A VERY SPECIAL LANDSCAPE

Our walk this month is entirely in La Oliva, Fuerteventura’s most northern municipality. We set out from the foot of Mount Tindaya, a sacred spot for the original inhabitants of the island and its natural symbol.

We start our walk in the town of La Oliva, which we leave along Calle de la Virgen de la Caridad, from where we follow the road that takes us to the northwest coast through arid and solitary plains. After walking for around six kilometres through sandy terrain and algoaera and brusquilla shrublands, we reach the coast near the tip known as Punta de Paso Chico.

We are now in a very special landscape, which is a marked contrast to the typical postcard images of Fuerteventura. Instead of the flat and sandy dune-filled shorelines normally associated with the island, here we encounter rockfaces up to thirty metres tall that plunge into the sea.

These same features are found on other Canary Islands also: these are the parts that bear the brunt of the Atlantic storms that, over a period of millions of years, have pushed the coastline back due to the impact of the waves.

Only in a few locations, such as the points where ravines meet the sea or the accesses to Tindaya’s rugged coast, do we find small bays with sand deposits, such as the lovely, secluded and tranquil Esquinzo and Águila beaches.

The pleasant walk along the cliffs, which we interrupt only to negotiate the deep cleft of the Esquinzo ravine, is approximately eight kilometres, as far as Punta del Mallorquín. Here the cliffs end and give way to the long Aljibe and Castillo beaches, the prelude to the small town of El Cotillo which is the end point of our walk.

Positive elevation: 100 metres uphill.

Negative elevation: 350 metres downhill.

Length: 17.3 km.

Highest point : 194 m.a.s.l.

Lowest point : 2 m.a.s.l.

Nearby places of interest : near La Oliva stands one of Fuerteventura’s most outstanding natural features: Mount Tindaya - which was of huge importance to the island’s earliest inhabitants.

Notes: although long, the walk is not challenging. However, the complete lack of shade from the sun means plenty of water should be carried, along with suncream and a hat. It is not advisable to tackle the walk during the island’s customary summer heat waves.

¿Did you know that the Tindaya Cliffs are testimony to the erosion of the coast over a period of millions of years? Previously, the shoreline extended much further westwards.