La Gomera is one of the smallest of Spain’s Canary Island chain, stretching only 25km across. The island is renowned for its natural beauty and biodiversity, even being described as a miniature continent. I like to think of it as the forgotten Canary Island, as it amazed me how quiet and untouched by tourists the whole island was.

Arriving here felt like I’d stepped foot in a prehistoric scene, a world away from hectic London city-life. The first thing you notice are the colours. A blanket of vibrant greens, pinks and blues spread beautifully over rugged, mountainous terrain. There was almost no noise at all. Just the gentle whisper of trees, echoing across the land.

Almost the entire island is criss-crossed with hundreds of hiking trails, weaving their way up steep mountains, through dense, green forests and sleepy villages. I spent most of the trip hiking, trail-running and then recovering with delicious tapas in the one village restaurant within Vallehermoso. For any active travellers out there, this really is a fantastic place to explore.

The most beautiful and enchanting forest I’ve ever seen was in La Gomera. So when it came to creating my 4th candle scent for Atlas, I immediately thought of this beautiful region of the Canaries. I wanted to create a deep and earthy scent that could transport you straight to the luscious, moss-covered forests of La Gomera.

Travel tips

Getting to La Gomera

The easiest route is to fly to Tenerife, then catch a ferry from Los Cristianos (you can book it here) to La Gomera’s mainland. From here, you can hop on a coach for an 80 minute scenic ride towards a small village called Vallehermoso. I stayed at a gorgeous Airbnb cottage - a traditional and rustic 19th century Canarian house.

Garajonay National Park

A trip to La Gomera isn’t complete until you’ve explored the dense, ancient laurel forests of Garajonay National Park. You won’t ever see a forest quite like it. This type of mystical, laurel forest is unique to La Gomera as it did not have a volcanic eruption in the modern era, making the landscape the most enchanting and lush of all the Canary Islands.

Due to the island’s high humidity, it creates a thick, lingering mist that can roll-in at any instant. As a result, it allows a thick, green moss to lay across every inch of the forest floor, making the island particularly biologically diverse.

Hike recommendation - Take a coach ride from Vallehermoso plaza towards Hermigua, where you can hop off at El Convento to begin a full-day hike. Not for the faint-hearted, the hike almost immediately begins with a steep 900m ascent, taking about two hours to reach the peak at El Cedro. From El Cedro, you enter the park where you can hike to the final destination, Alto de Garajonay - the highest point of the island.

It’s highly recommended to download maps.me beforehand. Just download your destination when you have wifi connection, even pin certain locations you want to highlight, then navigate your way around completely offline.

If you’re looking for a unique and unpretentious place to travel to, I highly recommend La Gomera. Go discover it before everyone else does.