La Gomera: The Unspoiled Canaries(Walking Holiday)

Fabien — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:17:00 +0000

8 Days/7Nights Hotels en-suite with Breakfast Available year round From €690

Witness valley Gran Rey, with its green terraced field, the most beautiful valley of the archipelago.
Enjoy atmospheric vallehermoso through its markets & vibrant culture
Be amazed by the beautiful Garajonay National Park and climb its highest summit “El Alto” 1487m
Feel truly away, surrounded by palm trees and banana plants in areas accessible only by foot

Walking Holiday in La Gomera, Canaries, Spain. La Gomera, or “The Round island”, is the ultimate get-away-from-it-all island; easy-going, unspoiled, friendly and isolated from the hustle and bustle of modern living. This place is so laid back it’s virtually supine – even the internet seems to operate on a similar time-scale!

The walks, however, are a bit more energetic. Like a meringue topped with green icing; it’s a nightmare for road builder but a paradise for hikers!

This trip has been categorised as Moderate, as some days could include more than 1000m ascent, however no major technical difficulties should be encountered. We arrange your accommodation in some of the best places on the island, and transfer your luggage as well.

Just relax and enjoy your walk!

Day By Day

DAY 1 – Coming to La Gomera.
After your flight to Tenerife and a short ferry ride to San Sebastian, you will arrive in La Gomera.

Town: Biggest town on the island, ATM, food shops.
Accommodation: 2* hotel in the heart of town, 5min from the beach. Rooms en-suite.

DAY 2 – vallehermoso “the Beautiful valley” (5h50, 17km, +580m, -570m).
After a short transfer to Agulo, you take a superb footpath zigzagging up the cliff. As you are going up you can see “Teide” (3700m) Tenerife’s (and Spain’s) highest peak. Coming to the plateau, you follow a remote dirt track and a small country road to the Garajonay Visitor Center. Here, you’ll have the chance to learn about the island’s unique eco-system, listed in the UNESCO catalogue! After the village of Las Rosas, we follow a ridge to the dramatic Roque Cano (Protean Rock) that dominates the entire valley. The flora today consists of different kinds of bushes, pine trees, Cactus plants and their tasty fruits!Be sure to sample the superb local sea-food. Try the Chocos; squid, potatoes and a spicy sauce made of garlic, chilli-peppers and parsley or coriander!

Town: 2nd Largest town in the islands, Internet, ATM, several lively bars.
Accommodation: Popular 2* apart-hotel, features large courtyard with plants. Rooms en-suite.
Meals: Breakfast.

DAY 3 – The Cloud Forest (5h45, 16km, +881m, -61m)
We start hiking up along a ridge, with views behind of the fabulous vallehermosso (beautiful valley) and the whole of Tenerife. Coming to Mt Arana (1111m) you can enjoy the fantastic vista of the all north and west of the island. Next you will pass enter the heart of Garajonay, a centuries-old and pleasantly shady Laurel-Silva forest. The rest of the day is quite flat and, staying around 1000m, you will pass the “Barranco del Rey”, above steep ravines. Vegetation today is dominated by the unique Laurel-Silva.

Town: ATM, bars, restaurant, Shops.
Accommodation: Very friendly hotel, owned by a local family, features superb views. Rooms en suite.
Meal: Breakfast

DAY 4 – To the beach (3h55, 12km, -1090m)
Today is optional, but we strongly recommend that you go to see valle Gran Rey – the most beautiful place in the Canaries.
We start by walking through a remote valley, inhabited only by goats and geckos. After passing a tiny church, we go down the ravine following the GR 132 path, and up towards the Tequergenche cliffs, where the views are astonishing. Here you will have the option to walk to “Las Pilas”, a popular view point, then on to “El Hiero” and “La Palmas” (1hr30 return). For those who want to swim, you can take a zigzagging footpath straight down the cliffs with superb views of the valley on the way. Although the sand is black, the beach is a real jewel.
Then you can come back by bus or taxi to the hotel!

Town: Same as yesterday.

Accommodation: Same as yesterday
Meal: Breakfast.

DAY 5 – El Garajonay (4h, 17km, +95m, -1487m)
After a short transfer to avoid walking on the road, we are in the National Park again to see the highest summit on the island – El Garajonay [1487m]. The views to the south are breath-taking. We then return through a network of donkey trails (still used today to carry grapes) and pass through the palms and cactus plants to several small villages. The descent is spectacular!

Town: Sea Front village, beach, ATM, Internet, Shops.
Accommodation: Superb apartment-hotel in the middle of a banana plantation, located 5mins from the beach. Rooms en-suite Meal: Breakfast

DAY 6 – Santiago, day with option (1h30, 6km,+-11m)
Today, as we stay in Playa Santiago for 2 nights, you will have the choice between:
1] Going to the Alajero to see the famous Dragon tree
2] Just staying in town to relax!

DAY 7 – the Remote valleys (5h15, 17km, -1250m)
Although close to San Sebastian, this area is only accessible by foot. After a short transfer by bus, you will start to follow the ridge along the GR 132. Then there is a descent toward the valley across terraced fields, and after crossing the river we continue slightly uphill to a very well preserved but eerily abandoned hamlet. Passing the Roque Sombrero (so called because of its hat-like shape), we start a long but super descent towards a warm and green valley. The Barranco de Juan is so dramatic that it shouldn’t be missed! Finally we pass an unspoiled beach with two small fishermen’s huts before reaching our destination. The trail is exposed, so make sure you have a hat and plenty of sun cream!

Town: same as day 1 Accommodation: same as day1
Meal: Breakfast

DAY 8 – End of the trip
After Breakfast we bid you farewell. Take the ferry and a short bus ride (or Taxi) to Tenerife southern Airport

Meal: Breakfast

How to get there

To Tenerife ‘Airport South’
- Dublin: Ryanair, Aer-Lingus & Spanair
- London: BA

From the airport to the beginning “San Sebastian”
- Take a Bus to Los Christianos (15′, €3, or taxi 5′, €20)
- Then take a www.navieraarmas.com or www.fredolsen.es ferry to San Sebastian (45′, 5 departure/day)

Back to Dublin
- In San Sebastian, take the ferry back to Los Christianos
- Then its just a simple bus ride or a Taxi to the airport.

About The Trip

Included

Not Included

Walking Notes describing the path ‘step-by-step’
Detailed maps
Rooms en-suite
Breakfasts

Flights
Holiday Insurance (compulsory)
Transfers from/to airport

About the hotels

2* Hotel in San sebastian

2* Hotel in vallehermoso

Apart-Hotel in chipude!

2* hotel in Santiago!

All hotels have been selected for their comfort, friendliness & character, as much as for the quality of their cuisine. They are subject to availabilities. If the hotel described is not available, we provide you with the same standard of comfort & price.

The Food

About the Luggage

The starters: Consist of soups or salads. Olives are everywhere!
Main courses: Mostly sea-food, but you can find chicken, pork, and goat too! They are always served with salad and Mojos. (Mojos are just delicious! They arespicy sauces made of garlic, chilli-peppers and parsley or coriander!Probably the most memorable food experience!)
Deserts: Ice-creams, cakes, flans.
Wines: The island grows very good table wine… white is more abundant than red. However most of the restaurants and bar will serve you imported Tenerife wine. So if you want to try local, ask them!

Luggage transported by us from hotel to hotel. During The Day you only carry your day pack!

Weather

Average temperatures (°C)

Average rain (mm)

Options

Price Year Round €690
Single room supplement €150
Solo departure fee €190
Extra night in San Sebastian 3*
-Double/Twin: +€50pps
-Single: +€70pps

Onefootabroad.ie » CANARIES

La Gomera: The Unspoiled Canaries(Walking Holiday)

8 Days/7Nights Hotels en-suite with Breakfast Available year round From €690