I visited this WHS in January 2020. La Gomera can be reached by inter-island flight or by a 50 minute ferry from the port of Los Cristianos in the south of Tenerife. I opted for the latter and headed with my rental car on board with the first ferry and came back with the last one (even though it was quite expensive for the short trip).

The Garajonay National Park, also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is situated in the central uplands of La Gomera and the abruptness of the island's relief makes for an immense variety of climates and landscapes. The Canary cloud forest, also known as monteverde or greenwood, is the defining element of Garajonay and covers over 85% of its area. The evergreen vegetation is known technically as laurel forest and wax myrtle heath. This type of forest has been greatly degraded by human activity and fires and has in fact shrunk to 20% of its original area. 

The national park of Garajonay got its name from the myth of Tenerife prince Jonay and La Gomera princess Gara. Attracted by its beauty, and sensing that the love of his life was waiting for him on the island of La Gomera, Jonay crossed the sea with two goat skins and introduced himself to the princess. At first she rejected him, as she wasn't supposed to speak to strangers or associate with men who were not of her lineage. Consequently, Jonay was imprisoned for his daring act. Nevertheless, Gara knew that his love was true and she reconsidered her position. She freed Jonay and was determined to leave with him for Tenerife. The islanders did not let this happen and cornered the two at the highest point of the island of La Gomera. Determined not to give up their love and surrender, Gara and Jonay pulled out a heather branch and sharpened it at both ends before pressing it against their chests, dying in a deadly embrace. Garajonay got its name from the fusion of their two names.

I had prepared a perfect loop starting from and ending at the ferry terminal and mainly following the GM-2 road first and then the GM-1 road. Immediately upon leaving the port of San Sebastian de La Gomera, and going upwards, hairpin after hairpin, I immediately got to appreciate the variety of landscapes and peculiar flora species, starting from the tabaibal-cardonal cacti and Canarian dragonblood trees growing out of every possible fissure in the lowland zones. Having cancelled my trip to Yemen and Socotra due to a drone attack a couple of years ago, here in La Gomera I was really happy to get what is possibly the closest hint at what the flora evolution in the remote island of Socotra must be like.

Along the way, I stopped at various viewpoints or miradores and covered a good number of kilometres on foot from most of them. It is quite easy to recognise the laurel trees by the different species of green/white/orange moss growing on them. I enjoyed a lot of different peculiar flora species, some of which were already blossoming but I was mostly interested in seeing some of the most important endemic bird species. It is much easier to hear their calls than actually seeing them but if you keep still at a quiet spot and keep your eyes peeled for any sort of movement high up in the tree canopy or else low on the ground beneath the ferns, you'll definitely increase your chances. I managed to see all the La Gomera birds on my wish list, namely the Eurasian woodcock (low on the ground during a short hike from the minor road which crosses the Garajonay NP to Mirador de Vallehermoso; its the only road on your right hand side coming from the ferry terminal and just before reaching La Laguna Grande Recreational Area), Bolle's laurel pigeon (bottom right photo), the larger laurel pigeon, the trumpeter finch, Canarian chaffinches (lots near the visitor centre) and a pair of Barbary falcons.

My favourite viewpoints were Mirador de los Roques and Mirador Roque de Agando. From the former, I gazed at the great view of Roque de Ojila, Carmona, Zarcita, Las Lajas and Agando, known as volcanic needles. These were formed by lava that filled the volcanic fissures through which they ascended, without ever actually reaching the mouth to spill out over the surroundings. The gigantic scale of the dismantling of the surrounding terrain by the continuous action of erosion over a period of 5 million years has exposed these needles that stick up above the surrounding terrain of the Garajonay plateau. The nearby Mirador de Agando offers a view of what's left of the laurisilva forest with Tenerife and the Teide volcano in the background on one side of the road, and a great view of the Roque de Agando volcanic spurs and deep ravines on the other side of the road. From here, I followed the 2.5km Banchijigua trail which I wouldn't recommend in rainy conditions as it is very steep with uneven surfaces. In fact, even in good weather conditions, walking sticks would be ideal for this sort of trail.

Forest fires are the greatest threat to the conservation of the Garajonay NP. In 1984, 20 people lost their lives due to a fire that blazed the area around Roque de Agando. And again in 2012, 20% of the park around Alto de Garajonay was lost. Although the park is slowly but surely recovering (this can be mostly appreciated around the Roque de Agando area now that almost 40 years have passed from the fires), the photos on the information board at the highest point of Alto de Garajonay show how extensive the damage in the higher altitude zone was. At least I'm very glad that a lot of work is being done in partnership with the EU Life+ and the Garajonay Vive project, striving to improve prevention against forest fires. Another place to enjoy remnants of the cloud forest is Mirador del Cedro.

I visited both visitor centres on either sides of the island of La Gomera and I'm glad I did so. The one in La Laguna Grande is the most visited one, because of the possibility of an easy stroll through the cloud forest. It's worth visiting but I'd only recommend walking the Laguna Grande I trail or the 6.2 km hike to Alto de Garajonay from there only if you're staying overnight or longer in La Gomera. Apart from the sudden variations going way downhill first and then again uphill, I think the around 4 hour hikes would be a bit boring and repetitive unless you're a botanist, even though the QR code audio guide along the route might help to make it more interesting. I was surprised to spot the tajinaste azul plant as I didn't know such a variant existed. The other bigger visitor centre is outside of the inscribed area, near Villahermoso, and has info on La Gomera in general apart from the Garajonay NP WHS. Near the entrance there's a brown metal inscription plaque even though it doesn't have the UNESCO symbol on it. It is also possible to try out the local traditional biscuits/cookies called Gofios here. Afterwards I enjoyed visiting the non-inscribed Valle Gran Rey Rural Area nearby, which is a ravine with traditional farmhouses, terraced fields and palm groves.

Those who have very limited time on La Gomera, or who want to skip most of the hiking, the quickest and easiest way of getting to Alto de Garajonay (1484 metres above sea level) is by parking at an area marked as Contadero. From there it's only a 1 km hike to the highest point where there is a geodetic point as well as a more visible reproduction of a circular stone structure built on the site where it is believed that there once was a sacrificial altar. Here you'll have a panoramic view of all the island, with a view of the Garajonay NP with Teide in the background (top right photo) possibly above cloud cover sometimes, and a view of all the Canary islands on a sunny day with clear visibility. In Madeira, Portugal, it is much easier to experience the quasi-permanent mist which gives this type of forest its name. That said, the rest of Madeira is much more 'developed' than La Gomera so it's much easier to enjoy nature and unspoilt panoramic viewpoints in La Gomera than in Madeira. Personally, I think they both deserve their place on the WH list and La Gomera was the island I enjoyed most overall. I'd love to revisit and stay longer here, perhaps going on a boat trip too to see Los Organos.