What to see on La Gomera: Awesome guide to forest Garajonay
There’s a unique forest on the island of La Gomera, which is its ginger and adds a variety and uniqueness compared to other islands. After Tenerife and Gran Canaria, which we explored before, this island varies significantly with its greenery and freshness, and offers many reasons to come back. To give a quick description of the island of La Gomera, you may write this way: very green, wet, foggy, always in the bonnet of clouds, textured. Garajonay forest covers the area of 40 square km with vegetation, which covered the whole of Europe some 2 million years ago, and now remained only on a few islands. Ever-green moss-covered trees that reach a height of 20-40 meters. It’s difficult to impress us when it comes to forests, but this one is very photogenic)
Green flowers are growing on the rocks there. It looks very nice, especially if the rock is 10-20 m high, and flowers of different diameter are scattered on it, which stick out as points against the background of gray scarlet stones.
We visited the information center of the Garajonay National Park in the first place (Centro de Visitantes “Juego de Bolas”). Moreover it is next to the coolest Mirador of La Gomera Island – Mirador de Abrante. There’s a museum in the downtown, which was quite interesting to visit and learn about the formation of our Earth, tectonic plates split and how the Canary Islands appeared. Then we were told about the locations, where it will be interesting to take pictures, since we told about what we want – nice and a short route. The island of La Gomera is usually chosen by people who love hiking routes, which can have a length of 12 km here – if we consider the park alone, and some 30 km – if the island, for example, in one direction. We have chosen the routes of 1-1.5 km. You can see the route name below, the complexity, duration, length and type of vegetation in that interval. We examined several locations, which we are going to show below.
Even the very trip along the spine of the Garajonay National Park gives many impressions. When you drive among thick green and “haggy” forest, where arch of branches is hanging over the road, when the fog is so thick that you feel like on the set of a movie. By the way, the park is located in the center of the island at an altitude of 750-1400 m. Here’s the highest point of the whole island. The sun is shining somewhere down, and a thick fog is walking in the woods, 100% humidity. So interestingly.
The trees are as high as 20-40 m with twisted branches. Clouds are moving very quickly and therefore you can still meet the sun even when clouds are solid.
This forest is really photogenic. And most importantly, it’s easy to get to it by car, or have not a long walk on foot. And you should not wander for a long time to stumble upon such a beauty.
During our stay on the island at the beginning of route No.11 a rooster was on duty every day). It’s quite far to the closest village, he was not there in the morning and in the evening, only when the tourists arrive) He walked to the cars and hinted that he wants to be fed.
And we always share if we have some food) We fed so many on the Canary Islands!
Once we almost managed to catch a cool mist, but it quickly moved down. Had we a little earlier came to that location, we would have magical shots.
The road along the park runs not only through dense forests, but also has big viewing platforms over the mountains and the whole island. If there are no low clouds, you can see much of it.
La Gomera is striking with its reliefs. Sharp mountains and lowlands – that’s what an island is made of. You may clearly see these reliefs from Teide volcano.
Roque de Agando at the beginning of the Garajonay Park.
Clouds are quickly flowing between the mountains and lowlands. So fresh and lively.
The most popular point the Garajonay Park – Laguna Grande – route No.3. The route is the shortest, great infrastructure, a parking lot. Everything is tailored for a coach and people who came to the island for one day and should see it quickly. And sit in the restaurant most of the time 🙂
It’s very nice there, but somehow too civilized and you should try to get here when the groups from buses depart or go to a restaurant. And there was the fence throughout the way.
Route No.3 takes 20 minutes and is circular, and, honestly, not interesting.
There are days when we don’t have some meal with us for some reason, and this time we were very hungry and dropped by the only restaurant, which was full of tourists. Here we tried for the first time a famous gomeron. Gomeron is a local, only Gomerian drink – liquor of palm honey, about 20%. It’s too strong for us. So we decided not to enjoy it. Only here on the island honey is extracted from palm using its special method, so they made up a drink with this ingredient.
Then we went to a much cooler forest, where buses do not stop. Route No.12. Damp and wet. Branches are twisted and mazelike, old and frightening.
You may come across a viewing platform in a few steps – high enough above the steep.
This is the only Canary Island, whose advantage is a big green forest. Although the island of La Palma is called the greenest. In our opinion La Gomera is such. This is much more noticeable here. It is interesting to explore. Quite a different environment compared to other islands that are not so green. Since the last volcano eruption here was millions of years ago.
With love, RH.
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