Do you like myths and legends? Do you enjoy listening to scary stories that have been passed down from generation to generation? If so, you will love the island of La Gomera.
La Gomera, also known as the magical island, is full of ghost stories, haunted houses or ancient places where rituals and ceremonies were practiced. All of this is part of our rich cultural heritage that you will love to hear and will never forget.
If you are already here, you can choose between several excursions around the island. We recommend you visiting El Llano de las Brujas, commonly known as La Laguna Grande. It is a surprising place with a spooky story for those who are willing to experience chills.
Have you ever heard about "Los bailaderos"? They were spaces used by witches to dance around a bonfire. The bailaderos, renamed by the Christian tradition, are spread all over the islands and were also used by the aboriginal population to practice rituals.
"El bailadero de las brujas" is one of the most popular places in La Gomera, it is located in the Garajonay National Park, and it surprises all visitors because among large trees and dense vegetation there is an area of about 800 m2 with almost no vegetation.
Besides having been a meet point of all the different routes around the island when there were almost no roads. There is more than one legend around this place.
In the old days, agriculture and fishing were the main economic activities, so it was also common to exchange fish for meat. To make the exchange possible, the countryman had to go through the forest to reach the field, which was a spooky task due to the wind's whistling and the dense fog surrounding the road.
One of the most popular legends around this bailadero, is the one that tells the story of a countryman traveling on his donkey, when suddenly the donkey got quite nervous and launched the man to the ground, to finally run away.
The man ran through the forest trying to find the animal when suddenly he saw a glow and heard women's voices talking and laughing among the trees. He approached cautiously and discovered a group of adult women in black dresses dancing around a bonfire; they were doing a ritual with his dead donkey.
Finally, the witches sat on stones, displayed on a circle shape, and in the middle of this circle, another witch was sitting on a central stone.
The man could not stop looking at the ritual; he couldn’t believe what was happening there when a hand touched his back. The scared man turned around and felt on his face the breath of a witch.
Naturally, he breathed and felt like something unusual got inside of him, while the witch was saying: "Everyone who knows our secret, must die." He ran down the forest scared and did not stop until he made it to the town, where he fainted from exhaustion.
The neighbours helped him, but the man couldn’t calm down, and he kept talking about what he had just seen. After a few hours, the man died.
Ever since, the residents have avoided going through the forest, otherwise, they carried along a laurel leaf to scare away the witches if they had no other option but to cross the forest.
After reading this story, you will have another perspective on your visit to the Garajonay National Park, and you might experience chills when reaching the Llano de las Brujas, where 14 stones are displayed in a circle shape, and the grass never grows.
Do you dare to visit this place?