Área recreativa de Las Playas
Las Playas takes up the south-east of El Hierro, in the municipality of Valverde, and is protected as a Natural Monument. The landscape is an amphitheatre nine kilometres long and over a thousand metres high, open to the sea, left by a series of massive landslides along the coast. The roque de Bonanza rises from the water in front of the valley, and the pebble beaches that name the place run along the foot of the wall. Swimming calls for care: there is no lifeguard.
The Las Playas Natural Monument protects one of the most singular landscapes on El Hierro, on the south-eastern coast of the island. A series of massive landslides brought down part of the youngest of the Canary Islands and left an amphitheatre nine kilometres long and more than a thousand metres high facing the sea. Its position, far from towns and villages, explains the calm that fills the whole valley.
The views can be taken in from the Las Playas and Isora viewpoints up on the ridge, and equally from the pebble beaches that give the place its name. In front of the valley the roque de Bonanza rises out of the sea, a volcanic outcrop that serves as a natural emblem of the island, while the Parador Nacional de El Hierro stands down at the shore. The valley lies about ten minutes by car from the port of La Estaca and is served by public transport. The swell is moderate and the area has no lifeguard service, so particular care is needed when entering the water.
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