Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Till Krech

Garajonay National Park includes also a mountain massif Garajonay that reaches an altitude of 1487 meters and such it is the highest point of the island. From here, during nice weather you can enjoy a beautiful view over the Atlantic Ocean and the other islands of the Canary Archipelago, El Hierro, La Palma, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Foot of the mountain is covered by the dense forest, on the drier side it is formed by gale and tree heath. These shrubs are reaching heights over 15 meters. Because of their non-combustible timber, they are used in production of pipes. Laurel forest grows on the northern and northeastern slopes. These trees boasts a large, solid, and shiny green leaves.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Axel Brocke

The climate on La Gomera is cooler than on the other islands, even though this area is known for its dry climate. Deep green forests provide a pleasant relax during the hot days. The air is usually cool and moist, it rains almost constantly during the summer. This is due to the action of trade winds that are coming from the northeast, which brings permanent moisture from the Atlantic Ocean. This phenomenon is important in terms of the water regime of the island, because about two-thirds of drinking water are formed by this way. The sunny parts of the forest feature a number of blooming flowers. You can also find almost two meters high fern, which prevent from the smooth walking through the jungle. The local lush vegetation includes 20 metres high trees, which are densely covered with moss. La Gomera is also a home to around 100,000 palm trees, which is the most of all the Canary Islands. Half of them are Canary palms, whose sap is used for production of an edible sweet syrup called also a palm honey. The other half are African palms. In addition to this interesting and unique vegetation, island boats numerous gorges, rock cones and rocks, which descend deep into the sea. Among the most beautiful valley on the island is Gran Rey.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Axel Brocke

More than 450 species of plants grows on La Gomera. Some of these species are endemic and can not be found anywhere else in the world, such as Canarian mahogany and ebony. In the Tertiary period laurel forests covered an area of northern Africa and parts of southeastern Europe. Their demise was due to temperature fluctuations in times of Ice age and subsequent deforestation. Laurel forest in the Garajonay national park is the last surviving example of those forests. Since it is not destroyed, it is called a living fossil.

The island of La Gomera was created by the volcanic eruption and the last eruption is dated to the Quaternary period. Volcanic chimneys spewed basalt and ash that settled in the layers. Those were then burned by hot lava. Long ago, the island was much larger, but due to the erosion has shrunk by more than half into the present area of ​​370 km2.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Axel Brocke

Since it is a popular tourist area there are lots of accommodation options of all categories on the island of La Gomera. The beaches are mostly rocky.

The capital of the island is San Sebastian, which was a popular port of Christopher Columbus. Among the known historical villages are the Valle Gran Rey, Chipude, Agulo and Arure. An interesting feature of the island is that the locals communicated by whistling. This language is called El Silbo or Silbo Gomero and is still used by some people, because such they can communicate over long distances (3-4 km).

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Needless to say, the Sierra Nevada National Park is a very impressive destination within the country. It boasts more than 20 different peaks that tower more than 3000 meters above sea level. The tallest of all the peaks located within the park but also within continental Spain is that of Mulhacén, which tops out at 3,479 meters above the sea. This is followed by the 3,396 meter tall peak of Veleta, as well as Alcazaba which sits at 3,371 meters.

Sierra Nevada National Park, Spain by Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble

There are also a number of rivers and lakes that can be found throughout the park. The most popular rivers in the region is that of the Genil and Fardes. These two rivers can be found on the north face of the mountain range and feed into the Guadalquivir basin below. Along the western and southern faces, you will find the Poqueira, Ízbor, Dúrcal, as well as Trevélez rivers which make their way down into the Mediterranean Sea. With regards to the lakes, there are more than 50 of them located high within the mountains.

The fauna that can be found within the Sierra Nevada National Park are extremely unique on account of its isolation from the colder northern regions of Europe. It was during the last Ice Age when a number of critical species moved into the area in order to escape from the freezing climate of the North. After the Ice Age when the temperature started to warm back up, many of these started to make their way into the higher altitudes of the mountains.

Throughout the park you will find a number of different animals including wild boar, Spanish ibex, badgers, wildcats as well as martens. Overhead, it is not uncommon to see the Golden Eagle as well as the Bonelli’s Eagle. Even at night time, you will hear the calls of the Eurasian Eagle owl as well as the little owl.

Trevelez, Sierra Nevada National Park, Spain by Andrew Hurley

There are also a number of important plant species that can be found within the park. Today, there are more than 2100 different plant species. A total of 116 of these plant species have already been classified as being threatened and nearly extinct. Sixty of these threatened plant species are endemic to the reserve. One of the most notorious of these plants is known locally as the Snow Star.

As far as things to do when visiting the Sierra Nevada National Park, you are bound to find something that will keep you busy regardless of the time of year. In the wintertime, the park is well known as a popular ski destination. It has been home to a number of ski championships and has also received recognition as being in the southernmost ski destination in all of Europe.

During the summer months, many people make their way to the national Park in order to go hiking. There are many popular destinations within the park including the summits of Veleta and Mulhacén. In order to make your adventure a little more comfortable, there are a number of cabins that can be located throughout the mountain range. The staffed cabins are available for small fee while the unstaffed cabins are free of charge.

All in all, you will be able to enjoy weeks of adventure and excitement when you choose to visit the Sierra Nevada National Park.

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