Garajonay, a Tertiary forest that is still alive
Garajonay National Park covers the high ground of La Gomera and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. What is protected is not the scenery: it is that this forest is a **survivor**. Laurisilva covered southern Europe millions of years ago and here it never died out.
Why it survived here
Laurisilva was the Tertiary forest of the Mediterranean basin. Glaciations and desertification erased it from the continent. Not in the Canaries: the trade wind maintains constant humidity all year, with no frost and no extreme drought, and that stable microclimate preserved it.
La Gomera is the best place to see it because its relief and altitude favour it and because the forest here covers a large, continuous area rather than fragments.
How the forest works
It lives on horizontal precipitation: the trade wind pushes fog against the slope, it condenses on the leaves and drips. That water feeds the forest and recharges the island’s aquifers.
That is why the forest is almost always in cloud. And why visiting Garajonay in fog is not bad luck: it is seeing it work. In sunshine you get the views; in fog you understand the place.
What to bring
- Footwear with real grip. The ground is permanently damp: rock, moss and roots.
- Warm clothing and a windproof layer. It is considerably colder than the coast and the humidity sharpens it.
- You do not need to be a mountaineer. There are short, level trails through the forest interior; the serious gradient is on routes descending to the coast.
The rules, and their reason
Do not leave the trails, do not pick anything, do not light fires. In laurel forest the specific reason is that the understorey — ferns, moss, new shoots — is the part that regenerates slowly, and it is exactly what you tread on when you cut corners.
One fact that places it
This forest was already here when the Mediterranean had a different climate. It is not a reproduction or a replanting: it is continuity. That is what World Heritage status recognises, and it is why the rules are strict for a park that looks small on a map.
Frequently asked questions
›Why is Garajonay a World Heritage Site?
Because its laurisilva is a Tertiary survivor: that forest type covered southern Europe millions of years ago and died out there with glaciations and desertification. Here the trade wind kept humidity constant and the forest continued.
›Is it worth going in fog?
Yes, and that is when it makes sense. The forest lives on horizontal precipitation: fog condenses on the leaves and drips down. In fog you see the mechanism; in sun you see the views. Two different visits, and neither is the bad one.
›Do I need to be a hiker to visit?
No. There are short, almost level trails through the forest interior. The serious gradient is on routes descending from the ridge to the coast, which are a different proposition and need preparation.