Gravel tour around the island of El Hierro

On the crossing, the drivers who had made it onto the ferry - there were only seven participants - decided that we wouldn't drive across the last island at night, but would start at 5 a.m. the next morning, so that we could all have a little Get sleep and see the island in the light. This definitely turned out to be the best decision. However, it was not that easy to find accommodation, let alone a hotel. The island is hardly inhabited and accordingly has few possibilities to find accommodation. We drove up the first mountain in the dark, but when it got lighter, you could finally see the surroundings. It was the first island where we once again saw grazing animals. Nature reminded us more of Scotland than Spain and the Canary Islands. It was very green, a bit mystical in parts. The gravel sections in the south and west of the island were just great. It was the perfect gravel! It really made me want to drive over it with pressure. Some of the main roads are just gravel and so smooth. It is definitely topographically demanding, but still a lot of fun. El Hierro is worth a trip if you are in Tenerife and want some peace and quiet. The food there is good too. It was just a perfect end to the strenuous but beautiful tour of the Canary Islands. Incidentally, Henning and I were also able to win the team classification.

«Gran Guanche is a bikepacking event that goes across five of the Canary Islands: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and El Hierro. We did the five islands in two and a half days. Of all the islands, I liked Fuerteventura and El Hierro the most. The contrasts of the two islands could not be bigger. Fuerteventura with its rugged west coast, the graceful desert and then, the almost Caribbean looking, southeast side of the island makes Fuerteventura a perfect destination for the gravel bike. In Pájara there are some restaurants that offer the typical Canarian potatoes "Papas Arrugadas". In addition, there are awesome croquettes with different fillings. El Hierro, on the other hand, is an almost deserted island. Hardly anyone lives there. Roads and gravel are excellent. For me, this was clearly the island with the best kind of gravel. It was big fun to drive around with the Terra. It's very green and partly reminds me of Scotland. There are not many places to eat in El Hierro, but if you find a restaurant or bar, the food there is just top class!». Paul Voss