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Gomera (8 days)

Travel Information

Season:Any month except August.

Access: Flight to Tenerife SouthAirport to arrive no later than 5pm; taxi to port of Los Cristianos (approx.18-20 Euros/US$24-$27) for onward ferry to La Gomera, 40 or 90 minutesdepending on the type of craft. Only buy a single ticket (20-25Euros/US$27-US$33), as it may be more convenient to use another operator onyour return. You will then be met from the ferry and taken to hotel inHermigua.

Please note that if you are buying your own flight, Iberia operate someflights to Tenerife North Airport, a long way from the ferry port. These shouldbe avoided, as the taxi fare to the south of the island is about US$80.

End of Tour:After breakfast on Day 8. Order taxi to the port or walk it if you don't havetoo much luggage, for ferry to Tenerife. Ferry to leave no later than 3.5 hoursbefore flight departure.

Level of Difficulty

Fitness:We grade the tour as 'Moderate'. However the walk should present nodifficulties for anyone in reasonable condition and accustomed to walking inhilly areas. Short sections of some walks may be vertiginous but if you areworried, consult our local reps for advice. It may be possible to get a liftpart of the way.

Day Stages: 10- 20 km (6 – 12 mi) per day, with ascents and descents of up to 1200 metres. 5- 8 hours walking per day. On most walks there is the option of a lift part ofthe way for those feeling less energetic as your luggage will be transferredfor you when moving to a new hotel.

Waymarks: Waymarkingis very patchy but you will be armed with our walking notes (showing villageplans) and a contoured map of the island showing paths and tracks. We recommendtaking a compass.

Accommodation & Meals
Three out of seven nights are on ahalf-board basis (evening meal and breakfast). For the remaining three eveningswe thought it is more fun to choose where to eat from the selection of restaurantsin the neighborhood (approx. US$30 for a meal for two including wine or beer).Two packed lunches and one lunch at a bar are included for the days when it maybe difficult to buy your own. On the other days you will be able to go shoppingand buy what you want to eat. It is always wise to carry a bottle of water andsome fruit and bread/biscuits to eat on the way.

Night 1: Hermigua You will be staying at one of the two small country hotelsin the beautiful valley of Hermigua. Both are in a lovely setting overlookingthe valley and both are old country houses, which have been refurbished.

Night 2: Vallehermoso. You will be staying at one of the two very goodaccommodations. The new Aparthotel thatopened in 2004 is in between being a hotel and apartments. The rooms are very spacious and are builtaround a central patio which is full of plants OR a hotel which has also beenrecently renovated. We tend toalternate the bookings between both these accommodations.

Nights 3 & 4: Chipude. You will be staying at Bar/Pension Sonia.Chipude is the highest village on the island at over 1100 meters and can becold. This is a family run business, Sonia is the daughter and Angela is themother and cook. Dinner, bed and breakfast are included on both evenings. Apicnic will be provided for lunch on the day you leave.

Nights 5&6: Playa de Santiago You will be staying in ApartamentosBellavista situated on a pedestrian lane in Laguna de Santiago. It is a shortwalk through a banana plantation to the beach, restaurants and shops in themain part of the village. Here you will have your own apartment equipped withfood and drink essentials to greet you on arrival. Breakfast is taken in yourapartment, ingredients supplied. A picnic will be provided for lunch on the dayyou leave. Dinner is not included. Choose one of the many local fishrestaurants at the beach. Don't forget to check out the restaurante La Cuevitatowards the harbour. It is built into a cave.

Night 7: SanSebastian, We use a 2* hotel situated in the centre of San Sebastian on aBed and Breakfast basis. Dinner can be taken in one of the many restaurants intown. There are two beaches within easy reach on foot. The ferry port is aten-minute walk away. Or upgrade andstay in the Parador Hotel.

What's Included
7 nights bed& breakfast, three evening meals and two picnics and 1 bar lunch. Writtendescriptions of each days walking itinerary and a 1:35,000 scale maps. Notincluded are airfare, taxi fares or ferry fares.

ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrival. Arrive by ferry at the port of San Sebastian by ferry from Los Cristianos. You will be met and taken to your hotel in Hermigua. We ask you if possible to phone our local reps to tell them your ferry time.

Day 2: Across the north. After breakfast you will be taken to the exquisitely situated village of Agulo (250m), which looks out to sea cut off from the rest of the island by the shear basalt cliffs rising behind. The walk begins with a steep ascent to bring you after 2 hours to the Visitor's Centre of Garajonay National Park, (800m) where you can learn about the park and the island in general. Then down to the lunchtime stop at Bar Amalahuigue in Las Rosas or at Roque Blanco (a further hour); then continue on to Vallehermoso, for the last two hours down hill (in one place steeply) with expansive and stunning views over the north west of the island. (6 hours from Agulo).

Day 3: Into the cloud forest. With plenty of water and in winter long trousers and waterproof jackets (if necessary), you head south from Vallehermoso (300m) up hill towards the centre of the island through lush, terraced farming country, past reservoirs, ever upwards until you enter the forest and the National Park. A Gomeran lunch awaits you in Las Hayas. After this, an easy walk with occasional glimpses down to the magnificent Valle Gran Rey. From here you can take the path to El Cercado, home to Gomera's tiny potteries and on to Chipude and Hotel Sonia at 1100m

Day 4: Rest day; Relax on the west coast. Optional walk to see the biggest and often considered the most beautiful valley in Gomera, Valle Gran Rey, via Gerian (4 hours); swimming, sunbathing etc. Try lunch in a fish restaurant at the port of Vueltas. Bus or taxi back to Chipude. The super energetic can of course walk back!

Day 5: To the summit and down to the warm south. Armed with picnic lunch from Bar Sonia, the fairly gentle uphill walk to the summit of the island, E1 Alto de Garajonay (1486 m) is completed in 2 hours. Beautiful views on a clear day down into the rainforest and across to see the islands of Tenerife, E1 Hierro and La Palma and occasionally Gran Canaria; then steeply down into the hidden valley of Imada (800m.) where there is a shop/bar normally open. Then it is down into a garden of Eden of palms and canes until you reach Santiago and the south coast (3 hours from Imada).

Day 6: A well-earned rest. Relax by the pool, lounge around Santiago and the beach or explore the hidden beaches to the east of the village. For the restless, take the bus past Alajero and walk to the only dragon tree on the island. Then back down to Santiago via the villages of Alajero and Targa.

Day 7: Back to San Sebastian. After breakfast at your apartment, you (and your picnic!) will be taken to the start of this final days walk at Pastrana. Another wonderful day with a gentle start but becoming steep uphill until you reach the amazing Roque de Agando (1250m) - Gomera's biggest basalt volcanic chimney; 3 hours. You arrive at the main road with wonderful panoramic views. Crossing over the road, the walk descends through pinewoods to La Laja (1.5 hours) and then on asphalt for two hours to San Sebastion (2 hours; it may be possible to get a lift to reduce the last stage; ask the rep in the morning if possible).

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