Jandia Natural Park

The views from the high ground are what people come back talking about. Brown hills under low scrub run down to sand dunes and long gold beaches, with blue Atlantic water beyond. On the north side the land falls to Cofete, a handful of houses and Villa Winter above the shore. The west coast holds some of the sandiest beaches on Fuerteventura, and surfers use them.

Pico de la Zarza, at 807 m the highest point on the island, stands inside the park, and the walk up it is open to the sky all the way. Animals are easy to meet. Goats wander close enough to stop for, Barbary ground squirrels dart about near the beaches, and the scrub carries plenty of birdlife.

• Some rental contracts do not insure cars on the park's rough tracks, so check yours. A small car copes, but rain turns the tracks to mud.
• There are no toilets and no drinking water up in the hills. Carry all the water you need.
• The climb towards the summit has no shade and the top is very windy: bring sun protection and a windproof layer.
• Wind on the beaches drives the sand hard enough to sting bare skin.

The park fills the peninsula beyond the Istmo de la Pared, the narrow neck of land that joins Jandía to the rest of Fuerteventura. Morro Jable and Jandía Playa sit on its south and east coasts. Parts of the park are reached only over rough tracks, which some rental insurers will not cover and which turn muddy after rain, although a small car manages them in the dry.

On the north side, Playa de Cofete has a free car park on sand, and there is a second one by the restaurant in Cofete. Bus stops named Cofete and Playa Cofete stand close by. From there the beach and the hills are on foot.

Best: early morning or late afternoon on a dry day; late afternoon also brings the low sun round over the west-coast beaches.

Avoid: the middle of the day on any climb, and driving the tracks straight after rain.

The slopes give no shade from the sun, and wet weather turns the tracks to mud.