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T R AV E L

L A G OM E R A | JACK SON HOL E | A LPBACH

The palm trees,
lush vegetation
and deep valley
of Valle Gran Rey
are typical of La
Gomera, making it
an ideal island to
discover on foot

a change of pace

JAMES STEWART EXPLORES LA GOMERA, ENJOYING A TRANQUIL CANARY ISLAND BARELY TOUCHED BY TOURISM

A
Factor in the astonishing greenery of the island – the acid-yellow euphorbia,
‘ week?!’ the barman in Hermigua chides when I say how long – and the flawless blue skies and you can see why La Gomera attracts a
we’ll be staying on La Gomera. ‘Why’, he says with a twinkle, date palms and tangled myrtle forest, all shot through with silver-blue agave
‘that’s barely enough time to see this valley.’
Certainly, the second smallest of the Canary Islands defies different kind of Canaries holidaymaker: one who comes to walk, spot birds
the helter-skelter pace of modern holidays. Most visitors still or seek nothing more complicated than tropical tranquillity.
arrive slowly, disembarking from the Tenerife ferry at San Sebastián, the Seeking a little of all three, we’ve come with Inntravel, which allows us to walk
colourful capital stacked like Lego bricks around the harbour. And such are as much as we choose. Or as little. Sure, its self-guide itinerary suggests an easy
the winding roads that driving times bear no relation to distances. La Gomera stroll alongside a daily hike, but occasionally we just drift to a cafe on the square.
forces you to slow down. Small wonder it’s Angela Merkel’s favourite getaway. La Gomera’s best-known small resorts are Playa Santiago and Valle Gran
Decades after Tenerife became a byword for tourism’s excess, La Gomera Rey in the south and west respectively. Inntravel leads us instead around the
has soul and simplicity to spare. Radiant days are not spent whizzing down island’s north and east, the lusher, quieter half of the island, where villagey
water-park rides, but exploring birdsong-filled valleys like El Cedro or whale- towns doze until evening and nightlife means another glass of wine.
watching from Valle Gran Rey. In the evenings, there’s papas arrugadas At Vallehermoso, we stroll into the ‘beautiful valley’ on paths scented by
(salted potatoes) with paprika or coriander mojo (sauce), fresh fish or roast wild herbs and are still back on the village square for a late lunch. At dusk, the
goat eaten in a family-run restaurant. valley seems to wrap in on itself until it becomes a tiny pool of lights in moun-
The secret to this authenticity is geography. Only 24km across, with a misty, tains now silhouetted against a velvety sky. In Hermigua, strung along a
forested mountain at its heart – the UNESCO- deep valley rimmed by cliffs, we amble past
listed Garajonay (1,487 metres) – the circular (01653-617001; inntravel.co.uk). A seven-night trip eighteenth-century mansions and through
James Stewart travelled as a guest of Inntravel
a banana grove to reach Playa de La Caleta. It’s
REINHARD SCHMID/4CORNERS IMAGES lives tough – islanders traditionally eked out to La Gomera costs from £780 per person, based notched into the coast, local families at a fisher-
island falls in steep valleys like a tablecloth lifted
brilliantly simple; just black sand and azure water
at the centre. While those gorges have made
on two sharing, including breakfasts, some picnic
man’s bar beneath pine trees and a mood of easy
vegetables and vines on the dry-stone-wall
lunches and dinners, and transfers from Tenerife
terraces that descend every valley – they have
indulgence. We’d planned to walk on. Instead,
airport by boat and bus, but excluding flights.
also thwarted the tourist development that has
we idled over grilled fish and a crisp white wine.
blighted the Canaries elsewhere.
No wonder a week is not enough m
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