Canary Islands - The Western Isles
Visit Canary Islands - The Western Isles
The Canary Islands with their winter sunshine, beautiful beaches and scenery ranging from desert to lush green forests are one of the main tourist destinations in the world.
The Canary Islands are made up of seven islands. Each one is the tip of hundreds of volcanoes which erupted from the sea millions of years ago and created the dramatic scenery that these islands are famous for.
The Canary Islands are divided into two, the Western Isles and the Eastern Isles. The Western Isles include perhaps the most well-known island, Tenerife. Tenerife is a mountainous island as are the other three, La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera.
Tenerife is the main destination for holiday makers in the Western Isles. The Eastern Isles are Gran Canaria, the biggest of the Eastern Islands, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
(To see the Eastern Isles visit The Canary Islands - The Eastern Isles)
The Western Islands ( Santa Cruz)
La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera are tiny islands without much tourist activity but they are being discovered by people who like walking, mountains and being away from it all. Tenerife is the most popular of the Western Islands.
La Palma
The worlds steepest island and worth visiting because of the lush vegetation and massive volcano crater, La Caldera de Tabureient. This area is a national park and is truly beautiful.
Santa Cruz de la Palma - the main town on the island has many elegent buildings and a life size replica of Columbus's flagship the Santa Maria
El Hierro
A small, hilly island perfect if you like a quiet holiday surrounded by nature.
Valverde - the island's capital is a small town though quite attractive.
La Gomera
It is possible to get to La Gomera for a day trip from Tenerife which makes it the most visited of the three small Western Islands. The scenery is beautiful with lovely terraced hillsides and deep ravines. Great for walking holidays and the Western side of the island, the Parque Niacional de Garajonay (the Garajonay National Park) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
San Sebastian - the main town of La Gomera
Tenerife
Dominated by Mount Teide, a dormant volcano and the highest peak in Spain, Tenerife is another mountainous island. Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and is sunny and dry in the south and lush and wet in the north offering a great variety.
Places to Visit
Garachico - lovely jewel of a town, tiny but very elegant with colourful stucco buildings, elegant plazas, convents and mansions.
La Laguna - originally the capital of Tenerife this inland town remains the cultural capital of Tenerife. There are several good museums and the historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
La Orotova - wide streets, handsome squares and lovely churches and like Puerto de la Cruz beautifully situated at the foot of Mount Teide.
Montes de Anagu- a lush green though rugged mountain range popular with walkers.
Puerto de la Cruz - a lovely little harbour town situated at the foot of Mount Teide. Colourful stucco buildings, tropical gardens of Loro Parque and the beautiful Lago Martianez designed by Cesar Manrique.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife - plenty to see in this the capital of Tenerife. Local beaches are black sand but the most popular is Las Teresitas made by importing tones of Saharan sand. One of the biggest carnivals in Europe takes place here each year in Feb/March.
Teide National Park - Mount Tiede rises out of an enormous volcanic crater and is surrounded by an eerie volcanic landscape. The crater can be visited by foot or by cable-car. If you can, stay at the Parador de Canadas del Teide
UNESCO World Heritage Sights
Garajonay National Park
San Cristobal de la Laguna
Teide National Park
Paradors of the Canary Islands
Parador de San Sebastian, San Sebastian de La Gomera, La Gomera
Parador El Hierro, Valverde, El Hierro
Parador de Canadas del Teide, Canadas del Teide, Tenerife