Spain
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
268km²
Area
147km
Coastline
1,501m
Highest point
Pico de Malpaso
11,806
People
24°C
Warmest sea
September
373km
To the mainland
When to go to El Hierro
Best for the beach from July to October.
The sea is warmest in September (24 °C) and coolest in March (19 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to December.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
One of the main islands of the Canary archipelago, Spain
El Hierro is an volcanic island in Spain. It belongs to Canary Islands. It covers 268 km², with 147 km of coastline. Its highest point, Pico de Malpaso, rises to 1,501 m. About 11,806 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 373 km away.
Getting there
- El Hierro Airport (VDE)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at SPC airport (Sta Cruz de la Palma, La Palma Island)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesTenerife (Los Cristianos) - El Hierro
- 373 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on El Hierro.
- 31beachesPlaya del Pozo, Playa del Verodal, Bahía de Timijiraque and 28 more
- 65viewpointsMirador de Las Playas, Mirador de Jinama, El Miradero and 62 more
- 1lighthousesFaro de Orchilla
- 1ferry terminalsEl Hierro (Valverde)
- 1marinasPuerto de La Restinga
- 74named peaksMalpaso, Tenerista, Montaña de los Asomadas and 71 more
- 56volcanoesLa Empalizada, Tanajara, Montaña de las Cuevas and 53 more
- 16waterfalls
- 11ruins and archaeological sitesTagoror, Los Letreros del Julan, La Albarrada and 8 more
- 7dive centresArrecifal, Centro de Buceo El Hierro, Extra Divers El Hierro and 4 more
- 33waymarked walking routesValverde - La Caleta, Camino de la Virgen, Fuente Mencáfete and 30 more
- 5campsitesHoya del Morcillo, Eco Camping Tejeguate and 3 more
- 54hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 77restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
El Hierro in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside El Hierro, each with its own numbers.
18beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
24.1°C
Playa Tejada
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
18 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Playas Largas24.0°C
- Timijiraque24.0°C
- Playa Tejada24.1°C
- Playas de los Mozos24.1°C
- Playa de la Madera24.1°C
- Playa de los Goranes24.1°C
- Playa del Verodal24.1°C
- Playas de Manchas Blancas24.1°C
10 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 586 m above the sea. 21 % of it is below 200 m.
- 6 %0–50 m
- 15 %50–200 m
- 25 %200–500 m
- 35 %500–1,000 m
- 19 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Valverde5,000 people
- Frontera4,010 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 21 |
| Night low (°C) | 19 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 20 |
| Sea (°C) | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 21 |
| Rain (mm) | 22 | 26 | 21 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 28 | 43 | 40 |
| Wet days | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Sun h/day | 7.3 | 8.1 | 9.3 | 10.1 | 10.7 | 11.0 | 10.7 | 10.4 | 9.7 | 8.4 | 7.1 | 6.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 19 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 22 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 20 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +0.5 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.4 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +1.3 |
| 2023 | +1.4 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +1.1 | +1.4 | +1.8 | +1.7 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +1.6 | +1.8 |
| 2024 | +1.7 | +1.8 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.8 |
| 2025 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1036287) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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