La Gomera

The island of eternal spring

La Gomera sits in the Canaries with the kind of subtropical climate that makes a walking week in January or February feel like an act of mild reward. Christopher Columbus called in here in 1492 to restock before crossing the Atlantic, and the island still has the air of somewhere slightly out of time — terraced hillsides, whitewashed villages tucked into ravines, and a network of well-kept footpaths that connect them.

The landscape changes underfoot more than you might expect for an island of this size. One day you are in the laurisilva, the damp, mossy cloud forest at the centre of the island; the next you are crossing arid, cactus-strewn slopes with Tenerife's volcano hovering across the water. In between are barrancas, the steep green ravines that cut down to the coast, and miradors that open up long views across the Atlantic. It is steep walking — the island doesn't really do flat — but the paths themselves are well made, and a network of buses and taxis means you can shorten most days without breaking the rhythm of the trip.

The walking week

The full route runs over seven nights, with two-night stays at each base so you can do a linear walk one day and a circular the next. Days are 11 to 18 kilometres and four to seven hours, with stops worth pacing for: Casa Efigenia for lunch, Bar Victoria mid-route, the day from Hermigua to Vallehermoso for the coast-to-coast scenery, and the final walk out of Chipude. There's a four-night version for walkers who would rather skip the circular days, and you can drop any of them as you go without losing the thread of the route.

Bases include San Sebastián de La Gomera, the small port town where the ferry from Tenerife arrives, and the Parador above it — most groups find a night here at the end of the trip is worth the stay. Expect a fair bit of climbing each day, plenty of steps, and the option of taxi starts where the ascent at the beginning of a walk would otherwise be punishing.

Booking and what's included

On Foot Holidays runs this as a self-guided trip, with a local representative — Aznar, mentioned by name in most of the recent reviews — on the ground if anything goes sideways. You walk on your own using a phone app for navigation, with route notes and timings that walkers have found accurate. Hotels, transfers between bases, luggage transport and breakfasts are arranged for you; flights to Tenerife and the ferry across to La Gomera are not, though the operator handles the logistics either side of the crossing.

Prices start from £1,010 for the seven-night route and £845 for the four-night version. It suits reasonably fit walkers who like a bit of independence — you are not in a group, but you are not entirely alone either, and the shortening options mean a tough day can be made manageable without abandoning it. Best months are November through March, when the heat is off and the light is at its clearest.