Hiking in 6 days around La Gomera on the GR132

It is that time of year again. The winter is lasting forever in Switzerland, and although I do like the snow, I was desperate for some sunshine. After hiking on La Palma last year, I continued my explorations of the Canary Islands on La Gomera. La Gomera is one of the quieter island, and has two long-distance hiking trails; the GR131 through the national park in the center of the island and the GR132, following the coast line. It was the latter I set out to do. In this post you will find (hopefully) all the information to help you plan the GR132, because I’d highly recommend it.

General info about the GR132

The GR132 is 130 km long and mostly follows the coastline of La Gomera. There are 8 official stages, but I did the entire trail in 6 days. It does take a certain level of fitness (living near the Alps helps), as each day you’ll have to conquer more than 1000 high meters. This is due to the geological state of the island; it is volcanic and due to erosion, canyons have formed. However, demanding as it may be, the canyons are beautiful and the views almost make you forget that you have to drag yourself up a steep cliff side again.

I did the hike in early March and the weather was perfect. 20 to 23°C, and hardly any rain. Some nights there were a couple of showers, but they were short and didn’t even pop up on the radar of my weather app. As the trail is quite exposed and there is little protection from the sun, I would not like to do this hike in full summer. Especially since water is scarce (see below).

Getting around and navigation on the trail

La Gomera does have an airport, but there are way more flights to the neighboring island Tenerife. It is the easiest to fly to the southern airport, and take a bus to the port in Los Christianos. Here you can take the ferry to San Sebastian, the capital of La Gomera. There are 2 ferry companies; Armas and Fred Olsen. the journey only takes 45 minutes; I paid around 43 euro for a one-way ticket. There was plenty of space, pre-booking was actually not required, but I like to be organized.

The trail itself is mostly well-marked with the standard white and red paint marks. Every kilometer there is a marker; if you hike counter-clockwise (as I did) you start at KM 1. People hiking clockwise mentioned they liked the “countdown” from 130 to 1, I guess this is a good argument to hike in this direction. I did download some gpx-files before, and there were only a couple of instances I really needed to check. Later I realized that the app Mapy actually has the entire route loaded on the map (with the “outdoor” layer). Mapy is anyway recommended, you can download maps for offline use and it is one of best Open Street Maps apps there is.

On the north-west side of the island, there are two variants of the GR132. When hiking counter-clockwise; at the village of Las Rosas, you can decide to hike through Vallehermoso or take the more northern route to Playa del Vallehermoso. The latter is slightly longer, but I really enjoyed walked along the ridge.

Camping along the way

Wildcamping is officially forbidden, but tolerated on La Gomera. Last year on La Palma I needed to get a permit, but it appears that this does not exist for La Gomera. Obviously the normal rules apply; stay away from houses, put up your tent late and leave early and take everything with you. Fire is not allowed; the national park on the island is still recovering from forest fires.

Finding a place for your tent can be tricky; the trail goes up and down continuously, so on certain stretches you will not find any flat ground. There are some caves you could sleep it (especially just before Arure or in the Barranco de la Negra). Most of the times, I managed to find a nice spot on the beach or between some ruins. My only problem was that my own lightweight, high tech tent did not make it on the flight. Luckily I found a 4-person, very cheap and very crappy tent in a bazaar in San Sebastian. This did not only make my backpack heavier, it was also not resistant against the strong winds. Needless to say I didn’t sleep so well. One final detail; if you lie in your tent at night and you hear something like people yelling around you; no need to worry; those are bats. I was so happy a fellow hiker told me about this phenomenon before, otherwise I would have not been able to get any sleep.

Food, water and cooking

Water is a bit of an issue on La Gomera. Although the map shows many rivers or at least creeks, most of them were dry. Several blogs mentioned this, so I was prepared and carried 3 liters of water. This was enough for me. If you do the hike in 6 days, like me, you’ll come through a village each day where you can stock up, or in the worst case, ask people. On the 1st day I did filter some water from a stream (I always carry my Sawyer Squeeze Mini filter anyway), but this was more to get the full hiking experience rather than I really needed it.

As you can buy food on most days (see below for the day to day description), I also didn’t carry too much food. Of course, there is always some emergencies snacks and some ramen noodles in my pack; with these elevation differences I don’t want to get hangry. And a coffee in the morning is a must. Last year I tried an ethanol stove for the first time and I am a fan. The Trangia Mini is lightweight and the perfect size for a solo hiker. Since gas cannot be brought on a flight, and finding gas upon arrival is always a hassle (not to speak of the right connection), I like my ethanol option. Pharmacies are open late in Spain and a bottle of 250 ml of ethanol costed me 1.50 euro.

Let’s get into my itinerary!

Day 1: San Sebastian to Playa de la Caleta (26 km)

After a hearty breakfast in my hotel and trying to figure out how to get my oversized crappy tent on my backpack, I left around 8 AM. Luckily I could leave some clothing and other items at the hotel; at least something to look forward to upon my return. The GR132 starts in the center of San Sebastian and you gently make your way up. This first day is not too bad, altitude-wise. After 8 km or so you cross into the National Park Majona, and it’s like being transported into another world. I got surprised by a rainbow and just enjoyed being on my own. The entire day I only met 2 other hikers. Later on the path merged with the infamous “water pipe” road. This pipe runs along the track and is your companion for most of the day. Luckily I had plenty of water, it must be annoying to be thirsty and have water so close by, yet so far. I did find one stream that wasn’t completely dry and filtered some water, just because this day I wouldn’t encounter any shops. The “water pipe” road is easy to walk on, so I made good time. After 18 km you go down, and the sounds of the ocean becomes louder and louder. In my planning I already thought that Playa de la Caleta would be a good place to camp; and I was right. It is a bit off route and you have to go all the way down to the coast (and back up the next day), but all worth it. I arrived at 3 PM and there were still plenty of tourists there. I made myself comfortable at the picnic spot (with toilets, running water and even a shower!) and watched the waves, made some food, until I could pitch my tent. Later I was joined by two other campers and it was a peaceful night.

Day 2: Playa de la Caleta – Playa de Vallehermoso (18 km)

After waking up and making a coffee, I slowly packed everything, cursing my crappy tent. Around 8 AM I was ready to hike back to the route and make my way to the village of Agulo, where I did some grocery shopping (cold drinks!). When you leave Agulo, you’ll also pass by the cemetery, where there is tap water. After the town, you go steeply up along the hillside and somewhere here I messed up. I saw signs for Vallehermoso and since that was the general direction I was going, I followed the sign. Only later I realized I veered of the GR132 and was now on route 38; somehow I missed a marker for the GR132. I decided to push on and go through the village of Las Rosas, and had lunch in a small family owned restaurant. Checking my map, I saw there was a trail leading out of the village that would bring me back to the GR132. Unfortunately, this trail was overgrown with cacti, so I felt a bit like Indiana Jones, whacking away plants with my hiking poles. But I made it back to the GR132. It was steep down to the Barranco de los Zarzales and then up again to end my day at Playa de Vallehermoso. I could have pushed on, but one look at the mountainside was enough for me to take an easy day and camp at the beach. This beach is not as secluded as Playa de la Celeta. There were plenty of people around, and some campervans on the parking lot. Even worse; the showers on the beach, and the toilets and water at the picnic site were all shut down. However, there was an electrical plug next to the barbecue spots; you win some, you lose some, I guess. I pitched my tent directly next to the toilet building at the picnic site, only to realize that they turn on the lanterns in the evening. It was a good thing I brought a sleeping mask.

Day 3: Playa de Vallehermoso – Just before El Pajar de La Mérica (24 km)

This day is on the GR132 “norte” route. The first thing for me in the morning was to climb steep up the hill directly next to Playa de Vallehermoso, but it’s all worth it. In 3 km you go up 600 meters, after that it evens out and the hike is lovely. So many flowers this time of year, and up here would be a good place to camp as well. You pass by a little chapel and later a church at Ermita de Santa Clara; here you will find water again. And cats, chickens and a little picnic spot. I loved this part; not too strenuous, beautiful views of the coast line and I was surprised at how green it was on this side of the island. First you follow a dirt road, and later you meander through green hill sides to make your way to the village of Epina. There is nothing here (apart from some very enthusiastic locals, who were apparently surprised to see a woman alone). At Chorros the Epina you will find a natural spring (where it takes very long to fill up your bottles), before making your way down to the village of Alojera. This part of the GR132 was completely overgrown; it was hard to see where to place your feet. Halfway down I encountered some workers that were clearing the path, obviously I thanked them profusely. In Alojera I stocked up in the very limited shop (but chocolate is chocolate!) and had a late lunch in the attached restaurant, where I also could charge my phone again. My energy levels restored, I continued in the direction of Arure. I was so glad to do this part late afternoon. I had the path to myself, it was sunny, and even though it was quite the climb, this was one of my favourite sections. The only thing that made it a bit difficult is my fear of heights; this path along the cliffs was a bit of a challenge; steep drops to my right side! Just before you reach Arure you’ll pass some caves in the cliffside, where you could easily sleep. I pushed on a bit more until I reached the plateau after Arure, where I pitched my tent among some ruins, to protect my tent from the strong wind up here.

Day 4: Just before El Pajar de La Mérica – Playa de la Rajita (23 km)

I woke up in the mist and that set the tone for the day; this would become my least favourite day on the GR132. The beginning was not too bad; steep down the cliff towards the village La Calera, where I could stock up again (Dutch chocolate milk! the best!), before walking along the road to El Puenta, and going back up again. This was hard work, but I was rewarded with the lovely Baranco de Argaga. From the small village Gerian (nothing there) I gradually made my way down until I hit the most horrible road ever. There was an artist house, after that the road looked like it was bulldozered. I passed by some building sites that seemed to be left to rot for some years. Breaking my ankles on the horrible uneven surface I looked around and saw that the port of Valle Rey was only 2 km to my right (after hiking for hours). At the famous cave with the bed in it on Playa Iguala I took a break and continued grumpy the road to the village of La Dama, where I at least found a bar with icecold fanta. It slowly was time to find a place to sleep and I kinda trespassed on the fenced off area on Playa de la Rajita. Next to some dumping site of building materials I hoped I would stay protected from the wind. I was wrong; the wind came from all directions and I hardly slept. The tent, that was already falling apart, was flapping in the wind and the bats were screaming all around me. I decided that this tent was gonna go the next morning, especially since it wasn’t rainproof anymore.

Day 5 – Playa de la Rajita – Playa de Santiago (22 km)

After hardly any sleep, but knowing that this day couldn’t be any worse than yesterday, I made my way up and after an hour or so I entered Baranco de la Negra. This was such a difference to the day before! It was wild and straight from Jurassic Park. Caves everywhere, palm trees, cacti and I could hear some goats. I loved every minute in this canyon and I was almost sad when I hit the road that lead to Alajero. Sad but not for long, because in the middle of the village there was a little bar where I had a lovely late morning snack. Full of new energy, and after throwing my tent in the trash I continued. The night before I booked a place to sleep in Playa de Santiago and the thought of a proper shower gave me wings. The last stretch into town is not the most interesting, but it was an easy walk. I treated myself to a dinner with a huge piece of chocolate cake as dessert, and passed out in a proper bed. Ready to tackle the last day!

Day 6: Playa de Santiago – San Sebastian (21 km)

Well-rested and with a lighter backpack, I left the town, passing by golf courses, before it became remote again. The first part of the day you go up and down some hills, with very good camping possibilities on the beaches. Also in the hills, going up to the highest point of Morales, you will pass by some ruins, which would make excellent camp sites. I had to use them as shelter, as this was the only day in these six that I got some rain. It wasn’t too bad and every time I could continue after 20 minutes. Since this was my last day on the trail I wasn’t in a hurry. I passed by the new-age holiday hotel El Cabrito, where signs warned hikers that they could buy some water, but otherwise I didn’t feel welcomed. I am not sure if you can get anything more than water, so I passed by quickly and enjoyed Baranco de la Guancha. I could see the beach already, and since I didn’t swim at all in the ocean this week I took the chance here. The water was lovely and after drying up, I tackled the last uphill before turning towards San Sebastian. It was a bit of a shock to see dayhikers suddenly, not to mentioned the large cruise ship in the port. The contrast was just too big. After 21 km this day, 130 in total, I was back where I started. I made it on the GR132! Happy I checked into the hotel, where they handed me my bag with clean clothing.

All in all I loved the GR132, apart from half a day on day 4. I was alone most of the time, and only met a couple of other hikers that did the trail in the other direction. It was nice to meet those people; we swapped information on where to get or buy water, where to sleep and the general condition of the trail. The Canary Islands are such a popular tourist destination, especially Tenerife, but La Gomera feels wilder and more original.