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What I didn’t expect when I booked four days in Spain’s biggest holiday resort was to have 250 hectares of rolling, deserted sand dunes on my doorstep. The dunes of Maspalomas in Gran Canaria stretch for six kilometres, linking Playa del Ingles with Maspalomas beach.

I’m staying with my 11-year-old son at the five-star Riu Grand Palace Maspalomas Oasis. The hotel backs onto the beach and seems like a real oasis with its extensive tropical gardens – more than 2,000 palm trees – and huge blue pool. The upper rooms overlook the sea and the ever-shifting dunes, a different view each morning.

Two kilometres away, in Playa del Ingles proper, are the tower blocks that house the millions of tourists who congregate here to enjoy the constant sunshine. Winter temperatures average 18 degrees C and it doesn’t go much over 24 degrees in summer. Hard to believe that if you sailed 200 kms east you’d find yourself in the harsh, life-threatening extremes of the Sahara desert.

Another surprise – the mountains in the north are covered in mist and the air is as damp and chilly as Ireland. Slightly queasy from the steep, hairpin bends and deep ravines, we look out from the highest viewing spot to snow-capped Tenerife. The sunny southern beaches, sheltered by the central mountain range, seem a world away.

The different climates and variety of landscapes make Gran Canaria something of a mini-continent and it is protected by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve. Nearly half of the island is protected space with strict limits on building. Ancient tracks link tiny villages, upgraded to offer wonderful trekking and walking opportunities. From remote country cottages and hotels, such as the Aldiana Mirador, you can wake up to a wild, rugged vista of forests and ravines.

Yet 70pc of the industry of the Canaries is based here and the capital, Las Palmas, is as developed a town as you could image. From Western Sahara and Mauritania, where running water is still a marvel, immigrants risk their lives trying to cross in small boats for a piece of this EU pie. Those that make it are immediately deported to mainland Spain, 1,300 kms away. You’d be hard pressed to spot a black face in Gran Canaria.

Legal immigrants include Roumanians, whose language is so close to Spanish they become fluent within a few months. Known for being cosmopolitan and open-minded – they welcome gay tourists and have over 30 nudist beaches - the Canarios are nonetheless perturbed by the Eastern European influx, believing their jobs are at risk.

A sense of their own identity, closer to Cuban than Spanish, has been encouraged by the opening of an archaeological site in Galdar, near the northern coast. Village houses and the Cueva Pintada, a painted cave from pre-Hispanic times, are the centrepieces of an imaginative state-of-the-art museum. Local artisans incorporate the unearthed ancient designs into their craftwork, sold at shops displaying the Fedac symbol (Foundation for Ethnography and Canarian Artisans). You’ll find souvenirs here that are a cut above the beachside tourist tack and profits go direct to the artists. The church, main square and town hall at Galdar are also worth a look, and if you visit on a Thursday morning you’ll catch the weekly market.

In Las Palmas you can explore Gran Canaria’s close ties with north and south America at Casa de Colon, the Columbus Museum. The Canary Islands were a vital stopping-off and trading post on the voyages of discovery. Las Palmas itself was the first city to be built by Europeans outside Europe and became the blueprint for towns all over the Americas. Standing in the palm-lined square in front of the cathedral, you could be in Havana.

For all the cultural and culinary influences blown in with the trade winds, the favourite dish of ‘los Canarios’ is the humble potato. ‘Papas arrugadas’ (wrinkled potatoes) are boiled in their skins and seved with ‘mojo picon’, a spicy paprika sauce. A good place to enjoy them, popular with locals, is La Marinera on Las Palmas beach.

Aguimes on the east of the island is a traditional Canarian town, restored around its old church and quiet square. Nearby are some of the best preserved cave homes in the protected area of the Guayadeque ravine, where even the church has been built into the hillside, and visitors can eat in cave restaurants.

Back towards Maspalomas, we called in at Palmitos zoological and botanical park, one of several theme parks on the island aimed at tourists with children. The park is in a spectacular setting, with a Wild West feel about it. We got lost among the giant cacti, orchids, and exotic plants. Parrot shows and bird of prey displays have a more ambivalent attraction, as do the many fantastically coloured tropical birds in cages.

And finally back to the pool, where my son happily dons goggles and flippers and I make for the poolside spa and a back massage. Easy to see why 11m tourists a year visit the island – hotel standards are high and the beaches magnificent. But there’s a lot more to Gran Canaria. The island is compact and, winding roads notwithstanding, even a one-day tour opens up its diversity.

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