Gomera Walking Canary Islands

La Gomera - World Heritage Island
& our favourite walking destination!
 

  new 2019 La Gomera + El Hierro Tour & Trail Super-Durable Maps Walk! La Gomera 4th edition 2017     

If you have any doubts as to where to walk, remember that La Gomera is our first choice for a vacation when we want to take a break from life in southern Tenerife. Unspoilt and unsophisticated, this beautiful island is a ninety/sixty minute ferry crossing from Los Cristianos in southern Tenerife. The Fred Olsen ferry service is now fast and is supplemented by the Garajonay Express fast catamaran service linking Los Cristianos with San Sebastian, Playa Santiago and Valle Gran Rey.
 Arriving in San Sebastian you might wonder why the island gets such good reports, but this is the least impressive section of the island. Drive (or bus) away from the capital (there are only two roads!) and you enter a different world of huge canyons, ancient laurel forest (a world heritage site) and quiet villages. La Gomera had the dubious title of 'most depopulated Canary Island' as the younger population left to find work in Tenerife and Venezuela. This has resulted in large areas of abandoned farm terraces linked by stone-laid donkey trails - ideal walking country! Thirty years since the depopulation exodus started the 'Sons of La Gomera' are returning to retire back in their home villages. Having made their money abroad this homecoming is reflected in the new houses being built and the regeneration of the island's rural communities. The effect now is a combination of vibrant expectation (fuelled by quality tourism centred on Playa Santiago and Valle Gran Rey) and rural charm set against the dramatic 'barranco architecture' of the island. Photos from a recent walking trip.
GPS navigation files available for La Gomera see GPX downloads page   

landslip closes walking route 12 on the descent into Barranco de Santiago - news 10 May 2022
       

La Gomera + El HierroTour & Trail Super-Durable Maps & Walk! La Gomera book

Digital edition of La Gomera + El Hierro Tour & Trail Maps available from  
 

Click on one of the links below to change pages:

Home Page. Titles. Tenerife. Gran Canaria Lanzarote. La Palma. Fuerteventura Walk! at Home-UK Walk! Abroad