-	All photographs of La Gomera

La Gomera, Canary Islands is the second smallest island and has a surface area of 375kms2. Located in the Atlantic Ocean just in front of the coast of Northern Africa.

La Gomera is the second smallest island in the Canary Island group. It’s only 375 km² and is located in the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of North Africa.

Thankfully, it has managed to escape mass tourism. The whole island is a place on unspoilt natural beauty with dense forests, black-sand beaches, natural parks, mountains, Mediterranean and subtropical ecosystems. It’s a nature lover’s paradise!

Although it’s very close to the equator (where it’s very hot), it still has an incredibly lush green landscape and a mild year round climate with average temperatures of around 22ºC. This is mainly due to the gentle trade winds and cool Canary currents.

Like the other islands in the group, La Gomera is volcanic in origin but there hasn’t been an eruption for over two million years.

The original inhabitants of the islands were Guanches; Berbers from the mountains of Northwest Africa. They invented a completely unique method of communication called “Silbo”. It was a kind of whistled speech used to communicate across the massive valleys.

La Gomera is home to the Garajonay National Park, which takes up one-tenth of the Island. It’s also where you’ll find the island’s highest peak. Apparently the name comes from the an old legend about two lovers called Gara and Jonay, who committed suicide on this lush peak, because her family were opposed to their marriage. UNESCO declared Garajonay Park a Humanity Wealth in 1986.

La Gomera attracts hundreds of trekkers and walkers each year. There’s a network of paths crossing all over the island displaying a fantastic variety of landscape with rocky peaks, fossils and volcanic chimneys like “Roque de Agando”. On route you’ll also see a wide range of flora and fauna.

La Gomera has some excellent black-sand beaches too. Some of the best include: San Sebastián, La Cueva, Avalos and Playa del Inglés - which used to be a major hippie hangout. There are also several natural swimming pools on the island.

It’s only 35 minutes away from the hustle and bustle and crowded beaches of Tenerife, but La Gomera is a completely different world. It’s like stepping back in time to a wild and wonderful, untouched natural paradise, completely devoid of all commercialism.