Gran Canaria is an island famed for its beautiful beaches and crystal clear waters. However, there is a hidden world of exotic festivities and colourful celebrations that most tourists remain unaware of. If you can drag yourself away from the idyllic coastline and head inland for a day or two then you can get in touch with a vibrant local culture that has stayed intact for hundreds of years.

The Gran Canaria calendar is dotted with fiestas, most of which are associated with the local patron saints. The inhabitants of the Canary Islands are deeply devoted to tradition, and some of the fiestas can be dated back to before the original Guanche population were colonised by the Spanish in the 15th century. These feast days are normally celebrated with large processions and fancy-dress parades, and it says a lot about the fun-loving nature of the locals that some of the festivities can last for weeks.

During the festival of Corpus Christi on June 3rd, the people show their devotion by decorating the streets of Las Palmas with a carpet of flowers, grasses and coloured sand. The result is a beautifully surreal pathway that marks out the route of the religious procession around the cathedral. A few weeks later in mid-July all of the ports on the island honour the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of fishermen, with the Fiesta del Carmen. Celebrations can last up to a week and climax with statues of the Virgin Mary being taken out to sea in decorated boats.

The oldest fiesta in the island's calendar is Baja de la Rama. This colourful festival has its origins in the Guanches' traditional rain dance, and is held in Agaete and Puerto de las Nieves. If you manage to make it to either of these areas on August 4th then you can expect to see the unusual sight of villagers carrying pine branches from the mountains down to the sea and hitting the waves with them in an effort to bring rain.

As well as traditional fancy dress processions, the fiestas offer a range of other activities, from folklore performances and sporting events to 'lucha canaria wrestling' and stick fighting. Flythomascook run flights to Gran Canaria throughout the summer months, so you can guarantee that whenever you arrive there will be a fiesta nearby. In fact, with so much on offer you might find you forget to make it to the beach at all.