El Hierro The Canary Island That Escaped Mass Tourism | CISNewsStudio1s

El Hierro The Canary Island That Escaped Mass Tourism | CISNewsStudio1s

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While protests against mass tourism have erupted on neighboring Canary Islands, El Hierro—the wildest, most westerly, and youngest of the islands—has quietly taken a different path.

Located around 500km off the west coast of Africa, El Hierro offers a stark contrast to the bustling tourist hubs of its neighboring islands. On a recent hike, I traversed through a fairy-tale forest of ancient laurels draped in velvety moss, walked along trails bordered by lush ferns, and ascended the black ash slopes of a volcanic caldera.

Eventually, I reached the awe-inspiring El Golfo, a vast amphitheater where towering cliffs loom over a fertile plain and rugged coastline battered by white-capped turquoise waves. It was one of the most wild and breathtaking landscapes I had ever encountered.

El Hierro, a heart-shaped island formed 1.2 million years ago from undersea volcanic eruptions, boasts a dramatic landscape of fertile valleys, evergreen forests, towering cliffs, volcanic cones, and lunar-like badlands. What sets this small island apart, especially in a year of widespread protests against mass tourism, is its commitment to doing things differently.

With a population of just 11,000, El Hierro’s rugged terrain is unsuitable for sprawling resorts or skyscrapers. The island also lacks direct flights from outside the archipelago, limiting the number of visitors. In 2023, El Hierro received about 20,300 visitors, a stark contrast to Tenerife, the largest Canary Island, which saw over 6.57 million tourists.

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