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LA GOMERA , the tiny disc of an island 28km off Tenerife, has a forgotten, laid-back air about it that even Tenerife's most remote corners can't match. Bisected by deep impenetrable ravines that radiate out from its centre, and covered in lush laurel forests, it is the greenest and least populated island in the Canaries. Like Tenerife, Gomera can broadly be divided into a cool, wet, lush north and a sunnier, drier, less fertile south. It's around 10 million years older than Tenerife, however, during which time volcanic activity has been largely absent - the landscape here is one sculpted by erosive forces rather than spectacular volcanic events. Aside from forming the sheer ravines that dominate the scenery and the spectacular rock monoliths that stud the island, erosion has also meant that the peaks at the island's centre are fairly unimpressive by Tenerife's standards. At less than half the height of Teide, Gomera's summits are inside rather than above the cloud base, giving rise to a misty, dense and ghostly laurel forest , one of the world's most ancient woodlands. The absence of major beaches - and, consequently, resorts - makes it a great place to come to get away from the crowds and take in the scenery on any one of many splendid hikes . If time is tight, however, it is well worth taking in the island in a day trip , as most of the 20,000 annual visitors do. The classic route heads anti-clockwise from the island's small, sleepy capital, San Sebastian , up into the cool damp north , where the climate has been as successful at encouraging substantial banana plantations around Hermigua and Vallehermoso , as it has at discouraging tourist resorts from taking hold. In the south , warmer weather has encouraged visitors to cluster around a few small sand-and-pebble beaches. The local population, traditionally eking out a living farming poor soil on difficult terrain has eagerly embraced visitors, building numerous small apartment complexes, particularly in the popular and traditionally bohemian destination Valle Gran Rey . Holidaymakers in this valley tend to divide their time between lazing on beaches and heading up into the hills and the thick laurel forest of the Parque Nacional de Garajonay , which encompasses most of the centre of the island and has been deemed a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Further east along the coast and with the sunniest weather on the island, the uninspiring fishing village of Playa de Santiago has also constructed a smattering of tourist accommodation.
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