's chemists or rather, to the island's fake chemists.

    A chemist in Gran Canaria is called a Farmacia and always has a green cross sign. Farmacias are the only place tobuy medicine in Spain, even basics like paracetamol.

    However, there is another kind of shop in Gran Canaria that looks and sounds like a chemist but doesn't sell medicine. This is the Parafarmacia and it also uses a green cross sign.

    A parafarmacia is a herbal medicine shop that is not allowed to sell any normal medicine such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or antibiotics. 

    Instead, parafarmacias sell herbal alternatives to medicine but don't have to prove that they work and they can charge whatever they want.

    We recently heard from a visitor to Gran Canaria who went into a parafarmacia and was charged 40 euros for a herbal alternative to Ibuprofen. It was only when they read the label that they realised what had happened. 

    To locate a genuine farmacia, see this website and search within your municipio (Puerto Rico is in Mogán, Playa del Inglés is in San Bartolomé de Tirajana). At weekends and on fiesta days many farmacias close but there is always one open, known as the farmacia de guardia, in each municipio.

    Search for the nearest one to you with this tool

    Lex Says: To keep costs down, see this article for the way to ask for generic medicine rather than expensive branded alternatives. 

Latest articles

Who's Online

We have 4023 guests and no members online

Login / Register

Take this website to the max, login or create an account now! By clicking on any Social Media platform logo, you can login with just one click.