Top Things to do in Canary Islands
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10 Forests in Canary Islands That You Shouldn't Miss
The sun-drenched Canary Islands lie close to North Africa and have an exotic flavor of their own. Hundreds of volcanoes, rolling sand dunes, rich forests and rugged cliffs dapple these seven Atlantic gems. Catch a ferry to Lanzarote. Ride a camel through volcanic Timanfaya National Park. Take on Tenerife, home of Mount Teide, Spain's tallest peak. Romp Grand Canary's beaches or hike La Gomera's Garajonay National Park. More adventures await on tiny El Hierro, verdant La Palma and peaceful Fuerteventura.
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1. Garajonay National Park
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,011 reviews
A misty rain forest full of mystery and romance: great for hiking.
Reviewed By stevendG6907LL - West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
The whole National Park is a treat to visit and explore. Well worth a visit but you would be missing out just visiting the once! The varied flora and fauna is lush and beautiful with well marked trails fit for all abilities, with long distance trails crisscrossing.
2. Los Tilos de Moya
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 50 reviews
Reviewed By BetuliaEriksson - Gothenburg, Sweden
We really enjoyed this hike. Not too hard, not too long. Just right! The laurel Silva forest is mysterious as if at any minute something is going to magically appear. Either a fairy or a dinosaur. Nice in the middle of the week when there is very few hikers in the area giving you a chance to be alone with this magical place. We did Moya just before we headed towards Los Tilos. Thumbs up for Moya as well.
3. Sendero El Bosque Encantado
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 178 reviews
Reviewed By 54dougm - Wasaga Beach, Canada
While doing the Island tour of Tenerife you must go to see the rain forest at Sendero El Bosque Encantado and drive to see the vegetation in this rain forest the large flowers and the different trees with views around the mountain area it is a great experience
4. Pinar de Tamadaba
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 65 reviews
Reviewed By dalinda_sanchez - Gothenburg, Sweden
This place is magical! If you are a nature lover, you should definitely go to this place. How to get there I could not find the place to start the hike from Puerto de las Nieves to Tamadaban. There was not much information online and there were no signs on the road. So I opted to go by taxi to the Area recreativa at the top of the mountain and then go back to puerto de las nieves by foot. Then I checked the exact location at puerto de las nieves to start the hike for the next time. I also thought of renting a car and go to the area regreativa, but I was happy I didn't do it. First, there are no many signs along the road that can indicate whether you are on the right direction or not. Also, you will not see many people or cars along the way in case you get lost. At times you would not know which direction to take. The taxi ride cost 50 euro from Puerto de las nieves to the Area recreative (top of the mountain where you can start the hike down or take any other hike in the neighborhood). Just in front of the church of Puerto de las Nieves, by the harbour where the restaurant starts, you will find a Taxi sign with the phone number to order a taxi. It took 2 min to get a taxi very early in the morning (around 7am). The taxi ride takes about 1h but you can just relax and enjoy the view and listen to the stories that the taxi driver will share. The driver showed me the Roque Nublo, the symbol of Gran Canaria and told me what happened with the big fired that occurred in August 2019. The taxi ride was worth every penny for enjoying the beautiful scenery and all the information provided by the taxi driver. Where to hike! Once you are in Area recreativa, go to the camping area! The taxi driver recommended this area. Most hikers go directly to the hike and miss this breathtaking spot. The scenery at the camping area is jaw-dropping. You could take some food with you and sit on the rocks amazed by the beauty of the place while enjoying the food. It is about 800m-1km from the Parking Area at the area recreativa. Then, you can go back to the Area recreativa and start the hike down to Puerto de las Nieves. There are some other routes available. I followed the route to Puerto de las Nieves. Although people said that the hike was well-marked, there were some parts with fallen signs or no signs at all. I got a bit lost once. So these are the tips not to get lost. The hiking trial is a very good road, there are some small roads along the main hiking trial but not as good as the main one. So, if you end up hiking in a very narrow, not well defined path, go back to the main road, you might have taken the wrong direction. To go to Puerto de las Nieves, you need to follow the signs for Agaete. There is a shared road that also goes to San Pedro. San Pedro is closer than Puerto de las Nieves, so follow the signs that say San Pedro or Agaete if you do not see the one to Puerto de las Nieves (the first couple of km 1or 2 only mention San Pedro or Agaete), and you will have to turn left if you go further to Puerto de las Nieves later on. There was one pole on the way that has no sign but only written with pencil the distance and direction to go to Puerto de las Nieves and San Pedro (at that stage they where still on the same shared direction), so be vigilant for that sign. I hope the signs get better maintained in the future. Anyway, I also recommend you to ask any hiker you see whether you are on the right direction, just to confirm! But Puerto de las Nieves is to the left! The hike up seems very challenging but extremely worth it! The hike down is also challenging, be careful as the road is slippery at times. The hike down took me about 3 hours because I was going slow, enjoying the view and taking lots of pics. The best is to go to the Area recreativa early so that you can enjoy the hike down during the day, I would not recommend to go there around noon or later as you might get caught in the dark if getting a bit lost on the way down.
5. Bosque de Esperanza
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 119 reviews
Reviewed By 473RichardG473 - Exeter, United Kingdom
We were on a trip so time spent in the forest was limited. Nonetheless the trees were enthralling and the views in every direction but particularly towards Mt Teide were astonishing. I hope to return and explore further.
6. Cubo de la Galga
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 140 reviews
Reviewed By Grangemoor22
Lovely place for a gentle, peaceful walk.A lovely 'finale' to our holiday to our holiday on La Palma. Would recommend!
7. Sendero de los Sentidos
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 58 reviews
Reviewed By N0emi37 - Gyor, Hungary
We visited Anaga on the first full day of our vacation in Tenerife. We arrived early because our main destination of the day was not this, but Taborno's small hiking trail. We've walked all 3 roads here. (Because trail 3 encompasses them all) It's very nice, the nature is beautiful and well built. It's really short trail, for someone who likes to hike, take long walks in nature it can seem too short. The only negativ thing is that there are a lot of people. Even though it wasn't the best time (lot of clouds in the morning, almost raining), there are probably more people at other times. There are signs in several places to stop and watch the nature: see, listen, feel. You cannot really listen to the sounds of nature when people talk everywhere. But this is always the case with the popular tourist destinations. :) The longest trail can be easily accomplished in an hour. It is worth going to the village of Taborno after that, where only we were on the hiking path and we had an amazingly beautiful view.
8. Bosque de Los Tilos
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 449 reviews
Reviewed By TokyoMaxim - Brussels, Belgium
We went to the Los Tilos Visitor’s Centre (can be found on google maps) and left our car 500 m before the Visitor’s Centre at the start of the PR LP 6 hike. There are two options here: Option 1: just start hiking. You follow the PR LP 6 trail through the forest. After 50 minutes you cross a bridge over an empty river and then it starts to get serious. You follow a path with numerous steps. The ascent is quite hard and you go from 300-400m (Visitor’s Centre) to 1400m. This takes approximately 3 hours for 9 km of hiking upwards. Along the way there is a part which is more open, where you can have stunning views (Mirador de los Espejos), followed by an absolutely beautiful part through the river bed (dry when we went, on Dec 24th) and the lush vegetation. Finally you will arrive at Naciente de Cordero. This one is quite small and here a little water canal starts that will run along the walking path. You pass through tunnel 13. A bit further is the Naciente de Marcos which is more wild and fun to see. Next one is tunnel 12. You will definitely get wet in this one! It is necessary to bring headlamp / torch and very useful to bring a rain jacket. There are 11 more tunnels, from 15 metres up to approximately 340 metres. Watch your head in some tunnels… After the last tunnel (tunnel nr. 1), you reach Case del Monte (a closed hut), this is where the annoying part starts. You have to walk a long way down to Las Lomadas near the sea, where you can finally take a taxi back to the Visitor’s Centre (€12.75/taxi we paid). Don’t underestimate this hike! Hiking shoes, water, food, appropriate clothing, torch / headlamp, rain jacket, maybe hiking sticks to support your knees during the descent. We walked 6 hours in total with food breaks and photo stops. Don’t start hiking after 12.00 or you’ll end up in the dark maybe… Highly recommended activity in La Palma! Option 2: Take a taxi from the Visitor’s Centre to Casa del Monte. Takes about 45 minutes but costs €120 per taxi! You can share this taxi with other people though (up to 6 to 8 people). We were at the Visitor’s Centre at 11.00 and waited until 11.45 for other people but no one joined. Since we did not have enough money, we started walking (see option 1). The last taxi leaves at 12.00 or 12.30. If you take the taxi to Casa del Monte, you do the hiking in the opposite direction to option 1: Casa del Monte - tunnels - Naciente de Marcos - Naciente de Cordero - Visitor’s Centre. A good website with map is the Senderos de La Palma website (list of footpaths - short distance footpaths - PR LP 06)
