What is there to do on La Palma?

I remember one evening twelve years ago when I was at a friends house in Tenerife. I had found myself in conversation with another English lady about the neighbouring island of La Palma and the fact that it is often to referred to as La Isla Bonita. We agreed that it is indeed a beautiful island.

Santa Cruz de La Palma

‘Yes,’ she continued with perhaps more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary, ‘but you can’t live there!’

Most of my answer was apparently drowned out by the rising background noise but anyway, why couldn’t you live there I insisted on knowing.

‘There’s no hospital for a start!’ she replied in a shocked voice, although conceding that an airport was a possibility for the future.

Eventually, I managed to get her to understand that there is indeed a hospital and in fact there is an International airport already in existence and has been for many years. But I had a harder time convincing her that La Palma, yes sleepy La Palma, is my home.

So what else is there to know about La Palma?

How to get there

The first airport on La Palma opened in 1955 and in 1970 it moved to its current location in Mazo, by the east coast. In 2011 a new and larger airport was built and in that year it handled over 1 million passengers. From the UK there are direct flights from both Manchester and Gatwick with Thomsons. The airport code is SPC. There are also direct flights from Germany, Spain and the Netherlands plus inter-islands flights from Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

For ferries, the port of Santa Cruz de La Palma serves Fred Olsen, Acciona Trasmediterranea and Naviera Armas. There is a new marina at Santa Cruz and a second port/marina at Tazacorte in the west of La Palma.

Flight from Tenerife to La Palma

Accommodation

There are many casas rurales (the traditional Canarian cottages) dotted about the landscape which are available for rent along with apartments, hotels, pensions (room only) and even a few bed and breakfasts.

Shops

La Palma has many large supermarkets (Hiper Dino, San Martin, Trebol) and smaller Spar supermarkets all of which are open all day. There is also a covered fruit and vegetable market in both Santa Cruz and Los Llanos and weekend markets in Puntagorda, Mazo, Puntallana and Barlovento.

Puntagorda Market with Artesenia products

Beaches

Whilst La Palma does not have a great abundance of broad swathes of golden sands, it

does however have a good number of black sand beaches, hidden coves and sea water pools.

The main beaches are at the resorts of  Los Cancajos in the east and Puerto Naos and Tazacorte in the west although there are other sandy beaches dotted around the island. There is also a new beach under construction on the waterfront of the capital of Santa Cruz in addition to excellent beach at Bajamar, just off the road out of the capital to the south.

Beach at Tazacorte, La Palma

Transport

Cars can be hired either on-line in advance or whilst on the island at the airport or in the towns.  There is also an excellent bus service (even in the rural north of the island) and no single bus journey costs more than 2€.

Walking routes

La Palma has over 1000km of marked trails through ever-changing and spectacular scenery. The main long distance trails are the GR130 Camino Real (8 days) which goes around the perimeter of the island linking hidden hamlets, gorges, towns and beaches and the GR131 El Bastón (3/4 days) which includes the Volcano Route and the Roque de Muchachos at 2426m. Other walks pass through the Laurisilva forest of Los Tilos, pine forests, lava fields and country meadows.

What is there to do?

The fun on La Palma is generally provided by the beauty and nature of the island as there are no theme parks, bowling alleys, skating rinks or disco-pubs pock-marking the boulevards.  In no particular order, these are some of the great things to do and see:

Roque de Muchachos - the highest point of the island at 2426m

La Caldera - a near complete circular mountain ridge measuring 10km in diameter and 2000m deep

La Cumbrecita - a stunning viewpoint and walk along the ridge of the Caldera

Volcanoes – the last eruption was Teneguia in 1971

Los Tilos – ancient forest of Laurisilva, a species from the age of Dinosaurs

La Zarza forest and archaeological park with pre-Hispanic rock engravings

Salt Pans of Fuencaliente (area of Scientific Interest and whose waters attract migratory birds)

The rural north with its hidden hamlets, caves, fresh water springs and ancient dwellings with wooden roofs

Weekend markets with fresh organic produce and local handicrafts

Historic capital of Santa Cruz with its flower-festooned balconies, cobbled streets and splendid mansions.

Guided tour of the observatory at Roque de Muchachos to see how the stars are observed on La Palma

Various museums including the Naval museum, Silk museum, Banana museum and Archaeological museum

Dolphin and whale watching from the boats out of Tazacorte harbour

SCUBA diving, snorkelling, swimming and sunbathing

Paragliding - La Palma is often cited as the best place in Spain for Paragliding

In short, if you are bored while on holiday in La Palma, you are probably on the wrong Canarian Island!

We hope you enjoy La Palma too!  For any other information, you are welcome to look at our website www.holiday-lapalma.comhttp://www.holiday-lapalma.com/aboutlapalma.html

Día de Los Indianos Fiesta

There are some crazy fiestas on La Palma - for example there's the Death of the Sardine where everyone dresses in black and weeps and wails at the passing of our esteemed friend, the fish. Then there's the fiesta of the dancing dwarves of La Palma, Los Enanos, once very five years (you may never uncover the mystery of this fiesta). And then there is also El Diablo where a 'monster' with fireworks attached to its body chases small children (and adults who can't help but join in). All wholesome fun.
But then there is the Día de Los Indianos which is right up there in the top three of Big Fiestas. This means that reinforcements are brought in, yes flights and ferries from all over the Canary Islands full of Indianos. And what for? This!

It's a joy-some day where everyone dresses in white and throws talcum powder at each other. Honestly - it's fun!! And it's all to do with the history of La Palma when, following mass emigration to Venezuela and Cuba in the 50's and 60's, Palmerans returned to their beloved island having made their 'fortune.'
Enjoy the photos! And if you are in La Palma next year, hopefully you'll be able to time it so you can join in. It's held in February or March every year. This year's was on Monday, 3rd March.
You can see the list of fiestas on La Palma on our website here: http://www.holiday-lapalma.com/listoffiestas.html

Los Llanos de Aridane

Interesting that when people talk about Los Llanos de Aridane but haven't yet been, there are clearly quite a few misconceptions.
'Are there any shoe shops in Los Lllanos de Aridane' is one question I was recently asked. And the answer is 'yes for sure, it's the biggest city on the island and you'll find plenty of shops of almost every kind.'


And then, 'Oh, I don't want to go to Los Llanos, I don't like big cities.'
Well actually although it is a city with a dual carriageway running almost right through its centre, at the heart of it is the wonderful Plaza de España which is surrounded by a pedestrain precinct. So although it's a vibrant city and certainly more commercial than Santa Cruz, it still manges to feel tranquil and more like a village than a city.




The Plaza de España is the place to go and sit and chat, have a glass of wine or coffee and get down to some serious people watching.
When we were there last week, the magnificent Indian laurel trees which populate the Plaza were in the midst of being pruned. The trees were brought from Cuba in the mid nineteenth century and whilst the pruning can seem severe, they've seen it all before. And probably heard it all before too.

And then there's the culture. If you take a wander in the back streets, particularly the ones that rise up from the Plaza de España, you'll discover all the tiny, multi-coloured cottages jammed in along the narrow streets, one after another.

Around the plaza are the grand mansions, some of them housing the municipal offices. And some huge murals too! 

Around most corners there's also a great view of the Caldera which is a good reminder that this is La Palma - La Isla Bonita!

You might also bump into a bar on your travels, often a in restored old house so there's plenty of atmosphere and a warm welcome too. Street cafes abound, mostly in pedestrianised areas. This is a great chance to try out the tapas - the 'little snacks' - or a 3-course meal. 

Certainly worth seeking out is the Archaeological Museum Benahoarita which is full of fascinating treasures. It's currently open from 09.00 to 20.00 hrs, Monday to Saturday. On Sundays until 14.00 hrs, on fiestas, it's closed. They also hold photographic exhibitions so even if you've been once, you might want to drop by for a second visit. It's a great way to discover the history of La Palma.

For anybody who has any doubts, Los Llanos is more than just a tangle of streets - it's got a heart and a soul and that's for tourists and locals alike! 

Springs of Barlovento

As anybody who had ever traveled around Scotland or Ireland will tell you, castles make up a good proportion of the 'things to see.' And I love a good castle as much as the next person!
But what of La Palma? Where are our castles? Surely there must have been battles fought and wars waged? Well there were, such as when the Spanish Conquistadors finally took La Palma in 1493. But do you know, you can't beat a good natter when it comes to getting a problem solved.
What better then than a visit to see the old fuentes (springs) with their adjacent stone washing basins where the women would gather to wash the laundry.
You'll find them all around La Palma - Puntallana has a good example, Santo Domingo has two washing points, one at each end of the village and in the north east at Barlovento, there are a good sprinkling of them.
Just go to the Tourist Office in Barlovento and look out for the wooden pointing finger. Yup, hard to miss!

In less than 3 minutes you will find yourself at the springs.

And then, if you are walking the GR130 Camino Real from Barlovento past La Tosca, you'll see them there too. OK, the water is just a teeny bit green these days!

Perhaps part of the magic and mystery is the fact that these little bits of history don't have jazzy plaques with rhyme and verse telling you about them. After all, the talking has been done and as the saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved.