The Canary Islands are the ideal holiday destination for those seeking an extreme sports holiday, with spectacular views, a pleasant climate, and superb facilities. Whether its paragliding, mountain biking or open water swimming your looking for, the Canary Islands offer the perfect conditions.
Paragliding
El Hierro’s trade winds are strong and consistent, ensuring a smooth trip. The spectacular volcanic terrain of the Canarian archipelago’s most westerly island provides a memorable experience. The top of Dos Hermanas (La Frontera) is a fantastic place to take off, as it allows for a multi-hour trip over the El Golfo valley and its incredible natural amphitheatre. Diverse exit heights (1200, 1000, 800, and 600 meters) are available at the lift off point, allowing for multiple skill levels to be accommodated.
Climbing
In the midst of the Tamadaba Natural Park, near Artenara hamlet in north Gran Canaria, lies one of the main sports climbing zones in the Canary Islands. With roughly 400 medium-difficulty routes ranging up to 40 meters, this is the island’s uncontested climbing centre. All of the routes in the area are well-equipped, and despite the fact that they are mostly of medium difficulty, there are some that are ideal for beginners, as new routes are introduced on a regular basis in the site’s more isolated areas.
Mountain Biking
The Canary Islands are home to a vast array of mountain biking terrains, including mountain roads, woodland trails, abrupt landscapes, and volcanic passes with a wide range of elevation variations, where your bicycle becomes the ideal companion for discovering incredible natural landscape.
On the cycle routes in Corralejo, which begin in the northwest, the peculiar desert terrain of Fuerteventura can be discovered little by little. From the starting point in Lajares, you will bike past volcanoes until you reach Corralejo, the ideal spot to witness the Tostón lighthouse. As you get closer to El Cotillo, you’ll notice an endless series of beautiful beaches and coves.
Orienteering
The islands’ variety of landscapes and terrains allow you to run through pine and laurel forests, and through elevation changes that put your orienteering skills to the test. The Canary Islands archipelago contains a wide variety of locations with ideal circumstances for adjusting the route to both beginners and elite orienteers.
Open Water Swimming
El Hierro’s Mar de las Calmas is the ideal place to go open water swimming. Between the Orchilla Lighthouse and the tip of La Restinga, a small fishing community and popular diving spot, there is a length of calm ocean. The conditions are so ideal for open water swimming in this region of El Hierro that an 18-kilometer swim event is held every year.
Swimming in the Atlantic’s crystal-clear waters is always a pleasure, but swimming in one of the Canary Islands’ natural pools, enclosed spaces into which sea water seeps due to their natural formation, with no human intervention other than the addition of steps, walkways, and diving points, is an unforgettable experience. This is why they are a must-see for all visitors looking for real and natural perfection in addition to a refreshing plunge.