Why you should visit the Canary Island you’ve never heard of

Volcanoes, low-rise whitewashed villages and daily adventures: overlooked La Graciosa deserves your full attention, says Robin McKelvie

With wild beaches and boxy whitewashed villages, La Graciosa is a timewarp take on the Canaries (Robin McKelvie)

“This is Lanzarote 50 years ago,” says hiking guide Jose, casting his arm over a wildscape devoid of high rises, cars and bustling resorts. I do find sun loungers, but only a lonely trio scattered apologetically on an empty beach. La Graciosa, the “newest” Canary Isle, is an oasis where you won’t just find a bit of peace and quiet – you’ll leave the 21st century spirit-soaringly behind.

You won’t get away with flying here on a cheap flight, unsure of the identikit resort you’re heading to. You have to really want to get to La Graciosa. Work your way up to the very north of Lanzarote and there the isle beckons, still distant across the often fierce Atlantic swell. I bash over on the sturdy local ferry with a sprinkling of islanders and a handful of day trippers, more Spanish than British. La Graciosa has no hotels to speak of, just pensions and apartments. No tarmac roads, either – the Costas this is not.

Montana Bermeja, La Graciosa (Robin McKelvie)