Stage 1: San Sebastián de La Gomera - Degollada de Peraza

An information panel located at the entrance to the harbour of the island’s capital marks the start of the stage. After walking a few metres along the seafront promenade, and following the signposts along the route, the trail circles Torre del Conde Park via Avenida del Quinto Centenario and continues, across the Barranco La Villa ravine, along the Cañada del Herrero and Avenida Las Galanas until as far as Cañada del Herrero, where the asphalted section ends and a new information panel appears. Remember these first 1.5 kilometres are entirely within the town centre, so you be mindful of traffic at all times.

From this point onwards, a challenging climb begins, covering just over a kilometre along a cobbled path that winds its way up the slope of El Lomo de las Vueltas, between the Barranco de Tajinastas ravine to the south and the Barranco de El Machal ravine to the north, to the area known as La Sabina or El Higueral. The panoramic views of San Sebastián Bay, with Mount Teide on the neighbouring island of Tenerife in the background are a highlight of this section of the trail. The path, which now continues to climb at a somewhat gentler gradient, winds through a landscape characterised by typical Canarian scrub vegetation, with tabaiba (Euphorbia berthelotii) and balo (Plocama pendula) predominating.

On several occasions, the route continues along short stretches of asphalted path alternating with sections of cobbled path that have served us well on the ascent. There is no danger here thanks to the absence of motor traffic. Nevertheless, the usual precautions must be taken.

After this first gruelling stretch of the climb, once the 5-kilometre mark has been passed, we leave the small village of Ayamosna behind. The area around the village was once known as one of the island’s most important granaries, as explained on the information panel. The cobbled path crosses the access road to the small village and continues for a few metres along an asphalted path.

The route then turns left onto a cobbled path, from which visitors can fully appreciate the splendid views offered by the Sombrero and Magro rock formations, both part of the Barranco del Cabrito Natural Monument, with countless terraces climbing up the slopes.

These are fine examples of popular engineering, consisting of small vertical stone walls, with which locals managed to reclaim a stretch of arable land in an island environment inhospitable to farming. Most of these terraces, where wheat, barley and peas (to use the common name for various species of legumes and their seeds) were traditionally grown, are now covered with tabaiba and century plants (Agave americana) and are freely grazed by sheep

From this vantage point, the visitor can observe the characteristic distribution of vegetation in these ravines, with numerous rock-dwelling plants and a few isolated patches of cardon, a cactus-like shrub, on the cliffs. In the foothills and on the ravine floors, the vegetation consists of scrubland with an abundance of balo, gorse (Launaea arborescens) and tabaiba, while on the slopes there are some concentrations of cardon (Euphorbia canariensis) and Canary Island date palm trees (Phoenix canariensis).

Passing the 7-kilometre mark, with Roque Magro and Roque del Sombrero still accompanying us, we reach the Mirador de La Tortuga viewpoint, where a small information board helps visitors interpret the landscape.

The path continues to climb, and soon beautiful, scattered specimens of Canary Island palm trees begin to appear, occupying small valleys. Reaching the pass at the foot of Cerro de Tagamiche hill, the path turns right, skirting the Vegueta mountain, towards the Degollada de Peraza viewpoint. Here, the trail been converted into a well-defined footpath, protected by a railing in the most exposed sections of the route. It takes us along the edge of the Barranco de Las Lajas ravine, offering spectacular views of the ravine itself, the rural hamlet of La Laja and Chejelipes. In the ravine bed we can also make out the Palacios and Chejelipes dams.

Towards the end of this stage, the first heather plants (Erica arborea) begin to emerge among the tabaiba, jaguarzo (Cistus monspeliensis), century plants and palm trees, accompanying us along a winding path that zig-zags its way up to the Degollada de Peraza viewpoint, where this first stage of the Nature Trail comes to an end. For those tackling the next stage of the route, it is advisable to cross the GM-2 road and take in the panoramic view of the Barranco de Juan de Vera ravine.

This short yet gruelling first stage ends at one of the most historic spots on the whole island of La Gomera. As the name suggests, at Degollada de Peraza, the legendary Gomero warrior , Hautacuperche , killed Hernán Peraza “the Younger” for breaking the pact of kinship that had bound them for several generations. This incident would spark what is commonly known as the Gomero rebellion, which ended tragically for the pre-Hispanic indigenous Gomeros with the subsequent military expedition led by Pedro de Vera, governor of Gran Canaria.