Hermigua (Valley & Village)

A lush, dramatically beautiful valley municipality on La Gomera's north coast, the island's largest banana-growing area with steep terraced hillsides stretching from the mountains down to the sea. Hermigua's population is approximately 2,000, spread across several hamlets including El Caserío, Monteforte, and Las Hoyetas. Key landmarks include the **Iglesia de la Encarnación** (16th century), one of the island's oldest churches, and the **Convento de Santo Domingo** (early 17th century), a former Dominican convent now housing a cultural centre. The **Bosque del Cedro** trailhead in Hermigua is the most famous entry point to the Garajonay National Park, following the ancient Camino Real through dense laurel forest to the El Cedro hermitage. The valley produces excellent palm honey (miel de palma de La Gomera), a Gomeran specialty made by boiling the sap of the Canary Island date palm. The **natural pools of El Pescante** at the valley mouth offer safe swimming in seawater-filled lava rock pools. A former banana-loading crane (El Pescante) stands as an industrial heritage monument at the coast.