Fuerteventura

Lying just 100km from the African coast, Fuerteventura recalls its neighbour Lanzarote, only with more colour. Resembling shallow piles of saffron, chilli and coriander, there are none of the mist-wreathed pines or cooling, hilly microclimates of Gran Canaria. Blown by the wind and baked by the sun, the island is truly an arresting spectacle: for the full-on, wide-angle perspective of the Martian-like landscape, climb up to the Mirador Astronómico de Sicasumbre and take it all in.