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INTRODUCTION

Several routes start or finish near the church in Valverde (Walk 28–31)

A view of the rugged coastline after climbing high above Santa Catalina (Walk 25)

The seven sub-tropical Canary Islands bask in sunny splendour off the Atlantic coast of north-west Africa. Millions of sun-starved north Europeans flock there for beach holidays, but increasingly visitors are discovering the amazing variety of landscapes throughout the archipelago. Conditions range from semi-deserts to perpetually moist laurisilva ‘cloud forests’, from rugged cliff coasts to high mountains, from fertile cultivation terraces to awesome rocky barrancos carved deep into multi-coloured layers of volcanic bedrock. Some areas are given the highest possible protection as national parks, but there are many more types of protected landscapes, rural parks, natural monuments and nature reserves.

More and more walkers are finding their feet, exploring the Canary Islands using centuries-old mule tracks, rugged cliff paths and forest trails. Paths pick their way between cultivation terraces, squeeze between houses and make their way to rugged coves and hidden beaches. Some paths run from village to village, following old mule tracks once used to transport goods, while other paths are based on pilgrim trails to and from remote churches and ermitas. Many have been cleared, repaired, signposted and waymarked in recent years, ready to be explored and enjoyed.

This guidebook explores the waymarked trail networks on the islands of La Gomera and El Hierro. Despite their small size, they boast routes of all types – from easy strolls to hands-on scrambling, from simple day-walks to long-distance trails. As these routes are fully signposted and waymarked, walkers can follow them with confidence and enjoy the islands to the full. Over 700km (435 miles) of trails are described in this guidebook.

Location

The Canary Islands are more or less enclosed in a rectangular area from 13°30′’W to 18°00′’W and 27°30′’N to 29°30′’N. As a group, they stretch west to east over 450km (280 miles). Although administered by Spain, the mother country is 1100km (685 miles) away. The narrowest strait between the Canary Islands and Africa is a mere 110km (70 miles). The total land area is almost 7500km (2900 square miles), but the sea they occupy is ten times that size.

Geology

Most of the world’s volcanic landscapes are formed where huge continental or oceanic ‘plates’ collide with each other. When continental plates collide, the Earth’s crust crumples upwards to form mountains, and when plates are torn apart, basaltic rock from deep within the Earth’s mantle erupts to form mountains. The Canary Islands, however, are different, and have a complicated geological history.

The African landmass is the visible part of a continental plate that extends into the Atlantic Ocean, but the Canary Islands lie within the oceanic crust of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, close to the passive junction with the African continental plate. It is thought that the islands now lie directly above a hot-spot, or mantle plume, some 2500km (1550 miles) deep within the Earth. The mantle plume is fixed, but the oceanic and African plates are drifting very slowly eastwards. Every so often a split in the oceanic crust opens above the mantle plume, allowing molten rock to vent onto the ocean floor. As more and more material erupts, it piles higher and higher until it rises from the sea. Each of the Canary Islands was formed this way.

Lanzarote and Fuerteventura were the first Canary Islands to form, and were subsequently pulled eastwards. The next time a rift opened over the mantle plume the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife were formed, and these were in turn pulled eastwards. A further oceanic rift led to the formation of La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro. Looking forward in geological time more islands will appear as other rifts are torn open in the future.

The forces at work deep within the Earth can scarcely be imagined. Every single piece of rock throughout the Canary Islands once existed in a molten state. Consider the energy needed to melt one small stone, and multiply that to imagine the energy required to melt everything in the island chain, as well as the immense amount of rock beneath the sea that supports them all!

El Teide on Tenerife is often seen above the clouds from La Gomera and El Hierro

Over time huge amounts of volcanic material were piled high, but erosion has led to great instability. During recent geological time vast chunks of the islands have collapsed into the sea, creating features such as El Golfo on El Hierro, the Caldeira de Taburiente on La Palma, and the Orotava valley on Tenerife. With each catastrophic collapse, tsunamis devastated places around the Atlantic Ocean. Geologists predict that similar collapses could occur in the future on the Cumbre Nueva on La Palma or the north face of El Teide on Tenerife.

Wildlife

Plants and flowers

While the northern hemisphere was in the grip of an Ice Age, the Canary Islands were sluiced by rainstorms, with powerful rivers carving deep, steep-sided barrancos into unstable layers of ash and lava. As the landmasses emerged from the Ice Age the Canary Islands dried out and the vegetation had to adapt to survive. Some species are well adapted to semi-desert conditions, while on the highest parts of the islands, laurisilva cloud forests are able to trap moisture from the mists and keep themselves well watered. Laurisilva forests once spread all the way round Mediterranean and tropical regions, and one of the best remnants now crowns La Gomera, where it is protected in a national park.

Clockwise from top left: Prickly pear fruit; Canarian lavender; Canarian tagasaste tree

Canary pines flourish on high, dry mountainsides, sometimes in places where nothing else grows. Almost every pine you see will have a scorched trunk, but they regenerate surprisingly well after forest fires. Beware of the long pine needles on the ground, as they are slippery underfoot. Canary palms also flourish in dry places, and in the past every part of the tree had a use; today they provide delicious miel de palma, or palm honey. Every so often dragon trees occur, the last surviving descendants of the ancient prehistoric forests. They have been decimated in the wild but prove popular in gardens.

Tagasaste trees are often found in dense plantations, always in places where livestock are grazed. They grow with little water, yet have a high nutritional content and are regularly cut for animal fodder. In recent years they have been exported to Australia. Junipers (sabinas) are common; fruit and nut trees have been established, including apples, oranges, lemons, bananas, almonds, figs and vines. The introduced prickly pears are abundant, not so much for their fruit, but for raising cochineal beetles, whose blood provides a vivid red dye.

Bushy scrub is rich and varied, including sticky-leaved cistus and a host of species that walkers should learn to identify. These include bushy, rubbery tabaibal and the tall cardón, or candelabra spurge. Both have milky latex sap, as does tangled cornical, with its distinctive horned seed pods, which creeps over the ground and drystone walls. Aulaga looks like a tangled mass of spines and is often found colonising old cultivation terraces in arid areas. Aromatic, pale green incienso is a bushy plant that, with salado, grows densely on the arid lower slopes of the islands. The fragrant Canarian lavender usually grows in arid, rocky, stony areas among other scrub species. Few of the plants have common English names, but all of them feature so often that they should be learned.

Flowers grow all year round, but visitors in spring and early summer will be amazed at the colour and wealth of flowering plants. Many are Canarian endemics, and even trying to compile a shortlist would be pointless. Anyone with a particular interest in flowers and other plants should carry a specific field guide, in English. Try Native Flora of the Canary Islands by Miguel Ángel Cabrera Pérez, Editorial Everest or Wild Flowers of the Canary Islands by David Bramwell and Zoë Bramwell, Editorial Rueda.

Animals

The giant lizards of El Hierro were rescued from the brink of extinction and are now being conserved

As befits remote islands created in relatively recent geological time, the main animal groups to colonise the land were winged creatures, insects and birds. The largest indigenous land mammals were bats. Large and small lizards also arrived, possibly clinging to driftwood. The laurisilva cloud forest is home to the laurel pigeon, while the rock pigeon prefers cliffs. Buzzards and kestrels can be spotted hunting, while ospreys are struggling. Ravens and choughs are common in some places. There are several varieties of pipits, chaffinches, warblers and chiffchaffs. One of the smallest birds is the kinglet, a relative of the goldcrest. There are canaries, which have nothing to do with the name of the islands, and parakeets that add a flash of colour. The islands attract plenty of passage migrants, as well as escapees from aviaries. The coastal fringes are colonised by gulls, but it is best to take a boat trip to spot shearwaters or storm petrels, as they spend most of their time on open water. Boat trips are also the way to spot a variety of dolphins and whales.

Once the Guanche people arrived and colonised the islands over two thousand years ago, the forests suffered as much from clearance as from grazing by voracious sheep and goats. Following the Conquest in the 15th century, the Spaniards brought other domestic animals; of these the cats had a particularly devastating impact on the native wildlife, practically wiping out giant Canarian lizards, which have only recently been rescued from the edge of extinction. The largest of these lizards are on El Hierro, while the other islands have smaller species. Rabbits chew their way through the vegetation and appear regularly on Canarian menus.

National parks

The Canary Islands contain a handful of national parks and many other protected areas. The Parque Nacional de Garajonay is in the middle of La Gomera, encompassing the highest parts which are densely covered in laurisilva forest. The whole island of El Hierro has been designated as a World Biosphere Reserve. Other protected areas on both islands include Parque Rural (Rural Park), Parque Natural (Natural Park), Paisaje Protegido (Protected Land), Reserva Natural Especial (Special Nature Reserve), Monumento Natural (Natural Monument), and so on. Prominent notices usually tell walkers when they are entering or leaving these areas. Very little territory lies outside one of these places! There are several visitor centres where more information can be studied, and where interesting literature is on sale.

The Fortunate Isles

Myths and legends speak of ‘The Fortunate Isles’, or ‘Isles of the Blessed’, lying somewhere in the Atlantic, enjoying a wonderful climate and bearing all manner of fruit. The rebel Roman general Sertorius planned to retire there, while Plutarch referred to them many times, although Pliny warned ‘these islands, however, are greatly annoyed by the putrefying bodies of monsters, which are constantly thrown up by the sea’. Maybe these scribes knew of the Canary Islands, or maybe they were drawing on older Phoenician or Carthaginian references. Some would even claim that the islands were the last remnants of Atlantis.

The Gaunches, often described as a ‘stone-age’ civilisation, settled on the Canary Islands well over 2000 years ago, and Cro-Magnon Man was there as early as 3000BC. No-one knows where the Guanches came from, but it seems likely that they arrived from North Africa in fleets of canoes. Although technologically primitive, their society was well ordered, and they had a special regard for monumental rock-forms in the mountains.

The Guanches fiercely resisted the well-armed Spaniards during the15th century Conquest of the islands, but one by one each island fell. Tenerife capitulated last of all, with the mighty volcano of El Teide grumbling throughout. Many Guanches were slaughtered or enslaved, but some entered into treaties, converted to Christianity and inter-married. They lost their land and freedom, but their blood flows in the veins of native Canarios.

The Canary Islands were visited by Christopher Columbus on his voyage of discovery in 1492. Subsequently they were used as stepping stones to the Americas, and many Canarios emigrated. The islands were exposed and not always defended with military might; they were subject to pirate raids, endured disputes with the Portuguese, were attacked by the British and suffered wavering economic fortunes.

The original Guanche inhabitants of the Canary Islands fiercely resisted the Conquest

There was constant rivalry between Tenerife and Gran Canaria, with the entire island group being governed from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria from 1808, before Santa Cruz de Tenerife became the capital in 1822. In 1927 the Canary Islands were divided into two provinces – Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

The Torre del Conde in San Sebastián on La Gomera is one of the oldest remaining buildings

In the early 20th century the military governor of the Canary Islands, General Franco, departed for North Africa to launch a military coup. This marked the onset of the infamous Civil War, leading to the creation of the Spanish Republic, and was followed by a long repressive dictatorship. The Canary Islands remained free of the worst strife of the Civil War, but also became something of a backwater. It was largely as a result of Franco’s later policies that the Canary Islands were developed in the 1960s as a major destination for northern Europeans.

Since 1982 the islands have been an autonomous region and there have been calls for complete independence from Spain. The islanders regard themselves as ‘Canarios’ first and ‘Spanish’ second, although they are also fiercely loyal to their own particular islands, towns and villages.

Getting there

There are no direct flights from the UK to La Gomera or El Hierro, but both islands are served from Tenerife and Gran Canaria. There are plenty of options for flying to Tenerife, scheduled or charter, from a range of British and European airports. The hardest part is checking all the ‘deals’ to find an airport, operator, schedules and prices that suit. Most international flights land at Tenerife Sur, but inter-island flights operate from Tenerife Norte. Transferring between airports can be expensive and time-consuming, and it may be easier to catch the next ferry.

Frequent, fast and cheap TITSA buses link Tenerife Sur with Los Cristianos, and the taxi fare is reasonable. If a night’s accommodation is needed at Los Cristianos, there are large hotels that often have vacancies outside peak periods, such as the Sol Arona Tenerife. The bus stops, main hotels and ferryport are all within easy walking distance of each other. Two ferry companies operate to La Gomera: Lineas Fred Olsen and Naviera Armas. The only ferry company serving El Hierro is Naviera Armas.

When to go

Most people visit the Canary Islands in summer, but it is usually too hot for walking. Winter weather is often good, but on the small islands of La Gomera and El Hierro there is frequent cloud cover on the highest parts, and occasional rain. Spring weather is sunny and clear; the vegetation is fresh and features an amazing wealth of flowers. Autumn weather is often good, but the vegetation often seems rather scorched after the summer.

Accommodation

Most visitors to the Canary Islands opt for a package deal, so they are tied to a single accommodation base in a faceless resort. This is far from ideal and a base in the ‘wrong’ place can make it difficult to get to and from walking routes. Package deals are seldom available on the islands of La Gomera and El Hierro; however, out of season, walkers would have little problem turning up unannounced at hotels and pensións, or booking at the last minute on accommodation websites such as www.airbnb.com or www.booking.com. Wild camping is technically illegal, but it does take place.

The higher parts of La Gomera and El Hierro catch the clouds, especially in the winter months

Health and safety

There are no nasty diseases on the Canary Islands, or, at least, nothing you couldn’t contract at home. Water on La Gomera and El Hierro is either drawn from rainfall, or generated by the laurisilva cloud forests. It soaks into the ground, is filtered through thick beds of volcanic ash and emerges pure and clean, perfectly safe to drink. Bottled water is available if you prefer, but buy it cheaply from supermarkets rather than at considerable expense from bars. There are no snakes, no stinging insects worse than honey-bees, and there are always warning signs near hives. Don’t annoy dogs and they won’t annoy you. Dogs that are likely to bite are nearly always tethered, so keep away.

In case of a medical emergency, dial 112 for an ambulance. In case of a non-emergency, all islands have hospitals, health centres (Centro de Salud) and chemists (Farmacia). If treatment is required, EU citizens should present their European Health Insurance Card, while British citizens should check arrangements following Brexit.

Food and drink

Every town and most of the villages throughout the Canary Islands have bars. Most bars also double as cafés or restaurants, often serving tapas, which are often in glass cabinets, so you can point to the ones you want to eat. There are also shops, selling local and imported foodstuffs. Always make the effort to sample local fare, which is often interesting and very tasty. The availability of refreshments is mentioned on every walking trail, but bear in mind that opening hours are variable. Some shops take a very long lunch break, and not all businesses are open every day of the week. Some shops are closed all weekend, or at least half of Saturday and all of Sunday.

Language

Castilian Spanish is spoken throughout the Canary Islands, although in most resorts and large hotels there are English and German speakers. Those who travel to remote rural parts will need at least a few basic phrases of Spanish. Anyone with any proficiency in Spanish will quickly realise that the Canarios have their own accent and colloquialisms. For instance, the letter ‘s’ often vanishes from the middle or end of words, to be replaced by a gentle ‘h’, or even a completely soundless gap. ‘Los Cristianos’, for example, becomes ‘Loh Critiano’. A bus is referred to as an autobus in Spain, but as a guagua throughout the Canary Islands. Some natives may seize the opportunity to practise their English with you, while others may be puzzled by your command of Spanish. No matter how bad you think you sound, you will not be the worst they’ve heard!

Money

The Euro is the currency of the Canary Islands. Large denomination Euro notes are difficult to use for small purchases, so avoid the €500 and €200 notes altogether, and avoid the €100 notes if you can. The rest are fine: €50, €20, €10 and €5. Coins come in €2 and €1. Small denomination coins come in values of 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c and 1c. Banks and ATMs are mentioned where they occur, if cash is needed. Many accommodation providers accept major credit and debit cards, as will large supermarkets, but small bars, shops and cafés deal only in cash.

Communications

All the towns and some of the villages have post offices (Correos) and public telephones. Opening times for large post offices are usually 0830–1430 Monday to Friday, 0930–1300 Saturday, closed on Sunday. Small post offices have more limited opening times. Mobile phone coverage is usually good in towns and villages, but can be completely absent elsewhere, depending on the nature of the terrain. High mountains and deep barrancos block signals. In the past shepherds on La Gomera got round this problem by developing a whistling language, known as Silbo. Internet access is usually offered by accommodation providers, but if relying on it, please check when making a booking.

Walking on La Gomera and El Hierro

Looking back to the Roque de Agando after leaving a high-level road (Walk 2)

These are the two smallest Canary Islands, at the western end of the archipelago. La Gomera is heavily eroded, scored by dozens of steep-sided rocky barrancos. As a result, walks that lead in and out of them are often very rugged, but that shouldn’t suggest that the walking is going to be too difficult for ‘ordinary’ walkers. In fact, almost all the routes in this guidebook follow waymarked trails, made up of narrow paths and broad tracks that often zigzag to ease the gradient.

Access to the coast is often limited to the mouths of the barrancos, as there are sheer cliffs elsewhere. By contrast, the highest parts of the island are much gentler and are covered in extensive laurisilva forest, encircled by pines. On El Hierro the laurisilva forest is less extensive and there are more pines. Barrancos are not as deep and rugged, and instead there are extensive slopes of volcanic ash and dozens of well-defined volcanic cones.

On both islands, traditional paths have been cleared, repaired, signposted and waymarked to create splendid trail networks.

What to take

If planning to use one or two bases to explore, then a simple day pack is all you need, containing items you would normally take for a day walk. Waterproofs can be lightweight and might not even be used. Footwear is a personal preference, but wear what you would normally wear for steep, rocky, stony slopes, remembering that hot feet are more likely to be a problem than wet feet. Lightweight, light-coloured clothing is best in bright sunshine, along with a sun hat and frequent applications of sunscreen. If planning to backpack around the islands, bear in mind that wild camping is technically illegal, although surprisingly popular. Lightweight kit should be carried, as a heavy pack is a cruel burden on steep slopes in hot weather. Note Water can be difficult to find, so try and anticipate your needs and carry enough to last until you reach a village, houses or bar where you can obtain a refill. (All such places are indicated in the text.)

Waymarking and access

Both La Gomera and El Hierro once shared the same system for signposting and waymarking routes, using standard European codes. However, La Gomera switched to a new system where waymarked trails were designated ruta, followed by a number. El Hierro kept its system of short PR (pequeño recorrido) routes, which are marked with yellow and white paint flashes, and numbered to keep them separate. Signposts read PR EH, with a number following the letters. These codes are quoted in the route descriptions so that walkers will always be able to check they are going the right way. Both islands also have GR (gran recorrido) routes; these are intended as long-distance walks, but can also serve as simple one-day linear walks.

Clockwise from left: La Gomera and El Hierro boast splendid networks of signposted and waymarked short and long trails; A signpost at a junction of tracks and paths marks an important link with the village of Sabinosa (Walk 39); The long-distance GR131 starts at Orchilla on El Hierro among twisted lava and volcanic ash.

Apart from signposts, routes are marked by occasional paint marks: yellow for routes on La Gomera, parallel yellow and white stripes for PR routes on El Hierro, and red and white stripes for the GR routes on both islands. These confirm that walkers are still on course, and usually appear at junctions. Left and right turns are indicated with right-angled flashes, but if the paint marks form an ‘X’, this indicates that a wrong turn has been made.

Maps

The Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), www.cnig.es, publishes maps of the Canary Islands at scales of 1:50,000 and 1:25,000. These are part of the Mapa Topográfico Nacional (MTN) series. To avoid disappointment, please check the style and quality of these maps before making a purchase, since they generally do not show the details that walkers require.

For La Gomera the best map of the island and its network of signposted trails is published by Editorial Alpina, www.editorialalpina.com, at a scale of 1:25,000. This is far and away the most detailed and up-to-date map available.

On El Hierro the tourist information offices provide a free map of the trail network, which can be used with a topographical map. The 1:30,000 Kompass map of El Hierro is reasonably good.

Maps can be ordered in advance from British suppliers such as: Stanfords (7 Mercer Walk, London, WC2H 9FA, tel 020 7836 1321, www.stanfords.co.uk), The Map Shop (15 High Street, Upton-upon-Severn WR8 0HJ, tel 01684 593146, www.themapshop.co.uk) or Cordee (www.cordee.co.uk).

The route maps in this guide are all at 1:50,000 scale with north to the top.

Emergencies

The pan-European emergency telephone number 112 is used to call for assistance throughout the Canary Islands, linking with the police, fire or ambulance service, for a response on land or at sea. The Guardia Civil telephone number is 062, and it is likely that they would be involved in a response involving mountain rescue, as they generally patrol rural areas.

Using this guide

Two islands are covered in this guidebook – La Gomera and El Hierro – each with their own introduction. The walks are spread roughly clockwise around the islands, and where they lie side-by-side, links between routes are often possible. On both islands, after several day walks have been described, there are also long-distance walks. Both islands feature coast-to-coast trails, while La Gomera also features a circular trail taking up to a week to complete. Any day-long stretch can naturally also be followed as a walk in its own right, using bus services to join and leave it.

On arrival at either island, visit the tourist information office as soon as possible. Ask for an up-to-date bus timetable and as much information about walking opportunities as they can provide. Remember to pick up leaflets about local attractions for full contact details, opening times and admission charges.