Moya is a dramatic little cliff-top town in the green north of Gran Canaria, famous for its cheeses, its buttery sponge cakes and the ancient laurel forest that clings to the ravine below. Whitewashed houses cluster on the edge of a deep barranco, a big church stands guard over the gorge, and all around lies the lush, cloud-fed countryside that makes this side of the island feel a world apart from the southern beaches. It's a rewarding stop for anyone who wants scenery, good food and a genuine taste of local life.
Set high on the fertile northern flank of Gran Canaria, Moya is a proper working town where farming, forest and tradition still shape daily life. Come for the views, stay for the cheese and cakes, and you'll leave with a much fuller picture of the island.
What it's like
Moya's setting is its calling card. The old centre perches on the rim of a plunging ravine, so that from the terrace beside the church you look straight down into a green gorge and out towards distant hills and sea. The town itself is compact and neat — narrow lanes, a handsome twin-towered church, small shops and cafés — and noticeably cooler and greener than the coast, thanks to the trade winds and low cloud that keep this side of the island lush.
The mood is unhurried and local. There's no resort infrastructure here; instead you get bakeries, cheese shops, a farmers' feel and the sense of a town proud of its produce. It's the kind of place where a coffee on the square and a slow wander tell you more about the real Canaries than any beachfront ever could.
Photo: Gerda Arendt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · scaled
What to see and do
The great natural draw is the Los Tilos de Moya, a precious remnant of the ancient laurel forest (laurisilva) that once cloaked much of the north. These evergreen woods of laurel and other subtropical trees are a living link to the islands' distant past and a protected nature reserve; short walking trails and boardwalks let you explore the cool, mossy, fern-filled world below the town. Our guide to the laurel forests explains why these woods are so special across the archipelago.
In town, step into the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria on its cliff-edge perch, seek out the small house-museum of the Canarian poet Tomás Morales, and above all browse the shops for local food. Moya is a fine base for walking in the green north — bring layers, as the weather here is cooler and cloudier than the sunny south.
Time your visit to buy fresh from a bakery or cheese shop — the town's sponge cakes and cheeses are best enjoyed the day you buy them, and make a perfect picnic to take into the laurel woods.
Where to stay and eat
Moya is a day-trip and rural-escape town rather than a holiday resort. Accommodation is limited to a few guesthouses and casas rurales (country cottages) in the surrounding hills, ideal for walkers and travellers seeking peace and green scenery. Most visitors are based on the coast; our where to stay guide weighs up the island's options.
Food is the reason many people come. Moya is celebrated for its bizcochos — light, dry sponge biscuits perfect for dunking in coffee — and above all for its cheeses, produced in the surrounding countryside from the milk of local herds. The northern hills are prime dairy country, and Moya's fresh and cured cheeses are prized across the island; read more in our guide to Canary cheese. Simple local restaurants serve hearty highland cooking — stews, grilled meats and papas arrugadas with mojo — the honest island fare covered in our Canarian food guide.
Getting there and around
Moya sits in the hills a short drive inland from the north coast, around 40 minutes from the capital, Las Palmas, and roughly an hour and a half from the southern resorts on winding mountain roads. A hire car is the best way to reach it and to link it with other northern towns — see our guides to car hire and getting around. Buses (guaguas) connect Moya with Las Palmas, but a car makes the forest and the wider green north far easier to explore.
Nearby
Moya pairs naturally with its neighbour Firgas, the mineral-water town with its famous water staircase, just a few minutes away along the hills. The green north also holds the pilgrimage town of Teror and stretches of dramatic coastline with volcanic bathing pools, while the roads climbing south lead towards the central peaks and the mountain village of Tejeda. Start with our Gran Canaria hub to build a day around the lush, less-visited side of the island.