10 Things to Do Off the Beaten Track in Canary Islands

Barranco de las Vacas is a small canyon on Gran Canaria between Agüimes and Santa Lucía offering gorgeous photo ops and long hiking opportunities to escape the hustle and bustle. The canyon is relatively small as canyons go. The rock formations here offer stunning photos by themselves, but you can also climb into one of the many cubby holes along the sides for a great selfie or to take a photo of someone you're with.

The trickiest part of this canyon is the access. If you see the 'Barranco de las Vacas' sign, you're on the wrong part of the road. The proper entry is another 3 miles (roughly) up the road through a tunnel under a curve.

Mirador de Ermita de las Nieves is a lookout point known as the place of a miraculous vision and both a stunning viewpoint and site of spiritual importance. In 1427, legend has it that a shepherd saw a miraculous vision of the Virgin Mary, and a small hermitage point was built on the island's highest point to honour her. Pirates burned it in the 16th century, but it was rebuilt a century later. The small chapel on Lanzarote has dramatic white walls, palm trees offering shade and a scenic lookout point for visitors from all over the world.

The chapel stands 700 yards above sea level. It offers amazing views of the island and ocean beyond.

Playa de las Conchas is a scenic beach offering untouched virgin land with an endless stretch of golden sand and turquoise waters along the island of La Graciosa. This beach is an idyllic escape from the hustle and bustle and crowds of the more popular places on the island. After you spend some time taking in the seafront views, you can climb the foothills of Montaña Bermeja, where you'll find an amazing volcanic landscape with stunning views of the surrounding islets.

Swimming on this beach is not recommended, however. A red flag warns of the powerful currents in the waters, and few amenities are available.

Arrieta offers the opportunity to walk the shores of a quaint, traditional coastal village on the island of Lanzarote via a gorgeous beach with plenty of amenities for visitors. This is one of the better known off-the-beaten-track destinations on the Canary Islands, and it can get crowded during the high season. The beach is an 880-yard stretch of white sand and turquoise waters, in contrast to the other black sand and rocky beaches across this island. As you walk the shores, you can see traditional fishermen plying their trade using historic methods.

Other features here include a small aloe vera museum exploring the history of this plant. You can also find plenty of options for shopping and dining nearby.

El Hierro is the farthest southwest island in the Canary Islands chain and offers hotel and resort accommodation while also hosting a number of annual festivals and celebrations. For over 500 years, many areas of Europe considered this island to be the prime meridian. Today, people come here to take part in the annual Festival of the Virgin and the every-four-years festival of the Virgin of the Kings when the patron saint of the island is taken from her sanctuary and carried in a parade to the capital.

It's also a popular island for eco-tourism and is a self-sufficient island that gets most of its energy from the wind. It is a designated UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

Bollullo Beach is on the northern coast of Tenerife, a stretch away from the resorts on the island offering a wild and natural black-sand cove. The black sand is made up of finely ground volcanic rock and seashells and has a different texture from the sand found elsewhere. The beach is nestled within La Orotava Valley, a picturesque cove reachable after a hike along narrow, winding lanes through banana plantations. This secluded spot is a romantic site for photos or just time away from the hustle and bustle.

This is not a good place for swimming. Though it's secluded and clean, the waves are huge and powerful. A small seafood shack on the beach sells food.

Anaga Rural Park on Tenerife offers a vast green highland marked by high, sharp peaks and deeper ravines, laurel groves and quaint hamlets with authentic traditional flavour. It's just an hour's drive from Santa Cruz and lets you take a walk back in time to when people lived in harmony with nature. At the visitor centre at Cruz del Carmen, you'll discover interesting facts about the park and the sights to see. Visit the historic village of Taganana and take a dip in the sea.

You can also head for Benijo Beach or the Roque de las Bodegas for fresh seafood. If you want to spend more time here, you'll find a wealth of hotels and bed-and-breakfast establishments.

La Orotava is a town on northern Tenerife that offers mountains, an active volcano and the highest point in not just the islands, but in all of Spain. The town lies long the northern coast and offers beachfront relaxation and numerous historical sites, including the town hall, panoramic views from Mirador Humboldt, Casa Molina, the Plaza de San Francisco, La Casa de los Balcones, and the Iglesia de la Concepción church with its baroque-style architecture.

Mount Teide, the highest mountain in Spain, is one of the primary attractions here. For history lovers or photo seekers, this is an outstanding destination.

Piscinas Naturales Aguas Verdes on Fuerteventura's west coast offers an unspoiled stretch of nearly 4 miles of natural pools where you can relax, soak and escape from the human race. It's accessible by a road and a short hike along dirt paths, where you'll see squirrels and large crabs skittering among the rocks. While Fuerteventura is known for its endless powder-soft sand beaches, this is an entirely different experience that is almost devoid of crowds and offers a rocky landscape with phenomenal photo ops and simple relaxation.

Don't look for a lot of amenities here. This unusual spot offers the chance to get away from everything and just be one with nature for a while.

Verdeaurora Bio Farm on Fuerteventura gives you the opportunity to connect with nature and yourself in a pollution-free environment and explore the aloe vera farming industry. Aloe vera farming is important to the economy of the islands, and here you can learn about its significance to the local community while also learning about the importance of conservation to the planet. Discover how certified organic aloe is produced, and walk beneath groves of natural olive trees.

At night, you can sit with your loved one, snuggled up under a sky filled with more stars than you've ever seen. You can even book a stay at this bio farm for a true understanding of eco-tourism.