Los Tilos de Moya Nature Reserve

After rain the ravine runs with small waterfalls and streams, and the laurels close over the path in layers of dark, glossy leaves. Los Tilos de Moya is one of the last patches of the forest that once covered northern Gran Canaria, the forest where the native chief Doramas hid from the Castilian conquerors.

It is a quiet place. Birds are everywhere in the canopy, dragonflies work the water, and the trails run from easy wandering to harder climbs. The one flaw is the road through the reserve: on the stretch beside it, you smell exhaust before you smell the trees.

• Trails close after rockfalls. When they are shut, the only walk is about 1 km along the road, where traffic fumes reach the forest.
• Parking at the reserve is limited. If it is full, take the first space you find lower down and walk up.
• Toilets and drinking water are about 530 m away.
• The entrance is not wheelchair accessible.
• For food and a drink afterwards, head down to the village of Moya.

By car, the reserve lies on the GC-704 in the hills of Moya. Parking at the reserve is limited, with a second car park about 570 m away; if both are taken, park at the first space you can and walk up. The mountain road that carries on deeper into the reserve is not an easy drive, so take it slowly.

By bus from Las Palmas the trip takes more than one bus. The El Fronte stop is about 480 m away, a small roadside stop near the top of the climb that is easy to miss: tell the driver where you are going. The ride up through the hills is worth watching from the window.

Best: soon after a spell of rain, on a dry day.

Avoid: heavy rain itself.

The waterfalls and streams in the Barranco de los Tilos only run after rainfall, while a downpour loosens the slopes and brings the rockfalls that close the trails, and on the island's north side the forest often sits in trade-wind cloud, so bring a layer.

Los Tilos de Moya is a Special Nature Reserve, one of the strictest categories of protected land in the Canary Islands. Keep to the waymarked paths, and leave plants, wood, stones and animals where they are. A trail closed after rockfall is closed to everyone: walk the open stretches and come back another time.