La Gomera rises so steeply from the Atlantic that it is impractical to build a road around its coast. Crowning the top half of the island is the world's largest pre-glacial forest, protected as Garajonay National Park, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Seventy percent of the 9,325-acre park is covered by a dense laurel forest, similar to those covering Europe in the Tertiary Period. These beautiful, green forests are home to many plants and animals that are indigenous only to this island, and the island's streams and springs are fed by clouds and mists that hover on the peaks in the park.
The terrain is steep, and paths through the misty moss-draped forests open to breathtaking, if often vertigo-inspiring, views. The island capital of San Sebastián was where Christopher Columbus outfitted his ships before crossing the Atlantic in 1492
