The channel between Tenerife and La Gomera shelters one of Europe's few resident populations of short-finned pilot whales, present in these waters throughout the year.
A los gigantes whale watching charter by sail boat leaves from beneath the Acantilados de los Gigantes, basalt walls that rise close to 600 metres straight out of the Atlantic. These cliffs give the village its name, which means the giants.
The marina at the foot of the cliffs took shape in the 1960s, as a fishing hamlet grew into a harbour town. Long before excursion boats, families here fished the strait by hand line, and its waters were charted for their currents rather than their wildlife. The strait's deep, sheltered water, dropping past 1,000 metres within sight of the shore, draws bottlenose dolphins, pilot whales and passing rorquals to feed. In 2021 the surrounding sea was named a Whale Heritage Site, among the first in Europe, recognising both the density of cetaceans and the practice of watching them responsibly.
Sailing rather than motoring changes the encounter. Under canvas the hull moves quietly, and the resident pods surface without the engine noise that scatters them. Interest in los gigantes whale watching charter by sail boat tickets grew as the local fleet turned toward this quieter method. Los Gigantes sailboat cruises follow codes that hold vessels at a measured distance and cut speed near the animals.
The Teno Massif frames every crossing, its ridges falling to hidden coves such as Masca Bay. The mountains that make the coast dramatic also keep it calm, blocking the trade winds to leave a lee of flat, clear water. That shelter is why los gigantes whale watching charter by sail boat tours reach the feeding grounds within minutes of leaving the pontoon, and why avistamiento de cetáceos became a reference point for marine wildlife tourism across the Canary Islands.
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