El Golfo is the most dramatic landscape on El Hierro — a vast natural amphitheatre on the northwest coast, formed when a prehistoric landslide took a huge chunk of the island's flank and deposited it on the ocean floor. The cliffs rise up to a kilometre on three sides, while the valley floor is unusually fertile and sheltered, planted with banana palms and the vines that produce El Hierro's distinctive local wine.
The village of La Frontera sits in the valley, the island's second settlement and the municipal capital. A winding road descends from the plateau to reach it, with the scale of the valley becoming apparent gradually. The best viewpoints are from the rim road above — pull over whenever the trees allow a clear line of sight north and west. In the bay below La Frontera, the water is calm and clear enough for swimming even when the open coast is rough.