Tamadaba Natural Park

The road climbs out of bare volcanic ground and into pine forest, and the air changes with it: cooler, resin-scented, with cloud often drifting between the trunks. It feels like a different island.

The north-facing slopes catch the moisture of the trade winds, and the pines there grow over an undergrowth of tree heath, Canary holly and scraps of laurel forest. This humid pine forest is the only one of its kind in the Canaries. Gran Canaria's blue chaffinch and its own great spotted woodpecker nest in the pines, and buzzards, kestrels and peregrines work the air above the canopy.

At the edges the plateau breaks into escarpments and ravines that drop towards the Atlantic. On the cliffs of Guayedra grow plants found only here, and the giant Gran Canaria lizard suns itself on the lower, drier slopes among palms and cardón spurge.

• Signal: mobile coverage is weak or missing across much of the park. Download your trail maps before you set out.
• Weather on top: the heights get windy and cloudy. Bring warm layers and proper walking shoes, and check the forecast.
• Supplies: carry enough water and food for the whole walk.
• Dead end: the old coast road past Mirador del Balcón is closed 5 km beyond the viewpoint, so you drive back the way you came.
• Dogs are allowed in the park.

Most visitors come by car. The roads are mostly in good condition, with some tight spots on the bends. On the coastal side, the old road runs past Mirador del Balcón, where the cliffs fall straight to the sea; it is closed 5 km beyond the viewpoint, and the drive to the end of the road is still worth it.

The nearest mapped car parks lie about 1.2 km and 1.8 km away in a straight line. Buses stop at Ceip El Risco, in the village of El Risco on the park's coastal side. From the car, the rest is on foot along the hiking trails.

Best: a clear day, staying on for sunset over the sea to the west.

Avoid: days when cloud and wind settle on the heights.

The trade winds that keep the pine forest green also push cloud over the ridge, which hides the views and turns the air cold; at sunset the viewing platform gets crowded, and quieter spots lie along the road.

Tamadaba is a protected natural park and a special protection area for birds, and part of it lies within a UNESCO World Heritage site. Six of its plant species grow nowhere else in the world, most of them on the cliffs. Keep to the paths, leave plants, fungi and stones where they are, and never light a fire in the pine forest.