Logbook · 16 places

What to see and do in San Sebastián de la Gomera

What to see and do in San Sebastián de la Gomera (La Gomera, Santa Cruz de Tenerife): 16 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 5 Monuments · 3 Nature · 3 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 2 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

When to go to San Sebastián de la Gomera: festival calendar

January: Fiestas patronales de San Sebastián (January 20)
September: Fiestas Colombinas (September)
October: Bajada de la Virgen de Guadalupe (cada cinco años (terminados en 3 y 8), lunes siguiente al primer sábado de octubre)

How far each place is from the centre of San Sebastián de la Gomera

Towns near San Sebastián de la Gomera

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Spain › Canary Islands › Santa Cruz de Tenerife › La Gomera › San Sebastián de la Gomera

What to see and do in San Sebastián de la Gomera

San Sebastián de la Gomera
Village
The island's capital and seat of the Cabildo, founded around 1440 in the old aboriginal territory of Hipalán. Its port was the last stop of Christopher Columbus's first expedition before it set sail for America on 6 September 1492. It preserves a historic centre with the Torre del Conde, the Casa de Colón and the Pozo de la Aguada.
Torre del Conde
Monument
A late Gothic-style fortification built on the orders of Hernán Peraza 'el Viejo' between 1447 and 1450. It is the only one of the towers raised during the conquest of the Canary Islands still standing. Declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico (Monumento Histórico-Artístico, Spain's heritage designation in force between 1931 and 1985) in 1990 and a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) on 2 July 1993.
Casa de la Aguada (Pozo de la Aguada)
Monument
The former Casa Condal (Count's House), which later served as a customs office and a prison. Inside is preserved the well from which Columbus's expedition drew water before setting sail for America in 1492; an inscription recalls that 'with this water America was baptised'.
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
Monument
Its origins go back to the 15th century, when the first Hernán Peraza had a small mud-and-stone hermitage built; the present central nave dates from that period, making it one of the oldest surviving religious buildings in the Canary Islands.
Ermita de San Sebastián
Monument
A hermitage founded in 1535 by order of Guillén Peraza de Ayala y Bobadilla, first Count of La Gomera, with Portuguese architectural influence visible in the capitals of the arch leading into the presbytery.
Casa de Colón
Monument
A 17th-century house that local tradition links to Christopher Columbus's stay before his voyages to America, although there is no documentary evidence of that direct connection. It operates as a free museum with a collection of pre-Columbian pieces, including Chimú culture pottery.
Parque Nacional de Garajonay
Nature
Declared a national park on 25 March 1981 — the fourth in the Canary Islands — it protects 3,984 hectares of laurisilva, more than a tenth of the island, spread across all six Gomeran municipalities. It is home to Pico Garajonay (1,487 m), more than 50 tree species and over a hundred endemic plants. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1986, a designation that applies to the park and not to the island as a whole.
Monumento Natural de Los Roques (Agando, Ojila, Carmona y La Zarcita)
Nature
A group of large phonolitic pitons — solidified volcanic vents — within the Reserva Natural Integral de Benchijigua. The best known, the Roque de Agando, reaches close to 1,250 metres. The area was protected in 1987 and reclassified under Law 12/1994 on Natural Areas of the Canary Islands.
Reserva Natural Integral de Benchijigua
Nature
An area of great geomorphological and botanical interest located in the caldera of the same name, with a high concentration of endemic and endangered species. It borders the Parque Nacional de Garajonay to the north and the Paisaje Protegido de Orone to the southwest.
Última escala de Colón antes de América
Historical milestone
On 6 September 1492 Christopher Columbus's expedition set sail from the port of San Sebastián de la Gomera, its last stop before sighting land on 12 October of that year.
Asedio holandés de 1599
Historical milestone
In 1599 a Dutch squadron attempted to take San Sebastián de la Gomera; the attack was repelled by the local population.
Silbo gomero
Curiosity
A whistled language that transforms the Spanish spoken on the island into whistles audible from several kilometres away, created by the aboriginal Gomerans and adapted to Spanish after the conquest. It has been Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 30 September 2009 — a list distinct from the World Heritage List — and its teaching has been compulsory in the island's schools since 1999.
Almogrote
Food and drink
A spreadable pâté made from cured goat's cheese, hot pepper, garlic and olive oil, typical of La Gomera and rooted in the old Castilian recipe for almodrote. On El Hierro and La Palma a variant known as mojo-queso exists.
Bajada de la Virgen de Guadalupe
Activity
A five-yearly festival that brings the island's patroness from her sanctuary at Puntallana to San Sebastián, held every five years in those ending in 3 and 8, on the Monday following the first Saturday of October.
Fiestas Colombinas
Activity
September festivities commemorating Christopher Columbus's stopover on the island before his first voyage to America.
Fiestas patronales de San Sebastián
Activity
Festivities in honour of the patron saint of the island's capital.