Hike Near the African Coast

By Miles Roddis

Not your ordinary walk through the park: Explore gorgeous Garajonay National Park (TURESPANA)

Off the coast of Africa, you can still find the last remaining sprigs of the temperate rain forest that once cloaked the whole Mediterranean basin until frozen to death during the last ice age. Within the Parque Nacional de Garajonay on the island of La Gomera flourish over 400 varieties of plants and trees. To experience this unique patch of Spain, first stretch your legs by walking over open, cloud-covered Alto de Garajonay—at almost 5,000 feet, the island's highest point. You'll feel the contrast all the more as you then plunge into deep woodland where only a small amount of sunlight penetrates through a world of soggy moss, lichens, laurels, and wisps of Spanish moss.

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