Spanish Holidays
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The 8 Local Hotels found on La Gomera
Geography has been kind to La Gomera. The vestigial volcano rises dramatically out of the Atlantic to a height of nearly 5,000ft. The island is a mere 15 miles across but seems to possess more microclimates than a continent. At its heart is a cloud forest – luxuriant, green, dense – while down at the coast you find another world of deep canyons, date palms and desert. La Gomera is too precipitous to build runways long enough for international jets. The airport can only service the turboprop planes that hop between the islands. And there is just one incoming flight per day. The current terminal has been operating for more than 10 years but shows virtually no sign of wear. While Tenerife's airports process nearly 13 million passengers a year, La Gomera's handles 32,000.
La Gomera is waiting for you to discover its greatest treasure: the National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site of La Garajonay, a dense forest of notable richness in terms of its flora, with a magical appearance. Here you will find many species that are extinct elsewhere, as well as peaceful springs; this is definitely the ideal place for people who love hiking. You will be impressed, too, by the dramatic mountains, with deep ravines that drop into the ocean. This is a landscape that has been sculpted over centuries by erosion, as over two million years have passed since the last volcanic eruption. Another aspect that will surprise you is the sight of the green valleys covered with palm trees, the charming rural villages, the impressive cliffs, and the welcoming bays of black sand bathed by crystalline waters. La Gomera's principal attraction is wildlife rather than nightlife. In the morning, Ricardo takes me on a tour of the island. The outstanding beauty of La Gomera is only revealed by taking to the road, or indeed off the road for anyone with the time and fitness to tackle the hiking trails that connect the hundreds of ridges and ravines here. Any road journey on the island is a seemingly endless succession of hairpin bends. As we climb to La Gomera's central spine, every corner reveals a new and eye-popping view.It could be argued that the defining landmark of La Gomera is not even on the island, but next door on Tenerife. On any clear day Mount Teide, the highest mountain in Spain, dominates all views eastwards. Sometimes the 12,000ft volcano appears to be hovering on a featherbed of clouds, sometimes it peeks over the shoulder of a ridge, sometimes it is simply an immovable object planted in the ocean. The best viewpoint is from Ermita de las Nieves (the shrine of Our Lady of the Snows) at 3,600ft – where a huge car park suggests it is a favoured stop for coaches carrying day trippers from Tenerife. But their schedule is tight and they have moved on by the time we arrive. We have Teide to ourselves, with just the wind blowing through the pines for company.From the high road connecting San Sebastian to the west coast we plunge down into the Unesco-listed Garajonay National Park. After the arid landscape of the coast, the lush forest that blankets the mountainsides is startling. This is laurisilva (laurel) forest – a type of sub-tropical vegetation that was common in Mediterranean Europe in the Tertiary period. At Las Mimbreras the canopy made up of myrtle and heather trees is so dense that the sun has difficulty penetrating to ground level. Here giant ferns that dwarf humans confuse the scale of the forest floor. It requires little imagination to picture Jurassic Park beasties emerging from the half light. Ricardo assures me that the fauna of La Gomera is almost entirely benign: "We have no snakes, no deadly spiders or creepy crawlies. Only the occasional mosquito that is a nuisance."Returning from Agulo on the north coast, later in the day, we get an insight into how the forest is sustained. The track climbs up to a ridge within the national park and we are enveloped by clouds. Moisture clings to everything and drips off the leaves on to the mulchy soil: the water rushes down the sides of the barrancos (ravines), emerging eventually in streams and springs lower down.On the road down to Alajero we dip out of the dense mist and everything changes again. The trees have gone and given way to an almost barren landscape. Gold-leafed shrubs glimmer in the evening sun. Dramatic shadows fall across the canyons, and the lava dykes and roques (domes) take on an extraterrestrial glow as the light emulsifies.In La Gomera you will find nature in its purest state, where human intervention has created agricultural areas of great beauty. Wait till you see the cultivated terraces, laid out on steep slopes, and you will appreciate the great effort that was made by the local country folk to build and work them. This is the La Gomera Index page to all 8 hotels.La Gomera is nature in its purest form leafy woodlands, rugged ravines, cliffs of impossible shapes and villages that have conserved their most ancient traditions so as to offer you a different kind of holiday. An island of footpaths, hamlets and secret spots of incalculable ecological value
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Also try : For a very large selection of Private Property rentals from across the World www.gamasl.co.uk This is a very large list.
Rural property for sale in Spain http://www.ruralspain.co.uk If it is the country life in Spain you require this is for you.
Rental Villas and Apartments in Spain and Portugal http://www.spainvillas.co.ukAll are privately owned
Spanish information site in English http://www.spain-info.co.uk
http://www.telefonica.net/web2/spanishhomes/
http://www.ruralspain.co.uk/Castellon/alcossebre-playa.htm
Cape Verde popularity to soar Cape Verde Islands http://www.daydreamvillas.co.uk/cape-verde/cape-verde-islands.htm
http://www.takeabreakholidays.com/Spain/Spain.htm
Tel/Fax (00) 34 96 679 0844 or 679-779-122
Oasis 90,Urb Marina, San Fulgencia, 03177, Alicante, Spain
UK Office 0871-4741-577 (Calls are at the UK National rate)
18,33,46,49,18,
La Gomera Index to all 8 hotels.La Gomera is nature in its purest form leafy woodlands, rugged ravines, cliffs of impossible shapes and villages that have conserved their most ancient traditions so as to offer you a different kind of holiday. An island of footpaths, hamlets and secret spots of incalculable ecological value
La Gomera Index to the 8 hotels on the Island for that Spanish Holiday
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