El Hierro may be the second-smallest Canary Island, but during our stay we quickly realized that it’s also one of the most diverse islands of the archipelago. As a matter of fact, locals told us that the island combines all the elements that make its bigger neighbours famous and we found it easy to see what they mean.

It just has an area of about 270 square kilometres (about 100 square miles), but the landscapes frequently change from rough volcanic landscapes to pine-studded mountain slopes to beautiful evergreen forests. Apart from that, there are some interesting museums, awesome viewpoints and plenty of cool spots for a swim.

We spent about a week on the island and certainly didn’t get bored. If you’re on a tighter schedule, I recommend spending at least three days on El Hierro to see the island’s top sights.

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Guided Tours of El Hierro

If you don’t want to sort out your own transport or would just like to have the company of a local guide, there are a few sightseeing tours of El Hierro available. You can have a look at some options below.

A 3-Day Itinerary for El Hierro

For each day, I recommend exploring a different part of the island. The east is where you’ll find the tiny capital Valverde, the holy Garoé Tree and some pretty coastal villages and in the centre there are some atmospheric forests, great viewpoints and some interesting cultural sights.

The west and south feel a lot more remote, with windswept juniper trees, ancient petroglyphs, dramatic volcanic landscapes and the Faro de Orchilla at the edge of the island.

You could obviously mix and match these sights depending on where you’re staying and what you’re most interested in. However, if you want to see a good selection of El Hierro’s highlights in three days, I think this is a pretty good way to divide up your time.

Day 1: Eastern El Hierro

On your first day, I recommend exploring El Hierro’s eastern part, including the capital Valverde, the holy cloud-milking Garoé Tree and the wonderfully lush northeastern tip of the island.

The Capital Valverde

El Hierro’s quaint capital Valverde makes for a good first stop. A great place to have some breakfast here is the cool Boomerang Café or you could grab one of the famous local cheesecakes at the Fábrica de Quesadillas.

Afterwards, it’s worth checking out the small main square with the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (the biggest church on the island) as well as the Casa de las Quinteras Museum, which has some interesting displays on El Hierro’s traditional crafts.

For more information about the capital, you can check out my dedicated travel guide to Valverde.

The Holy Garoé Tree

The nearby Árbol Garoé was considered holy by the native Bimbache people for its ability to condense water out of low-lying clouds. For that reason it’s also known as the ‘cloud milking tree’.

It’s one of the island’s symbols and you can get there by taking an easy 45-minute walk from the village of San Andrés in the hills west of Valverde. When we were there it was open daily from 10am to 2pm and from 2.30pm to 6pm. You can double-check the current opening times here.

The separate entrance fee is 2.50€, but it’s also included in the El Hierro Tourist Pass (see below).

Pozo de las Calcosas

Pozo de las Calcosas is an old fishing village at the northeastern tip of the island. Over the last few years, it has been transformed into a modest summer resort for the people of El Hierro, but if you come at any other time of the year, you’ll likely have the atmospheric place to yourself.

We were there in December and didn’t meet a single other soul in the entire village. There are some cute cobbled alleyways to explore and in the summer you can also take a dip in the nearby natural pools (in the winter, the sea is much too rough, though!).

Charco Manso

If you drive east through the beautiful landscape of pastures and tiny wine-patches, you’ll come to the natural pools at Charco Manso. Once again, the sea was far too rough for swimming when we dropped by, but we still liked exploring the place.

There are multiple caves in the rocks surrounding the pool as well as an impressive rock arch. We also saw huge amounts of crabs scuttling around.

Tamaduste

After checking out the northeastern tip of the island, I recommend driving down El Hierro’s east coast. If you drive back to Valverde, you can continue east to Tamaduste, a small village with a pretty bay that is perfect for swimming (even in winter).

If you’ve still got energy for a hike, we also found it worth following the coastal path north for half an hour to visit the wild, wind-swept Playa Fortaleza.

Las Playas and Roque de la Bonanza

If you follow the coast south past the island’s small port and through a couple of tunnels, you’ll reach Las Playas, which is a bay surrounded by an impressive sheer cliff-face.

From here you can also see the Roque de la Bonanza stone arch, which stands in the ocean just off the coast and is another symbol of the island. At the southern end of the bay is El Parador, which is said to be one of El Hierro’s fanciest hotels.

Dinner at Timijiraque

If you’re in the mood for fancy dining, you could drop by the restaurant inside the El Parador Hotel. As usual, we were traveling on a budget, so we dropped by the tiny fishing village of Timijiraque on our way back up the coast and had some tasty fish and lapas (limpets) at Bahía Timijiraque Restaurant.

Day 2: Central and Northern El Hierro

For the second day, I recommend exploring the wooded centre of the island and the pretty El Golfo Valley in the north. Have breakfast at or near your accommodation and then set off early for the higher reaches of the island.

Mirador de Isora and Mirador de las Playas

For me, two of the best viewpoints of the island can be found near the village of Isora along the road between Valverde and El Pinar. Both of them have awesome views of the Las Playas Valley, including the Parador Hotel and the Roque de la Bonanza.

I think it’s worth checking both of them out, but if you only have time for one, I’d say go for the Mirador de las Playas, which we found even more impressive than the Mirador de Isora.

Hiking Through the Laurel Forest at La Llanía

If you drive west through the centre of the island, you’ll eventually reach the laurel forest at La Llanía. This is a fantastic spot for a stroll through an otherworldly landscape of gnarled, moss-grown trees.

There are three trails with different lengths that circle through the forest. The shortest took us about an hour to complete. All of them pass the Hoya de Fireba, which is the biggest volcanic crater on the island, and can best be viewed from the Mirador de Fireba at its southwestern edge. 

Wine-Tasting in La Frontera

From La Llania, the road winds its way down into the Golfo Valley through a series of switchbacks that offer some fantastic views down to the coast. Finally, you’ll reach the cute village of La Frontera, where you can drop by at the D.O. El Hierro to learn about the local vineyards.

El Hierro is Europe’s southernmost wine-growing region. At the centre, we learned about the strenuous production process on the island’s steep slopes and could also try some of the local wine in their beautiful historical bodega.

Apparently, not a lot of people come by here, and we had to call ahead ([+34] 922 559 622) the day before to book our visit. They’re generally open from Monday to Friday from 8am to 1pm. You can check their website here.

Iglesia de la Candelaria and Lunch at Joapira

Next, I suggest taking a peek into the nearby 19th-century Iglesia de la Candelaria and climbing up to the bell tower on the nearby hill for some great views of the surrounding valley and coastline.

If you’re hungry, I recommend dropping into Joapira Restaurant, which is right across the small church square. They have lots of Canarian specialities, including the always tasty Carne Fiesta.

Meet the Giant Lizards at the Ecomuseo de Guinea

The Ecomuseo in the hamlet of La Guinea is another must-visit stop in the area. Here you can explore a section of a huge lava tube and see some of the island’s endemic giant lizards in the Lagartario breeding station.

We also really liked the open-air museum that recreates the traditional living style of El Hierro with some furnished houses from the 17th to the early 20th century. It’s open daily from 10am to 6pm (double-check the current times here).

The separate entrance fee is 9.50€, but it’s also included in the El Hierro Tourist Pass (see below).

Swimming at Charco Azul

In my opinion, this is the coolest swimming spot on an island full of cool swimming pools. There’s a pretty open tide pool, but the one in the partially open lava tube is certainly much more atmospheric.

Just make sure the sea isn’t too rough, as it can still wash over into the pools when you don’t expect it.  Make sure to pick a day when it isn’t too windy.

Afterwards, you could take a stroll through the centre of nearby Tigaday village and have dinner in one of the many restaurants lining the main street.

Day 3: Western and Southern El Hierro

On your third day, I suggest exploring El Hierro’s wild western part. In this unique part of the island we came across windswept juniper trees, mysterious rock carvings and a lighthouse at the end of the world.

El Julán Archaeological Site

This fascinating archaeological reserve on the southern slope of the island is home to a series of centuries-old petroglyphs as well as several lookout points and a traditional meeting place that were constructed by El Hierro’s native Bimbache People.

As an archaeologist, it goes without saying that I had to check this place out. You’re only allowed into the reserve by taking a guided tour, which you have to book at least a day in advance. If you have the slightest interest in prehistory, it’s totally worth it, though.

You can find the contact info on the website of the cultural park.

Ermita de la Virgen Sanctuary

The pretty whitewashed Ermita de la Virgen is home to the island’s most venerated religious statue. Nearby is the Cueva de Caracol, where shepherds carved some caves into the cliff face to be used as shelters in previous centuries.

The Juniper Trees of El Sabinar

If you continue up the nearby hill, you’ll reach yet another of El Hierro’s symbols. The windswept Juniper Trees of El Sabinar are gnarled and bent by the constant trade winds, but they nonetheless keep on growing in unusual twisted shapes.

You can follow a short circular walking trail through this magical landscape to reach the impressive viewpoint Mirador de Bascos.

Faro de Orchilla

Europeans considered the western edge of the island near the Faro de Orchilla Lighthouse the end of the world for a long time. Until the late 19th century, the Prime Meridian even used to run nearby, which is commemorated by a small monument.

Our favourite spot here was the Cueva del Acantilado, which are the remains of another huge lava tube. If you bring a torch, you can walk all the way to the end, where there’s a small viewpoint high above the clashing waves.

Playa del Verodal

If you continue north through the beautiful, wild landscape of La Dehesa, you’ll eventually reach Playa del Verodal on the western coast of the island.

We read that the pretty black sand beach is considered the best beach on the island by many people. However, the waves were super rough when we visited, so we decided not to get into the water.

Dinner at Mirador de la Peña

Follow the road east and cross the entire El Golfo Valley, before driving through the tunnel to the village of El Mocanal. From there it’s only a short drive to the Mirador de la Peña, which has an amazing view over the northern half of the island.

The unusual viewpoint was designed by the famous Lanzarote architect Cesar Manrique, and it’s a great place to have dinner. Once again, there are lots of local specialties, like Cabrito frito (goat roasted in El Hierro style).

If You Have More Time

With more than three days, you could explore the sights that I described above a little more slowly. El Hierro definitely rewards aimless exploring and there are lots of amazing hiking trails to do that.

To us, the best of the bunch was the fantastic Camino de la Virgen, which runs across almost the entire island from the Ermita de la Virgen in the west to Valverde in the east. At 28km (17mi), you definitely need an entire day for the hike, but it’s definitely worth it!

If you’ve got a scuba licence, I can also really recommend doing a dive or two at the ‘Mar de las Calmas’ Reserve. The village of La Restinga has tons of diving schools where you can rent equipment and join a group dive. I went with Arrecifal and was very happy with my experience.

Apart from that, there are a number of small museums that cover the island’s natural and cultural history. Among these, the Centro de Interpretación del Geoparque El Hierro near La Restinga, which explains the volcanic history of the island, was the most interesting to us, but we also found the Reserva de la Biosfera in Isora worth checking out.

El Hierro Itinerary Map

You can find all of the places that I’ve described above in this map of El Hierro. I’ve used different colours for the different days of the itinerary.

Practicalities

How to Get Around on El Hierro

The island has a reliable bus network that covers the eastern and northern coast (you can check the different connections on this website), but to reach the more remote western part of El Hierro, you’ll need your own set of wheels.

You could hire a taxi, but if you want to do some exploring, prices will add up quickly, so getting a rental car is definitely the better option. If you want to follow this itinerary, you’ll definitely need one, as it’s impossible to visit all the spots by bus in just three days.

Whenever we’re on the Canary Islands we use Cicar to rent a car, who we’ve always found reliable. Otherwise, you can have a look below to find good current deals on rental cars.

Where to Stay in El Hierro

The island is small enough to make staying in a single location and exploring El Hierro from there a good option. The most useful bases would be the capital of Valverde or the pretty Golfo Valley in the north. We stayed at La Caleta on the eastern coast.

If you want to stay at a truly unique place, Hotel Puntagrande is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest hotel in the world. It was converted from an old marine trade station and has a prime location on a lava tongue that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Otherwise, Apartments at El Sitio are located in a cluster of historical stone houses in the beautiful surroundings of La Frontera. There is a pretty communal garden with a view into the Golfo Valley.

If you have to pinch your pennies, staying in Valverde might be the best idea. One option would be the pretty Hotel Boomerang, which is close to the main square and has a café attached, which serves awesome breakfasts. Have a look at the map for some other options.

El Hierro Tourist Pass

If you plan to visit a few of the island’s museums and the Árbol Garoé, you should definitely get the Pasaporte El Hierro, which includes entry to seven sites.

It’s sold for 17.95€ at Valverde’s tourist information office or at all of the Museums that are included in the pass. You can see which sites are included on this site.

Especially if you want to visit the Ecomuseo de Guinea and Lagartario, which is almost 10€ on its own, it’s really a no-brainer.

See Also

15 Unmissable Things to Do on El Hierro

Walking the Camino de la Virgen – The Best Hike on El Hierro

6 Fun Things to Do in Valverde, El Hierro’s Tiny Capital