Scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) techniques are used in combination to study the surface structure of GaTe cleavages. Two different structures, hexagonal one on macroscale and monoclinic one randomly distributed on nanoscale, are identified on the crystal cleavage surface. The hexagonal unit cell parameters, $a = b \cong 4.08 Å$, $c \cong 16 Å$, determined by STM are in a good agreement with the bulk ones and, besides, with planar parameters $a$, $b$ obtained using LEED. The monoclinic unit cell parameters, $a \cong 24 Å$, $b \cong 4 Å$, $c \cong 10 Å$, are consistent with ones of the known monoclinic modifications. LEED and STS data indicate that the GaTe surface is not flat, but is characterized by a well-developed staircase structure formed by cleavage. As concluded, the possibility of partial on nanoscale reconstruction of base hexagonal structure to the monoclinic one is directly related to the number of surface defects such as loosely arranged steps of one single Te—Ga—Ga—Te packet height.