Garajonay National Park

Garajonay National Park on La Gomera, inscribed in 1986, protects a laurel forest ecosystem (laurisilva) that flourished in southern Europe during the Tertiary period, 10 to 15 million years ago. Covering approximately 40% of the island, it is often shrouded in mist, creating a primeval landscape of ancient trees draped in mosses and ferns. This relict ecosystem predates #1's Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzin, Granada by tens of millions of years, standing as one of Earth's most important ecological reserves.