Rumored to be the last remnants of Atlantis, the Canary Islands actually do seem mystical: prehistoric forests, lunar-like volcanic badlands and mountain peaks that soar above long stretches of white, golden and black sand beaches. With 3,000-plus hours of sunshine a year and temperatures that rarely stray far from 70 degrees, it’s no surprise that these seven Spanish islands, just 60 miles off Morocco’s coast, are beloved by European vacationers. What is surprising is that Americans are only beginning to discover the archipelago’s charms.

The islands vary widely. Tenerife and Gran Canaria are home to party-hard resorts as well as thick forests and rural enclaves. Lanzarote and Fuerteventura’s busy beach towns quickly fade into pristine sand. The lesser-known, UNESCO-protected islands of La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro seem like vestiges from another age, with their tumbling hillside villages, barren volcano-scapes and ancient rain forests. You can stake out a home base on Tenerife, Gran Canaria or Fuerteventura (fly from the U.S. via Madrid)—then day-trip on a web of fast ferries to the other spectacular islands.

TENERIFE
El Teide, Spain’s tallest mountain at 12,198 feet, soars at the heart of the Canaries’ largest island. In the national park that surrounds the peak, hiking trails lead to eerily beautiful landscapes whose craggy rock formations and lava-splattered valleys were used as settings for the original Star Wars and Planet of the Apes movies. A cable car ride to the top offers stellar views of the rest of the archipelago.

In Tenerife’s colonial villages of La Laguna and La Orotava, 16th-century houses are decorated with ornate wooden balconies typical of the islands. Along the north shore you’ll find the volcanic pools of Garachico and the black-sand beaches of Puerto de la Cruz. A wildlife cruise from Los Gigantes sails by bottlenose dolphins, pilot whales and sperm whales. Farther south, the resorts of Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas offer a different sort of entertainment—dance-till-dawn nightclubs, a dozen manicured golf courses and golden beaches with sand imported from the Sahara.

GRAN CANARIA
This “continent in miniature,” almost perfectly round, earned its nickname for its startling scenic variety. The hip capital, Las Palmas, has great shops and bars along Avenida Mesa y López. Just outside the city you’ll find colonial-era buildings in the village of Arucas, and pre-Hispanic sites like the Painted Cave, where mysterious geometric drawings date back to the 6th century. Inland, hike up to the Pozo de las Nieves for a view of the island’s green hills, or take the scenic drive from Agaete to San Nicolás on the northwestern coast, where the vast Atlantic glints out to the west and sharp-toothed ridges unfold in a thousand shades of green. Along the Maspalomas coastline, swelling sand dunes cover a 1,000-acre nature reserve just beyond the huge, boisterous Playa del Inglés resort. Farther down the coast, enjoy the laid-back style of Puerto de Mogán, a scenic town that has become a scuba-diving mecca.

LANZAROTE
The rough and rocky coasts to the north offer some of the Atlantic’s best surfing spots, while the breezy beaches farther south lure kiteboarders, windsurfers and scuba divers. Everywhere, you’ll spot the handiwork of the island’s favorite architect, artist and visionary, César Manrique (1919–1992), whose distinctive buildings were created using the local volcanic rock. One of his most memorable structures is the restaurant in Timanfaya National Park, where meat is cooked on a volcano-powered grill. From here you can explore the Volcano Route on a bus tour that crosses an arid desert-like landscape where a boiling magma chamber sits just 2 1/2 miles underground, making the surface a scorching 212 degrees.

FUERTEVENTURA
With miles of white sand overlooking jewel-toned waters, this island recalls the best of the Caribbean. Inland, however, the whitewashed houses on sienna-colored land look more like Africa. Fuerteventura’s resorts, Corralejo and Morro Jable, at opposite ends of the island, are internationally known destinations for windsurfing and kiteboarding. Along the Costa Calma, the Caleta de Fuste and the Playa de Sotavento de Jandía are lovely, lonely, resort-less beaches—though maybe not for long.

BEST BEACHES

El Médano, Tenerife: Smooth, steady winds make this one of the world’s premier windsurfing and kiteboarding destinations. Lessons are available at the Surf Center Playa Sur. surfcenter.info
Playa las Carpinteras, Gran Canaria: The locals try to keep this treasure near Playa del Inglés a secret; it’s a sure way to beat the crowds.
Playa del Sotavento de Jandía, Fuerteventura:: A series of blindingly white beaches lapped by a turquoise ocean run along the southern coast of the Jandía Peninsula.
La Caleta de Famara, Lanzarote: The beach of this laid-back seaside village, rimmed with plunging cliffs, is where famed architect César Manrique summered as a child.

FIRE REPORT: This past summer, wildfires destroyed a quarter of the forestland on Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Fortunately, the hardy Canary Island pine, whose thick bark and abundant sap help it survive lava flows and forest fires, is speeding reforestation. Still, you can expect to see some damage in northwestern Tenerife and southwestern Gran Canaria.

STAY

Hotel San Roque
An 18th-century mansion on the town’s main square, with 20 chic rooms around a patio. 32 Calle Esteban de Ponte, Garachico, Tenerife; 011-34-922-13-34-35; hotelsanroque.com; doubles from $290

Hotel Rural Mahoh
Nine romantic rooms in a two-century-old farmhouse. Sitio de Juan Bello, Villaverde, Fuerteventura; 011-34-928-86-80-50; mahoh.com; doubles from $100

Hacienda del Buen Suceso
A rural estate with 18 rustically elegant rooms. Carretera de Arucas, Arucas, Gran Canaria; 011-34-928-62-29-45; haciendabuensuceso.com; doubles from $205

Finca de las Salinas
Nineteen luxe rooms, plus tennis courts and bikes. Calle la Cuesta, Yaiza, Lanzarote; 011-34-928-83-03-25; fincasalinas.com; doubles from $207

Hotel Rural Tamahuche
A 10-room B&B built into a sleepy town’s hillside. 20 Calle Hoya, Vallehermosa, La Gomera; 011-34-922-80-11-76; hoteltamahuche.com; doubles from $90

NOTE: Information may have changed since publication. Please confirm key details before planning your trip.