La Gomera by motorcycle: the GM-1, Garajonay and Valle Gran Rey

La Gomera has no straights. The GM-1 leaves San Sebastián, crosses to the north of the island and links Hermigua, with its valley of banana plantations, and Agulo, a village of cobbled lanes perched above the sea that faces Teide on clear days and has belonged to Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España since 2021.

Vallehermoso lives in the shadow of Roque Cano, a volcanic natural monument that the municipality carries on its coat of arms. From there the GM-1 turns west and drops into the Valle Gran Rey gorge. On the way down, the Palmarejo viewpoint, designed by César Manrique, looks over the valley's sheer walls and palm groves; below, La Calera climbs the hillside.

The return runs along the island's spine on the GM-2, inside Garajonay National Park. A national park since 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, it holds the best-preserved laurel forest in the Canaries, a relic of the Tertiary that lives in the cloud belt. At Laguna Grande there is parking beside the road; the Degollada de Peraza gives the last view before the descent to San Sebastián.

It is only just over a hundred kilometres, but they are slow ones: the road is narrow, with one tight bend after another, and the summit is often inside the cloud that feeds the laurel forest, with damp tarmac and poor visibility even when the coast is sunny. To bring your own bike, the ferries between Los Cristianos (Tenerife) and San Sebastián carry vehicles.