well adapted to semi-desert conditions, while on the highest parts of the islands, laurisilva ‘cloud forests’ are able to trap moisture from the mists and keep themselves well watered. Laurisilva forests once spread all the way round the Mediterranean and tropical regions. Small remnants of this forest survive on the higher northern slopes of most of the Canary Islands, but not on Lanzarote or Fuerteventura.
Canary pines flourish on high, dry mountainsides, sometimes in places where nothing else grows. However, these are very rare on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, where most of the trees are Canary palms. These flourish in dry places, and in the past every part of the tree had a use; today they provide delicious miel de palma, or palm syrup. Every so often you might come across a dragon tree, the last surviving descendants of ancient prehistoric forests. They have been decimated in the wild but prove popular in gardens.
Tagasaste trees are found in dense plantations on the western islands, but not on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. They grow with little water, yet have a high nutritional content and are regularly cut for animal fodder. In recent years they have been exported to Australia. Fruit and nut trees have been established, including oranges, lemons, almonds, figs and vines, but Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are not ideal for growing bananas. Introduced prickly pears are abundant, not so much for their fruit, but for raising cochineal beetles, whose blood provides a vivid red dye.
Bushy scrub is rich and varied, including a host of species that walkers will become familiar with. These include bushy, rubbery tabaibal and tall cardón, or candelabra spurge. Both have milky latex sap, as does aulaga, which looks like a tangled mass of spines and is often found colonising old cultivation terraces in arid areas. Along the coast succulent plants thrive, such as uvilla, which looks like bunches of tiny grapes. The fragrant Canarian lavender usually grows in arid, rocky, stony areas among other scrub species. Of particular importance on Fuerteventura is the cardón de Jandía, which grows only on the Jandía peninsula. Few of the plants have common English names, but all of them feature so often that they should be learned.
Flowers grow all year round, but visitors in spring and early summer will be amazed at the colour and wealth of flowering plants. Many are Canarian endemics, and even trying to compile a shortlist would be pointless. Anyone with a particular interest in flowers and other plants should carry a specific field guide, in English. Try Native Flora of the Canary Islands by Miguel Ángel Cabrera Pérez (Editorial Everest) or Wild Flowers of the Canary Islands by David Bramwell and Zoë Bramwell (Editorial Rueda).
Animals
Waves pound against low cliffs around the Playa de Ojos (Walk 24, Jandía)
As befits remote islands created in relatively recent geological time, the main animal groups to colonise the land were winged creatures, insects and birds. The largest indigenous land mammals were bats. Large and small lizards also arrived, possibly clinging to driftwood.
The laurisilva cloud forest is home to the laurel pigeon, while the rock pigeon prefers cliffs. Buzzards and kestrels can be spotted hunting, while ospreys are struggling. Ravens and choughs are common in some places. There are several varieties of pipits, chaffinches, warblers and chiffchaffs. One of the smallest birds is the kinglet, a relative of the goldcrest. There are canaries, which have nothing to do with the name of the islands, and hoopoes can also be spotted. The islands attract plenty of passage migrants, as well as escapees from aviaries. The coastal fringes are colonised by gulls, but it is best to take a boat trip to spot shearwaters or storm petrels, as they spend most of their time on open water. Boat trips are also the way to spot a variety of dolphins and whales.
Once the Guanche people arrived and colonised the islands over 2000 years ago, the forests suffered as much from clearance as from grazing by voracious sheep and goats. Following the Conquest in the 15th century, the Spanish brought in other domestic animals; of these the cats had a particularly devastating impact on the native wildlife, practically wiping out giant Canarian lizards, which have only recently been rescued from the edge of extinction on El Hierro. The lizards seen on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are much smaller. Rabbits chew their way through the vegetation and appear regularly on Canarian menus. Ground squirrels are often seen on Fuerteventura, but aren’t found on the other islands.
Ground squirrels can now be found on Fuerteventura but are not native to the Canaries
National Parks
The Canary Islands include a handful of national parks and many other protected areas. There is no national park on Fuerteventura, but large parts of the island have been protected in other ways, such as Parque Rural (Rural Park), Parque Natural (Natural Park), Paisaje Protegido (Protected Land), Reserva Natural Especial (Special Nature Reserve), Monumento Natural (Natural Monument), and so on. Lanzarote has the Parque Nacional de Timanfaya, which is so strictly controlled that it is a forbidden to set foot on it! Prominent notices usually tell walkers when they are entering or leaving protected areas. There are visitor centres where more information can be studied, and where interesting literature is on sale.
The Fortunate Isles
Castillo de las Coloradas, in the resort of Playa Blanca (Walk 4, Lanzarote)
Myths and legends speak of ‘The Fortunate Isles’, or ‘Isles of the Blessed’, lying somewhere in the Atlantic, enjoying a wonderful climate and bearing all manner of fruit. The rebel Roman general Sertorius planned to retire there, while Plutarch referred to them many times. Pliny, though, warned ‘these islands, however, are greatly annoyed by the putrefying bodies of monsters, which are constantly thrown up by the sea.’ Maybe these scribes knew of the Canary Islands, or maybe they were drawing on older Phoenician or Carthaginian references. Some would even claim that the islands were the last remnants of Atlantis.
The Gaunches, often described as a ‘stone age’ civilisation, settled on the Canary Islands well over 2000 years ago, and Cro-Magnon man was there as early as 3000BC. No-one knows where the Guanches came from, but it seems likely they arrived from North Africa in fleets of canoes. Although technologically primitive, their society was well-ordered, and they had a special regard for monumental rock-forms in the mountains.
The Guanches fiercely resisted the well-armed Spaniards during the 14th century Conquest of the islands, but one by one each island fell. Tenerife capitulated last of all, with the mighty volcano of El Teide grumbling throughout. Many Guanches were slaughtered or enslaved, but some entered into treaties, converted to Christianity and inter-married. They lost their land and freedom, but their blood flows in the veins of native Canarios.
The Canary Islands were visited by Christopher Columbus on his voyage of discovery in 1492. Subsequently they were used as stepping-stones to the Americas, with many Canarios emigrating. The islands were exposed and not always defended with military might; they were subject to pirate raids, endured disputes with the Portuguese, were attacked by the British and suffered wavering economic fortunes.
There was constant rivalry between Tenerife and Gran Canaria, with the entire island group being governed from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria from 1808, before Santa Cruz de Tenerife became the capital in 1822. In 1927 the Canary Islands were divided into two provinces – Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The remarkable landmark of Torrecilla, and the jagged crater rim of Monte Corona (Walk 23, Lanzarote)
In the early 20th century the military governor of the islands, General
