Europe's finest beaches, world-class kitesurfing, and a Saharan dune wilderness just 100km from Africa
Fuerteventura is the closest of the Canary Islands to Africa (only 100km from the Moroccan coast), and its landscape shows it: vast sandy plains, ancient volcanic shield mountains eroded to brown stumps, and the extraordinary Corralejo Natural Park in the north — 10km of Saharan-style white sand dunes rolling into a turquoise sea. The island is the kitesurfing and windsurfing capital of Europe, with Sotavento beach hosting the annual world championship in the trade winds that blow with near-perfect consistency from late spring to autumn. The remote Cofete beach on the Jandía Peninsula — acces…
Fuerteventura was the first Canary Island to be conquered by Europeans: Jean de Béthencourt landed in 1402 for the Norman-Castilian expedition that would claim all the Canaries for Castile over the following 90 years. The indigenous Guanche people (Majoreros on Fuerteventura) resisted and were enslaved; their population was largely absorbed or eliminated within two generations of conquest. The island remained poor and underpopulated for centuries — the constant trade winds and near-zero rainfall made farming almost impossible. Philosopher Miguel de Unamuno was exiled here by the Primo de Rive…