Cool and damp northern La Gomera is better suited to banana plantations than tourist resorts, with slow-paced rural villages remaining relatively untouched. The area’s highlight though is the Parque Nacional de Garajonay, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site containing the world’s premium laurel forest.

A good deal higher than Santa Cruz and so with a considerably cooler and rainier climate, the lively university town of La Laguna was Tenerife’s first major settlement and, for over two hundred years, its capital. The government may have moved and the town’s bland suburbs now blur into Santa Cruz, yet La Laguna remains the cultural, religious and academic centre of Tenerife and its well-preserved historic centre provides a showpiece of Canarian architecture. South of here, it’s the university district that is the busiest area of town, its streets buzzing with bars, cafés and bookshops. La Laguna is at its best during festivals, particularly Corpus Christi, when many of its central streets are bedecked with detailed patterns of flowers.

  

Despite glorious weather and a variety of landscapes that attract four million tourists every year,Tenerife
has an image problem.Thanks to package tourism, thentire island is assumed to be a playground for rowdy
holiday-makers, content to spend lazy days on the beach and drink-fuelled nights in the bars and if this is what you’re after, you won’t be disappointed. But get off the beaten track and you’ll discover spectacula volcanic scenery, elegant resorts and peaceful Spanish towns.And with the island measuring just 86km lon and 56km wide, everywhere is a possible day-trip.
Some of the most memorable sights are natural ones– the most impressive being around the island’spre-eminent landmark, the volcano Mount Teide.The turbulent history of the slands has left a host of sights that deserve a look
too.Traces of the origina nhabitants, the Guanche, can be found at various sites around the islands, while the impact of the Spanish conquest is best seen in their colonial towns which offer a complete contrast to the brash, more recently developed resorts. Though Tenerife hasmany peaceful areas, those wanting to get even further away from the crowds should head to the strikingly precipitous island of La Gomera.A 28km ferry-ride from Tenerife, it
was the first of the Canary Islands to be conquered by the Spanish (Tenerife was the last) and is also the
greenest and least populated of the archipelago, bisected by deep ravines that radiate out from its centre.The
absence of major beaches – and, consequently, resorts – means laid-back rural tranquillity is still intact
here, making it a relaxing place for a break.