Route: Arure
Area: La Gomera
Date of walk: 5th February 2016
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 8.2 miles
Ascent: 1,500 feet
Weather: sunny and hot, cooler in the forest
From our base in Tecina on the south coast of La Gomera we decided to visit Arure in the western area of the island. If there were a motorway linking the two it would would take about 10 minutes to travel from one to the other, but the geography of the island, being criss-crossed by seemingly bottomless ravines, makes motorways impossible. In fact it’s a miracle that any roads exist at all and a car journey on La Gomera is a bold adventure in itself
We followed a winding road up into the mountains around countless hairpin bends, and a couple of tunnels, stopping off at some of the miradors along the way which offer spectacular views for miles around
It took over an hour to reach our destination of Arure and from there we set out on a long walk which would take us through beautiful countryside, quiet villages and in part through typical Gomeran woodland
It was another superb walk, capped off by more amazing roadside views on the way back to our hotel
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Another dawn, another sunny day - view from the Hotel Jardin Tecina
Tempting, but I’d rather go walking
On the way to Arure we stopped the car by a small chapel near Igualero
From here there’s a wonderful view of flat topped Fortaleza…
…and along the Barranco de Erque
The start of the walk by the bus stop in Arure
We follow a path out of the village
Looking back to Arure
We follow the sign towards Las Hayas
Walking through the Barranco de Arure
Fortaleza again as we approach Las Hayas
Our path passed by Las Hayas and took us into the Garajonay National Park - a UNESCO World Heritage Site (see yesterday’s walk)
Luxuriant growth in the forest thanks to the unique microclimate
A road section which we could - and should - have avoided via a slightly longer detour
We pick up the Cañada de Jorge trail which descends through the forest
Back into open countryside on the approach to Arure
Arure
We follow this path back into the village to end our walk
On the way back, we couldn’t resist stopping off again at the mirador near Rogue Agando to admire the jaw dropping views
The Barranco de Benchijigua, where we’d walked on our first day in La Gomera
The road back to our hotel
