Overview of El Hierro
- the smallest and the furthest south west of the Canary Islands, this
tiny speck of rock in the Atlantic Ocean measures only 24km from the
north to south coast and 27km from the west to east. Also known as the
Isla del Meridiano, El Hierro used to mark the boundary of the western
world, it is thought that Christoper Columbus stopped off on the
island on his way to America and apparently that was the last major
event to happen on the island.
Like it's near neighbours, El Hierro is of
volcanic extraction and its steep sides plummet down towards the sea. It has
some pretty spectacular cliffs with can rise up to a 1000 meters with the
highest point of the island being Pici del Malpaso at 1500 meters.
El Hierro is not really an island on which
you would be able to buy a holiday home or indeed settle, there simply isn't a
market, if property does become available it disappears very quickly). The
population of this island is about 9000 and the capital city of Valverde is
small but quite picturesque with many gardens and parks and a notable church. El
Hierro was declared a biosphere reservation by Unesco in year 2000.
Tourism is not developed in any real way,
and there is is only a small airport on the island that connects with nearby
Tenerife, a ferry terminal is the usual way of arriving on El Hierro and this to
also connects with Tenerife.
El Hierro has no stretches of golden beach
as found on some of the other islands ( there is a 14km stretch at El Golfo but
this is covered with black ash) and to a certain degree this has helped keep
tourism at bay, hotel accommodation is quite limited and in total there are
about 1200 total beds available for occupation at any one time. One of the main
hotels is the Parador El Hierro which is located next to the ocean and has
approx 45 rooms with very modern facilities and some wonderful views. If you
want to visit this island and stay overnight then booking ahead is essential.
So if not for the long golden sandy
beaches, why do people want to visit this island. Well for one thing, it has a
near perfect climate with intense blue sky's, the sea is always a wonderful deep
azure blue and visiting at any time of the year is possible, the weather system
is dominated by the very mild north east trade winds and in the winter months
temperatures rarely drop below 17C and in the height of summer they are not much
above 24C.
El Hierro attracts visitors who like
complete peace and quiet, there are no real resorts and this beautiful island is
a haven for walkers, cyclists, mountain bikers, scuba divers and anyone that
simply wants to soak up the wonderful volcanic landscape. There are also many
unique flora and fauna on the islands and the fishing and scuba diving are
fantastic El Hierro has developed quite a loyal following of visitors, many
return year after year and revel in this undiscovered paradise, the small
fishing village of La Restinga on the South of the island, is becoming very
popular with diving enthusiasts.
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Guide
to El Hierro, Spain
