More than sun and sea on offer in diverse paradise

THE Canary Islands are universally associated with sun, sea and sand but they have many other attractions and the sheer diversity of the islands is striking.

Visitor who leave the beaches and resorts will find landscapes replete with interest. Each of the seven islands (there are eight, but tiny La Graciosa is always forgotten) enjoys unique topography and is home to endemic plants and fauna.

Physically, there are enormous contrasts. The three northern islands, close to Africa, are low-lying volcanic plains, punctuated by extraordinary conical hills, naked but for soda plants and desert species. That is not to say that there is no productive land. On the contrary, the native people have, over centuries, made terraces like gardens in every suitable depression and on every hillside that is not pure rock.