The breath of the forest

THE BREATH OF THE FOREST

The breath of the forest

With this article we want to tell you the reason that made us choose Gomera as a destination for the 2022-2023 Christmas holidays, namely Garajonay National Park. (official website)

Map of the park in .pdf format.

It is a unique jewel, living testimony to a past millions of years old, when laurisilva forests (plants similar to laurel) covered a good portion of the Earth's surface.

The scenic views from the various vantage points in Garajonay Park.

This particular type of forest, which needs late spring temperatures and a lot of humidity, gradually disappeared from our planet throughout the Cenozoic, glaciation after glaciation, until it was confined to very few areas of the planet.

The dense forest of Laurisilva, primeval forests that once covered much of the planet.

Moss is the master of the undergrowth in this moist forest.

One of these lush areas is located right in the heart of this island, where the climatic conditions are still optimal.

The numerous paths that cross the 4000 hectares of protected park, a UNESCO world heritage site, give a primordial atmosphere.

The outermost area of the park, which can also be explored by car, has many panoramic points where the view extends between rocky spiers and steep slopes, disappearing into the ocean (fog permitting).

Fog and low clouds give Garajonay Park a mysterious and fascinating appearance.

Three above all:

Mirador de los Roques

Mirador del Morro de Agando

Alto del Garajonay (the highest point of the island)

A photo of the park trails can be found at the end of the article!

As always we advise you to choose the route based on the weather and your level of physical preparation, but consider that the times indicated are very generous.

The shady paths through Garajonay Park.

We followed path 18, to be done on a dedicated day, which allowed us to cross a good part of the park: starting from the car park called Pajarito, it climbs into the dense laurisilva forest, reaches a small shady hermitage, touches the rural area of El Cedro and passes by some observation points proposed in the paragraph above.