Stunning image of sacred mountain

Above a stunning aerial photograph of La Gomera's sacred mountain La Fortaleza, taken and published by ''The Piper Pilot'' on his Facebook page, where he showcases the beauty of the Canary Islands with shots taken from his aircraft. Below is an image I took some time ago. More about La Fortaleza can be found HERE...

The sacred mountain La Fortaleza

La Fortaleza, La Gomera's sacred table mountain just south of national park's forest near the island's former capital of Chipude, was once an important ritual site and later served as one of the last strongholds of the indigenous Gomerans against the Spanish conquerors. Seen here from the east (Mirador de Igualero) at sunset when mists often drift across the top. The Spanish word la fortaleza means strength, toughness or fortitude, but also translates as fort or fortress.

A similar view of La Fortaleza photographed in daytime. The mountain rises to 1.231 metres asl (over 4.000 ft) and the remote hamlets of Erque and Erquito lie in the deep valley below.

The ancient stone alignments and original religious sites on top were mostly destroyed by the Spanish conquistadores and what remained was further severely disturbed in the 1980's by a group of German esotericists who rearranged the stones and rocks they found to create spirals and other formations according to their own convictions. This happened before the site had been properly investigated and documented by archaeologists and consequently it could not be brought back to its original state. So there's no need to revere what you find there as it's not authentic, bar the rocks themselves, and there's also the addition of a modern Christian cross.

Above is a view of La Fortaleza taken from the western side about a kilometre from Chipude, with the village of Pavon, on the road to La Dama, at its foot. From there the table mountain top can be accessed via a slowly ascending winding path (signposted). However, the final ascent is demanding and not suitable for those suffering from vertigo. Bear in mind that you'll also have to climb down the same route as there is no other path back. In the past years some steps were hewn into the rock face that made the clamber up a bit easier, but you'll still need both hands and feet to do it. The spectacular views from the top are the reward for those who make the climb. As the late Tim Hart wrote in his excellent 'La Gomera - A Guide...' (ISBN 0-9547989-0-2): ''...to the top, where you feel as if you are on a giant altar to the god of the sky, as did the Guanches, and they called him Arahan''.

There's a petrol station and also the Bar Los Camioneros close by on the road to La Dama should you need to refuel, or indeed pre-fuel to muster courage and 'fortaleza' for the ascent.

Spectacular rescue in Argaga yet again

Above images were taken by the Spanish police early in the morning on Saturday, August 3rd 2019, during a spectacular rescue of a mountain hiker who had become trapped in a cliff of the notorious  Barranco de Argaga area near Valle Gran Rey, which is however part of the municipality of Vallehermoso. The trapped hiker had to spend the previous night in the precipitous location to await daylight and rescue by the Guardia Civil mountain unit police helicopter. In the first image (and the close-up of same below it) a rescuer had already been set down near the trapped man to assess the victim's state of health. Luckily he was unharmed and was then brought down to the heliport of Valle Gran Rey.

Please stay away from Argaga, as numerous accidents and even deaths have occurred there. Read more...

British walker rescued after fall on treacherous path

Mountain rescue (Archive image)

A 70-year-old British woman had to be rescued by helicopter on Saturday afternoon after falling while walking in the Las Lecheras, El Guro, area of Valle Gran Rey. Emergency services say that they were called out at around 4pm after reports that the woman had lower leg injuries, and she was airlifted to San Sebastián and then taken by ambulance to the island’s Hospital Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe where her condition is said not to be serious.

The Las Lecheras path is one of the most treacherous in La Gomera and is officially closed as erosion and rockfalls have made it almost impassable and hard to find in places. There are some misleading goat paths in the area which add to the danger. This path and the dangerous path up (or down) the Argaga ravine are the two paths which are definitely best avoided and and often the cause for complicated rescue operations.

Cable car now under construction

Did you ever wonder, like myself, why the beautiful new 'road to nowhere'  (click for more) with park and playground was built from the central La Calera roundabout down along the barranco in Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera island ? 

Well, now we now the reason. All was done to serve the planned cable car for which construction work has already begun. Just near the end of this new road the ground station for what will be the island's first cable car will be erected and from there the new attraction will travel up the spectacular mountain cliff of La Merica. Many thousands of walkers climb the steep mountain track to continue to the village of Arure and often the rescue helicopter has to be called out as some tourists overestimate their physical condition and underestimate the dangers of this path. In future they can avail of the comfort of a cable car for the way up or down, and people who would never have attempted to scale the cliff can soon enjoy the spectacular vista on the top from the planned viewing platform with a return journey by cable car. 

The journey up the 1500 ft high cliff will only take 17 minutes, as estimated by the German promoter behind the project, who is a resident of La Gomera and has stated that he was inspired by the success and design of the cable car up Mount Teide on Tenerife. His newly formed company called 'Experiencia Merica S.A.' will be relying on Swiss technology and expertise to finish the project on time. If the speed with which the first support masts for the cable car went up recently at the foot of the mountain is anything to go by then they will certainly succeed.

The official opening is planned for April 1st next year with 'a major music event' on the top to mark the occasion.