Garajonay Park La Gomera Tenerife

While sun beats down on the southern shore, a cooler, damper climate prevails around Mount Garajonay. Heather, ferns and lichens flourish, creating a thick carpet across the boulders and rocky slopes where the last of the native Canarian laurel woodland survives. Waterfalls and streams splash through the greenery walking in this wet, magical terrain among the slender, sinuous limbs of the Canary laurel,  it is certainly hard to believe that you are in the Canary Islands. Not just laurel but also the luxuriant Canary date palm (Phoenix canariensis) grows here in great numbers, and there are around 400 species of native flowers, some found only at this place. There are also many rare insects and birds.

A useful starting point if you are passing is the Centro de Visitantes (Visitor Centre) at Juego de Bolas, on the north side of the forest. This gives an overview of the Park and its flora and fauna, and details all the way marked forest walks. The centre has much else about La Gomera, including gardens, a small museum, and displays about island life over the centuries. Craftspeople demonstrate traditional skills such as weaving, pottery, basketwork and carpentry.

Easy, popular walks start at La Laguna Grande in the middle of the forest, where there's a small information centre, a woodland play area, a board showing marked trails, and a track up to a lofty mirador viewpoint.