Picturesque mountain villages and fertile land
Chipude
The mountain village is located near the striking volcanic mountain La Fortaleza and is considered the oldest settlement on the island. Even in pre-Hispanic times, the inhabitants valued the fertile land. Table Mountain with a spacious summit plateau reaches a height of 1.241 m and served the locals as a sacred place for their sacrificial rituals before the arrival of the conquistadors. On the flat knoll, the natives erected not only stone circles but also sacrificial altars. With the arrival of the Spaniards, the rock massif was also used as a retreat from the besiegers. The ancient Canarians called the mountain Argoday, the mighty one. Visible from afar and with an impressive, 500 m high steep wall, it dominates the landscape of the southwest. Just 200 years ago, Chipude was the most populous place on Gomera. Today the village is a popular starting point for hikes in the Garajonay National Park and on the table mountain La Fortaleza.
The focus is the large village square with the Iglesia Virgen de la Candelaria, which was founded in 1540. Chipude's bars are grouped around the plaza, attracting locals and hiking tourists.
On August 15th, a fiesta in honor of the patron saint Virgen de la Candelaria takes place in Chipude every year. After a solemn procession, the exuberant fiesta begins, with local music groups playing to dance until the early hours of the morning.
The Cedar
Beautiful hiking trails lead to this village right next to the Garajonay cloud forest. The village of El Cedro is located in a high valley on the northern edge of the Garajonay National Park. Weekend houses, a country school home and a bar popular with hikers enliven the remote, scattered settlement by the cloud forest.
The remaining inhabitants owe the fertility of their terraced fields to the year-round Cedro Brook, which also runs through the Garajonay National Park. Apples, kiwis, potatoes and wine thrive at an altitude of 850 m.
The Bar La Vista, famous for its cress soup in a rustic wooden plate, invites you to take a break with the best view in El Cedro. The only campsite in La Gomera with a few pitches for tents is also located next to the bar. In the hamlet of El Cedro, daring people have the opportunity for an adventurous little hike: the underground crossing of the mountain La Montaneta in the direction of Hermigua. A water tunnel runs through the mountain over a length of about 550 m and a height of 1,70 m. If it hasn't rained heavily before, the El Cedro tunnel is easily accessible. But think of a flashlight or a candle.
El Cercado
The picturesque mountain village with its rustic old stone houses is located in the highlands of La Gomera, in a wonderfully green terrace landscape. Three workshops in El Cercado keep traditional pottery alive. During a visit to the village on the edge of the Garajonay National Park, you can look over the shoulder of the craftswomen.
The potter Maria models just as traditionally and skillfully as her colleague Rufina next door on the small terrace of her idyllic workshop. A third female potter has been added in recent years. Whether jugs, bowls or mugs, everything is created without a turntable. The pottery gets its characteristic glaze by rubbing it with sienna-red clay. The crockery is then fired in a wood-fired stone oven. The objects are still used by the Gomeros as containers for Gofio (typical Gomerian flour) or chestnuts.
If you want to relax a little after a tour of the village or after a hike from Valle Gran Rey, it is best to stop by one of the restaurants. Try the deliciously prepared rabbit or a potaje de berros, a hearty watercress soup.
Las Hayas
The mountain village of Las Hayas is idyllically situated, lined with tall palm trees, in a hilly landscape on the edge of the Garajonay National Park. The scattered settlement of Las Hayas is mainly known for culinary reasons: locals feel at home in the Amparo bar, which offers drinks, excellent dishes made from goat meat and local specialties. The La Montana bar by the small eucalyptus grove is particularly popular with hikers. For almost three decades, Dona Efigenia in Las Hayas has enjoyed a sumptuous vegetarian menu. Even holidaymakers who are on the island by car like to stop at Efigenia.
A little higher up above the village street there is a small white chapel with a pretty forecourt. If the trade wind clouds allow it, this is a nice place to enjoy the view over the landscape around Las Hayas with its palm trees, pastures and the adjacent national park.
The place Las Hayas offers excellent hiking opportunities. After all, it borders directly on the mystical cloud forest of the Garajonay National Park. A popular small circular route leads through the unique forest to the Las Creces rest area. There are also beautiful hiking trails to the neighboring mountain villages of Arure, Chipude and El Cercado. Hikers who would like to take a longer tour from Las Hayas can, for example, hike to Vallehermoso, to the summit of Garajonay or into Valle Gran Rey. Of course, all of these destinations can also be easily reached by rental car from Las Hayas.
