The Canary archipelago is made up of seven volcanic islands. Belonging to Spain, they are scattered over 500 km, in the Atlantic Ocean off the Moroccan Sahara.

These seven different wonders, with submarine and mountainous volcanoes (3,718 m at Teide), are not without attractions when you move away from certain concrete areas of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

The assets of the Canaries? An eternal spring of 22°C on average, the most beautiful of tropical flora, black or red lava moon landscapes, beaches and rocks over 1,500 km of coastline, four national parks and hundreds of classified natural reserves. As long as you venture off the beaten track …

El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife (photo), Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote… Difficult to visit them all. So how do you choose?

From the Fortunate Islands to the Canaries

Do not look for canaries here. The name of the islands comes from Canariae Insulae, dog islands. Wild dogs or seals sea dogs? The Greeks located the garden of the Hesperides under the name of the Fortunate Islands.

The Guanches, of Berber origin, were the first inhabitants. Happy almost until the beginning of the XV th century when the Norman Jean de Bethencourt proposed to the King of France to finance a caravel to evangelize the Canaries.

He dangled their riches, in particular the red dye of the baby lichen, (roccella tinctoria), currently protected. L ‘Oréal did not yet exist.

In a few years, Béthencourt was recognized king of the Canaries, but by Henri III of Castile. These first conquistadors gave way to the Portuguese and the Spanish until 1479, when the Canary Islands became definitively Spanish.

Needless to say, the poor Guanches paid the price. Between 1492 and 1498, Christopher Columbus took advantage of this new geographic data to make a stopover, thus facilitating his various trips to America.

The Canaries, a Spanish autonomous community, are currently divided into two provinces. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife share the capital of the archipelago every four years.

Each island is managed by an island Cabildo. With a low standard of living, despite industrial port development, and high levels of illegal immigration, the Canarian economy relies above all on the 12 million annual tourists.

El Hierro, the savage

287 km 2, 11,000 inhabitants

To the west, El Hierro is sure to go away. A sort of island at the end of the world. Its dark volcanic rocks are cut by a simple landing stage. It aims to be the first island in the world to use only renewable energy.

A winding and narrow road runs through the mountain towards the village capital of Valverde. To the north, the Mirador de la Pena, designed by César Manrique, opposite Roque Salmor, overlooks the fertile depression of El Golfo, dominated by cliffs of a thousand meters, often cloudy.

Below, here is the Guinea Ecomuseum (photo). Black on black, lava predominates around the huts, marked by the pink of impatience and cistus. The giant lizards, living fossils from prehistoric times, reach one meter. Their last eggs were recovered from the cracks of the collapsed caldera, still active underwater volcanism.

Nearby, a good smoked goat cheese is tasted at Frontera. Along the coast, the natural pools of La Maceta and Charco Azul encourage family swimming. The road continues towards La Sabinosa, in a fantastic landscape of junipers twisted by the wind.

Go around the desolate tip of La Dehesa and the red sand beach of Del Verodal. Meet at the Orchilla lighthouse, referenced to meridian 0 before Greenwich. A breathtaking site in the middle of twisted lavas!

The Malpaso route (1,501 m) offers a detour for scuba diving enthusiasts at La Restinga. The return can be enhanced with the Mirador de La Bonanza, leading to the parador.

– Procession of the Virgin of Kings, every 4 years (July 6, 2013), atmosphere guaranteed.

– Hikes: El Garoé, the island’s legendary laurel, from San Andrès (3 km); Malpaso peak (4 km); the path from Jinama from the watchtower to Frontera (12 km).

La Palma, beautiful island at sea

708 km 2, 87,000 inhabitants

Mountainous, humid and wooded, La Palma, Isla Bonita, is the most flowery of the Canaries. Its exuberant vegetation makes it a paradise for walkers.

In the capital Santa Cruz (photo), the alleys around the Salazar Palace and the colorful balconies give off an undeniable colonial charm. It’s time to get to the sanctuary of the Virgin of the Snows (XIV e -XVII th s), near the beautiful ficus Millennium and enjoy the panorama.

Depending on the weather, continue north covered with laurel forests. The ravines are home to over 20 endemic tree species as well as the last tobacco plantations.

Our route descends to the Mirador de San Isidro to admire the tree dragoons, dracaena draco, named after their red resin “dragon blood”. The Molino Hoyo de Mazo Ceramics Museum offers simple pottery inspired by Guanche decor.

In the south, the bare crater of San Antonio crosses the path of the Volcanoes (19 km). The view extends over the vineyards of Malvasia and the banana and pineapple plantations of the lava flows of Fuencaliente.

Along the coastline towards Los Llanos and El Paso where the factories of cigars and silk tend to disappear.

In the center of the island, the Caldera de Taburiente National Park House welcomes visitors to El Paso, gateway to this gigantic wooded crater, dominated by the Roque de Los Muchachos (2,426 m). A botanical garden illustrates the most beautiful examples of this subtropical flora which encourages hiking.

La Gomera silbo

372 km 2, 23,000 inhabitants

Cliffs, precipices and cubes of white house’s follow one another through the fragmented valleys of La Gomera. A very curious whistled language, or silbo, invented by the Guanches, allows communication between shepherds and inhabitants. With a range of 5 km, the silbo is still taught today in the schools of La Gomera.

In front of this intimate island, imagine the emotions of Christopher Columbus landing in 1498 in the capital of San Sebastian! Do not miss the municipal market, near the bus station. Palm honey and goat cheese are among the best in the Canaries.

The narrow and winding TF 711 rises north to the superb panoramas of Monte Quemada (photo), where volcanic dykes fascinate. Descending towards the coast, the landscape leaves no respite with its terraced crops, watered by the trade winds.

A blow of idleness? Take a swim on the beaches of Agulo, Villahermoso, Alojera and, further west, Valle Gran Rey. Los Organos, basalt organs, are to be seen by boat.

In the center of the island, the home of Garajonay National Park, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, explains the natural riches of La Gomera with a medicinal botanical garden and an ethnological museum.

The TF 713 crosses the relict forest of El Cedro. This impenetrable jungle, kneaded with lichens and frequented by rabbi and Turkish doves, is recovering from its recent fires.

To the south, the ruinous landscape of Roque de Agando (1,182 m) opens onto the fertile southern valleys of Santiago and its many beaches.

Tenerife, the big island

2,034 km 2, 909,000 inhabitants

A must-see island, Tenerife has major assets: the highest peak in Spain with the Teide volcano (3,718 m, photo) to the north, and immense beaches to the south. It is also the most populous of the Canaries, with two international airports.

To the east, its capital Santa Cruz, neighboring with the old town of La Laguna. On the west coast, two superb botanical gardens, including the Sitio Liter which inspired Agatha Christie, watch over the entrances to the attractive Puerto de la Cruz. Colonial balconies, sandy coastline and hotels retain the many tourists.

In the south of the island, Los Cristianos and its massive hotel infrastructure cater to lovers of nightlife and beautiful beaches like the Playa de Las Americas. Not really backpacker, all that …

But the star of Tenerife remains the Teide volcano (4 million visitors annually). The spectacular vision of the highest peak in Spain rewards the route of the winding road that crosses the national park.

Tropical ferns, pine groves and succulents give way to a lava desert with a thousand palettes. The flagpoles of the Tajinastes, red in spring, become white plumes in winter. The Teide finch gives life to the eroded hills of lapilli. The altitude surprises with the cold, but also with the sun which often rises above the clouds, at 2,000 m.

From the final car park, opposite the parador of the Llanos de Ucancas, the lava columns of the Roques de Garcia, Finger of God and Cathedral, frame the slopes of the snow-covered Teide like an olymp in majesty.

Gran Canaria, the Colombian island

1,560 km 2, 851,000 inhabitants

All the landscapes of the archipelago are summarized on Gran Canaria, even if it is the most concrete of all the islands, particularly on the South coast. Dunes, palm groves, wooded peaks, volcanic ravines and colonial architecture knew how to retain Columbus in 1492 and 1493, earning it the nickname of Colombine Island. There are still some traces …

Las Palmas, the capital, has hidden treasures like the colonial district of La Vegueta (photo). Bronze dogs guard the lava cathedral and its palm vaults.

At the beautiful Casa Colon, a couple of enamoured macaws pose for the photographers. The patio opens onto a galleon, the history of explorations and interesting paintings. The Canarian and Diocesan museums and the library’s serpentine plateresque porch are nearby.

Join the lively Vegueta market, where bananas and papas arrugadas, local “wrinkled” potatoes, pile up on the counters. When it comes to shopping, don’t forget Calle Mayor de Triana, cigars, honey rum and Canarian embroidery.

In the north of the island, the Gaudì de Arucas style church and the Marquise botanical garden are quieter. Archeology is the theme of the Cueva Pintada in Galdar as well as the Guanche troglodytes of Artenara, surrounded by Miradors.

Cross the center of Gran Canaria by the panorama of the Cruz de Tejeda to skirt the Pozo de las Nieves (1949 m), before heading down to the caves of Barranco de Guayadeque and the village colorful of Agüimes (XV century). It will be time to rest on the countless beaches on the south coast, around Maspalomas and Puerto de Mogan.

The beaches of Fuerteventura

1,658 km 2, 105,000 inhabitants

About a hundred kilometers from the Sahara coast, Fuerteventura reflects its desert and flat aspect. Some names of streets and villages, like Betancuria, evoke the first conquistadors who baptized it “Great adventure”. Tourists arrive through the low-cost international airport of El Mattoral, near the capital, Puerto del Rosario.

The most beautiful beaches of fine white sand, a sea with turquoise waters, permanent sunshine make Fuerteventura a paradise for water sports. But be careful when the warm Chergui wind blows from the Sahara on the houses with terraced roofs. For a bit, it feels like in Africa…

In Puerto del Rosario, after visiting the house of the writer Unamuno, buying Majojero goat cheese is a must at the market. The bus leads north and Maxorata region by La Oliva and the Museum of Casa de Los Coroneles (XVIII th century).

Facing the small island of Los Lobos, or monk seals, the Grandes Playas of the natural park extend around Corralejo. The fish of the day is at all the tables in the port of El Cotillo.

In the center of the island, there is a choice between museums and the Baroque church of Betancuria, an oasis of greenery and basalt to be seen from the Mirador Morro Velosa. The narrow FV-30 winds its way through breathtaking volcanic dykes to Pajara. Otherwise, a spa on the east coast, in Caleta de Fuste, will be easy.

Towards the southwest, the Jandia peninsula and its natural park are bordered by a succession of beautiful wild beaches surrounding Morro Jable.
Lanzarote, the unusual island

846 km 2, 143,000 inhabitants

” The 1 st September 1730, the earth suddenly opened to Timanfaya and a huge mountain rose from the depths …”.

For six years, 50 villages and hamlets were buried under 200 km 2 of lava, leaving a lapilli desert bristling with 300 volcanic cones. Lanzarote, a volcanic island still active, is listed as a UNESCO heritage site.

From the capital Arrecife, near Guazimeta airport, buses lead north to Taro de Tahiche. The house of César Manrique (1919-1992), built in five lava bubbles, houses the Foundation and its collections. A native of Lanzarote, the artist actively participated in the cultural preservation of the Canaries. Manrique again, the Cactus Garden in Guatiza where prickly pears evoke the exploitation of cochineal dye in the XIX th century.

The curiosities of the coastline continue through the charming port of Arrieta, the lava tunnel of the Cueva de los Verdes and the architecture of Manrique at Jameos del Agua. The Mirador del Rio faces the peaceful Isla de la Graciosa.

Towards the south, the lava valley of La Geria (photo) is devoted to vines protected by thousands of semi-circular dry-stone walls, or zocos. The dry white malvasia bodegas encourage to enter the haunting universe of Timanfaya National Park.

The pebbles under the ground and the geysers always burn on the Islote of Hilario, and the restaurant of El Diablo, designed by Manrique, grills its meats on a natural barbecue. The route des Volcans (14 km) crosses this hellish landscape, black and copper, where some lichens are severely protected.

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