Tenerife, El Hierro, and La Gomera 🇮🇨

Seen from a great distance, the Teide signals the way with its white peak, the snow-capped 'Nivaria'. It is considered the landmark of Tenerife and, at 3718m, the highest mountain in Spain.

The Teide, a stratovolcano, and the Pico Viejo are approximately 170,000 years old and are located on a caldera about 17km2 in size, formed by three shield volcanoes.

Tenerife, the largest of the seven 'Islands of Eternal Spring', is characterized by high contrasts, deep blue ocean, bizarre lava fields, colonial towns, and architectural and botanical special features.

The Guanches are the indigenous people of Tenerife. The Spaniards won due to better weapons at the end of the 14th century, and even today, one can detect a third of the genes of the 'Old Canarian Women' in the genetics of female Tenerifos. The church significantly paved the way for the Spaniards, based on missionary work, to 'take over' the Canary Islands.

The main religion in Spain is Catholicism at about 80%, followed by atheists at approximately 15% and Muslims at around 5%. Due to the Moorish conflict in the 14th century, there still exist resentments towards 'Los Moros', the Moors.

Tourism accounts for about 75% of the most important economic sector in Spain. The real estate bubble of 2007/2010 significantly disrupted income. Corona has obviously had a negative impact.

However, some EU funds are also subsidized, for example, road construction.

El Hierro and La Gomera are probably the quietest islands in the Canaries and have been declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO.

Both, like Tenerife, have eruptive origins. El Hierro is 1.2 million years old and thus the youngest island. The last volcanic eruption on El Hierro occurred in 2011. There are cinder cones that testify to volcanic activity and have significantly influenced the Ypsilon shape.

The indigenous people of El Hierro are the Bimbaches and lived in caves.

Deep ravines, called Barrancos, are typical for La Gomera. Each community is situated in a Barranco.

La Gomera is also around 12 million years old, like Tenerife, and the north is lush and green. On La Gomera and El Hierro, one can find myrtle, tree heath, laurel, and Canary date palm.

In the north, there are the Platanos, banana cultivation. The banana takes a notably longer time to ripen here, a whole six months. They are significantly smaller, sweeter, and speckled with sugar spots.

Tourism began in Tenerife in the 1960s and only took shape in the 1970s in the form of hippie communes.

My conclusion: El Hierro and La Gomera are wonderful hiking islands to let the soul dangle, Tenerife also scores in the south with water sports opportunities. What I can absolutely recommend for all three islands are the Paradores. These are hotels that have been integrated into very beautiful landscapes, historical settings, and castles by the Spanish government.