El Hierro Walking Guide (Warm Island Walking Guide) (Paperback)

Book Description
Mention to people that you have been to El Hierro, "Where's that?" is the standard reply. Of course up until 1833 any traveller worth his salt knew exactly where El Hierro was as the island had been the zero meridian. This fame dated from Ptolemy who declared El Hierro to be the 'edge of the ancient world'. After two thousand years the zero meridian was moved to Greenwich and the island slipped into obscurity. In 1995 the tourism minister estimated that approx 3-6,000 tourists visited El Hierro, and over 90% of these were German. In 1996 the Sunday Times produced a feature on the island and our 'Discovering El Hierro' article appeared in Holiday Gazette. This exposure has resulted in a sharp increase in visitors, but not so many that you will run into any crowds. Our walking guide is based on the island's picturesque capital of Valverde to explore the central and northern regions of this fascinating island. The walking is beautiful, spectacular and breathtaking, as we re-discover ancient routes across the least known of the Canary Islands. Stone-laid donkey trails criss-cross the landscape. Old abandoned villages are mixed in with ancient sites and volcanic cones in a range of colours (yes, that is right, a range of colours - seeing is believing!). Some amazing tipicos turn up in the least expected places; you just have to dine at Restaurant Casa Goyo for classical El Hierro cuisine (its tiny bar is decorated with culinary awards) and at the training school restaurant - surely one of the most spectacularly sited restaurants in the world. If you are looking for somewhere truly different then we cannot recommend El Hierro too highly. Specialist travel companies now offer packages but take care as where you stay directly affects how your holiday is structured. The isolated Parador was destroyed in winter storms. Restinga is a 'beach' resort seperated from the rest of the island by huge lava fields. El Golfo is a pretty area but to walk inland you have to go up the 700 metre cliffs to reach the central plateau. Our advice is to choose Valverde and we include accommodation information in our guide. Buses only operate to bring pupils into and out of Valverde so use taxis (keep telephone number on you, and a little Spanish helps) if you need a ride home. We found everybody very friendly, particularly in the Cafeteria San Luis where we sheltered from the hurricane (very unusual). If you are choosing a walking guide for El Hierro make sure it was researched post-hurricane (like ours) as the water erosion caused by the torrential rain has made substantial changes to the landscape. Apart from the amazing geology the flora is exceptional and do try the Vina Frontera Blanco (the best white wine in the Canary Islands) along with the local cheese (an unusual blend of cow, sheep and goat milk). Reaching El Hierro from Tenerife is a long ferry trip but well worth the effort involved. El Hierro is also famous for the world's largest landslip. 300 cubic kilometres (yes, cubic kilometres) of the island slipped off into the atlantic ocean creating the El Golfo region and making the remaining piece of El Hierro the smallest Canary Island. All this happened 50000 years ago (a blinking of an eye in geological terms) so it shouldn't affect your own trip to the island.

From the Publisher
A thoroughly researched walking guide by the Canary Islands experts. Fully detailed walk descriptions are combined with large scale 1:25,000 'OS' mapping plus accommodation information.

4 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars This guide enhanced my visit., 16 Sep 2000 By A Customer El hierro may be a bit harder to reach than the other Canary Isles, but it really is worth it. The walking guide was a real eye opener and I came home wanting to go again. Heartily recommended. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Essential if you want to walk on El Hierro, 8 Jul 2000 By A Customer This guide does what it says. The maps are excellent and the walk descriptions are really clear. It takes a bit of planning to get to this island in the Canaries, but believe me, it is worth it. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Edge of the "Western World"., 31 Aug 1999 By A Customer Before Greenwich pinched the meridian, El Hierro was known to every sailor as the edge of the western world. This fascinating, most westerly, Canary Island is found by few, but when you do find it!!!! For such an isolated island our El Hierro Walking Guide includes two of the Canary Islands best restaurants. The walking is simply brilliant. You have to go to believe it, volcanic cones in a range of pastel shades, abandoned villages, ancient aboriginal sites, genuinely friendly people but negligable nightlife except enjoying a good meal with the best white wine produced in the Canary Islands. The El Hierro cheese is something special, made from a combination of goat, cow and sheep milk; most of it is flown straight to Madrid to appear in high priced restaurants. Take lunch at the famous bar restaurant in San Andres and then an afternoon of exploration will take you to one of the world's most spectacularly sited top-class restaurants for dinner - ask them to ring for a taxi back to Valverde. If you haven't been there then you must go. David Brawn - joint author. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 4 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable introduction to El Hierro Only criticism - it doesn't cover all the island. Even so there is plenty of walking to fill a couple of weeks and enjoy this unique place. Read more Published on 5 Jul 2002 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 4 customer reviews...

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