Parque Rural de Doramas, Protected natural landscape in northern Gran Canaria, Spain.
Parque Rural de Doramas is a protected landscape across Arucas, Firgas, Moya, Santa María de Guía, Teror and Valleseco in northern Gran Canaria. Within it, the Barranco de los Tilos, Azuaje and Barranco Oscuro keep the island's last stands of laurisilva, humid laurel forest on steep ravines, surrounded by farmland.
The protected area covers part of the former Selva de Doramas, a laurel forest named after Doramas, the Guanche warrior who resisted the Castilian conquest and died in battle in 1481. The forest was later cleared and farmed across Arucas, Firgas, Moya, Santa María de Guía, Teror and Valleseco. Remnants of the laurisilva survive in the Barranco de los Tilos, Azuaje and Barranco Oscuro.
The name Doramas recalls the pre-Hispanic warrior Doramas, after whom the old Selva de Doramas was named. The park lies across Arucas, Firgas, Moya, Santa María de Guía, Teror and Valleseco, where farmland still borders the wooded ravines. In the Barranco de los Tilos, Azuaje and Barranco Oscuro, laurel forest survives as relict stands of laurisilva.
The park spans six municipalities: Arucas, Firgas, Moya, Santa María de Guía, Teror and Valleseco. The best-preserved laurel forest survives in the Barranco de los Tilos, Azuaje and Barranco Oscuro, reached by paths that cross farmland. Wear footwear for steep, uneven ground and carry water; mist and rain are common on the northern slopes.
The park supports plant species found nowhere else in the world, thriving only in this specific elevation and climate zone. These endemic plants make it a place of botanical interest for nature observers.
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