A cultural holiday on La Palma

‘La Palma is an island of contrasts’ is a phrase that many people (including me) use to try and describe what an amazing island La Palma is. Yep, it’s got it all from forests to beaches, to lava fields, gorges and more besides. So nature has pretty much got all angles covered!

But what about man's attempts? The buildings and architecture?  Well of course you won’t be surprised to hear that on La Palma you can find everything from historic mansions to humble cave dwellings.
Some of the best examples of architecture are in the historic capital of Santa Cruz de la Palma where the main street is literally lined with fascinating buildings, many dating from the 16th century. There the Town Hall for example, whose facade was built in the 1560's, is not only a beautiful building but also happens to be the most important Renaissance buildings in the Canary Islands.

Town Hall in Santa Cruz de La Palma

But not everybody on the island was rich – far from it.  In the rural north of La Palma people lived in caves until relatively recently and even sixty years ago, caves were being lived in as a permanent residence rather than just a weekend retreat. If you take a walk along the GR130 Camino Real, the old donkey trail around the island, it's not hard to spot the caves that dot the hillsides. In one place at least, they are stacked on top of each other.

Caves of the north

Of course, there are many points in between caves and mansions. Again, in the north and following on from caves, were the small stone dwellings with a wooden roof. Later came what are now known as traditional Canarian houses with two-foot thick walls, built into the hillside and with the hip design of roof, or 'cuatro aguas' (four waters) so called because of their four sides. The first roofs of this design had clay Arabic roof tiles which were formed, as the story has it, on the thigh. Later the tiles were from France, flat in design and literally tied onto the roof laths.

Clay Arabic tiles far right, French tiles centre near

In recent years, with a sense of humour never far away, La Palma has livened things up a little.

For anybody with an interest in the history of La Palma, then we are pleased to offer a three-centre cultural holiday to include visits to museums, churches and other places of special interest.

Enjoy!