La Palma Canarian. Our holiday on the island of La Palma: how was it? things to do on La Palma
The first part is hereLa Palma or, as the Spaniards also call it, La Isla Bonita(Beautiful Island), a place very rarely visited by Russian-speaking tourists. Main contingent: British and Germans. During our almost week of stay, we did not hear Russian speech even once. Although, of course, there are reviews on the Internet Russian tourists and stories of Russians who live permanently on the island.
I had my eye on La Palma four years ago, when we were going to the Canaries for the first time. Then it didn’t work out and as a result we visited Lanzarote, which we don’t regret one bit. But of course I wanted to see the greenest Canary Island.
In preparation for the trip, I downloaded this guide with maps of the island and main cities on some official website http://www.koser.hut2.ru/La%20Palma%20map.pdf.
The island seems to be divided in half by a mountain range. Previously, in order to get from the eastern side of the island (where the port, capital and airport are) you had to go around through the south of the island. Now a system of tunnels has been made in the middle, including one that is as much as one and a half kilometers long. The controversial question is how to go faster, the navigator argued that the time doesn’t matter. We drove through the center of the island, but neither one nor the other path saves us from the serpentine roads. It's probably better to relax on the western side. There are more beaches, although we didn’t come here for them. The population of the island is only 80 thousand people, compare with the millions of Tenerife and Gran Canaria. There is basically a problem with hotels on the island. Big hotel only one, proudly rising like a ship on the beach of Puerto Naos, reviews for it are far from the best. The rest are practically only private hotels, which are actually village houses or part of them. This option of living suited us, especially since we still took a car; without it, we don’t have to go to the island at all - it’s pointless. As a result, we booked this hotel http://www.otzyv.ru/read.php?id=161254
After our arrival, we looked for him again for a long time, the navigator circled us around the private sector of the outskirts of the town of Los Llanos (that’s right, with two “l”). How we found the hotel is a whole story, which is told in the review about it. We checked in, it was late in the evening, there were no shops nearby, we wanted to eat, we had something left with us from Tenerife, but not enough. My son and I went out looking for shops, it’s good that we immediately stopped a local in some kind of van. He told us that basically nothing was open anywhere at this time, not a single store at all. We returned to the hotel and came across a German neighbor with her daughter. We got to talking, they were surprised that we are from Russia, our tourists rarely come here. We came for a month. Walking in the mountains, hiking. Having learned that we were starving, they brought us some simple food and even beer. Many thanks to them, very sincere people.
We woke up early and looked at the sky in amazement for a long time. Here it is necessary to say separately about the weather on the island. I don’t know about the east coast, but on the north there is no point in waking up before 10 am (that means one o’clock in the afternoon in our country). Everything is covered in clouds, fog hangs over the ocean, not cold, but not hot either, about plus 20. It was like this all the days that we lived there.
I’ll immediately share my general impressions of the island. Overall, a village. One such big village, but with simply fantastic nature. The climate is completely different, cannot be compared with Tenerife, much less Lanzarote and Fuertoventura. Humid, very green. And at the same time, excellent beaches, although we allocated only one day to them, but the impressions were very positive, as well as from the island as a whole. Let me emphasize again: don’t even think about being without a car. Not driving – cross out La Palma.
In the morning we rushed to buy groceries (it was still cloudy), and went to Los Llanos (about four kilometers from the hotel) for the first and last time. Crazy town. It took us half an hour to find a place to park. We went to the local market in the center - one and a half stalls selling some kind of garbage. Nearby is a Vip Market supermarket (or Viper, I don’t remember exactly). Excellent shop. Everything is available in a wide range. Later we stocked up in the same supermarket in the town El Paso, it’s a little further, but we still drove through it every day.
First day decided to look down at the seals on the beach. Let's go first to Playa Nueva. They arrived, laughed and left. An enchanting pile of cobblestones. Good thing is nearby Puerto Naos. It's about five kilometers from the hotel. A tiny coastal resort town, population less than a thousand people, clean and tidy. The most famous beach. Black sand, excellent access to the ocean, equipped with free toilets. showers. The embankment was really under renovation, but we didn’t care. Here it is, the most populous beach on the island 
Second day. We finally started to see what we came for. Mountains, views! The most famous place Mirador del Roque de los Muchahos. Here's the most famous one astrophysical laboratory. It's a long drive, about an hour and a half. Three quarters of the road are serpentines, the further, the merrier. Especially when the high mountain pine forests begin. From the mirador you can take a short walk, there is a path and an excellent observation deck. It must be said that in the very center of the island there is a huge volcanic crater, more than 20 km in diameter. Apparently left over from the explosion. Accordingly, the most wonderful views are from the edges of the crater wall. Well, Mirador del Roque de los Muchahos is the northern edge of the crater.
The road is on the way. We are already above the clouds 
We've arrived 
You have to go here strictly Necessarily. Even after Mount Teide and all the magnificent views of Madeira. The views are great! The domes of the observatory especially fit here. Just some kind of alien landscape.
Generally speaking, there are a hell of a lot of different hiking routes running diagonally across the volcano’s crater. All roads are lined with signs. But there are no short ones. Minimum from 12 kilometers and up to 50-70 km! Those. This is clearly one route for several days. So, those who are interested should go for a month. This is real relaxation and connection with nature. The entire island is covered with pine forests, the smell of resin is such that you want to fall on a layer of fallen pine needles and lie there forever.
Day three. We are now going to the southern tip of the crater, it is next to us, literally outside the town of El Paso, Mirador la Cumbrecita. We are driving in the morning, as I am expecting an ambush, which inevitably happens. The fact is that this entire crater of the volcano and the immediate surroundings are the territory of a national park Caldera de Taburiente. And in order to enter some of its areas you need a permit, which is issued by the management of this very park, or rather in its branches Centros de Informacion de Turismo (CIT). There is nothing wrong with this, the permit is free and it is issued to everyone. But in this way the authorities are trying to control the number of cars entering certain points at the same time. I’ll say right away that it turns out badly for them, but that’s their problem. For tourists, this happens as follows: you arrive at the required point (the same mirador la Cumbrecita) and at the CIT office, which is located at the entrance, you take this very permit, but! We arrived at 10 am (this office is open from 10 to 18, on Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 14), and they could only give us permission from 11:30, citing the fact that many cars had already arrived. They suggested walking as an alternative. Yeah, something like 7 kilometers in the heat, in the forest and uphill. Well, thank you. It was not an option to wait an hour and a half, so we took a permit for 13:00 and decided to rush to the very south of the island. The permit is a piece of paper with your name (you must show at least your license), date and window of stay in the park (in our case from 13 to 16 hours). I’ll immediately upset those suffering: you can’t get through without a permit, there’s a barrier and an auntie.
Meanwhile, we went to the very south of the island: our plans were to see the lighthouse (faro) and the salt factory (salinas). It doesn’t seem like a long drive: some thirty-odd kilometers, but the road runs along a winding mountain serpentine road, which was still undergoing active repairs. Often it is physically impossible to drive more than 30 km/h. The views along the way are good, but it took us more than an hour. You need to go to the very, very south of the island, focusing on the town Fuencaliente. There are already two lighthouses: an old one and a very old one. Neither one nor the other is anything special, just for the sake of general development. Naturally, there is no access to the lighthouses, they are simply closed. 
There is also a small deserted beach with a depressing fishing village. 
Nearby is a typical salt factory, we saw exactly the same one in Lanzarote, but at that time you couldn’t go inside or walk around the courtyards. Here there is such an opportunity, although half of the paths for tourists are being actively repaired. In general, it’s quite informative; if you have a window of half a day, then it’s quite possible to go and have a look. If you wish, you can even buy both food and bath salts, although in the nearest supermarket it will be half the price. In fact, it makes sense to go here for the whole day for walking route on the volcano Teneguia. Judging by the signs, the route is only about 6 kilometers in one direction, and the volcano is not high, so no special difficulties are expected. We didn’t have time, unfortunately, so we walked among the salt courtyards and went back. I also managed to lose my car key while walking (!) and we spent half an hour looking for it. 
The factory does not at all disdain manual labor. 
Salt grinding and packaging workshop. On the left you can see an improvised counter with products. 
Finally, at about two in the afternoon, we entered the territory of the national park and drove up an extremely narrow road to the parking area of La Cumbrecita. There are no special views directly from here, but there is a fairly simple route for a couple of kilometers, which I recommend taking, and specifically the long version. No skills or abilities are needed here; ordinary sneakers and desire are enough. 
The path is visible on the left 
This is how large-scale landslides occur 
Day four. Our time on the island was quickly ending. I didn't have enough days for La Palma. It was decided to go to the tobacco factory, and then to the waterfalls in Los Tilos in the northeast of the island.
If anyone doesn’t know, tobacco is grown on La Palma and cigars are made, the quality of which is not inferior to the famous Cuban ones. This is exactly so, I personally verified the quality, and had the opportunity to compare it with Cuban cigars, which a Cuban friend brought from his historical homeland at the same time. There are only two cigar manufacturing factories left, one small in Brena Alto(with him actually tobacco museum) and quite serious production in Brena Baja. It is extremely difficult to find information on the Internet in Russian, and there is not a lot of it in Spanish. It’s good that we had two brochures about these factories in our room. According to the brochures, only the tobacco museum in Brena Alto was open on Saturday, so we had no choice.
How to find it. The task is not at all easy, so I give you a scan of the brochure 
I stuck into this piece of paper for a long time and realized that it would not help me in any way in my search.
Therefore, I’m simply posting a map with the exact coordinates of the museum 28.667324,-17.787193 
Entrance to the museum costs 3 euros. We were the only visitors, which actually surprised me. The exhibition tells the history of the tobacco industry in Canary, and briefly touches on other export industries: bananas, cochineal (a natural dye for fabrics). The museum is small, but in each room there are monitors where you can watch videos in English that are quite interesting even with a superficial knowledge of the language. There is also a small courtyard where tobacco grows, there is an elderly gentleman who sorts out the tobacco leaves and hangs them to dry. 
The lady, who plays the role of a cashier and, to the best of her ability, a tour guide, also rolls cigars from ready-made tobacco on a special machine; if you wish, you can even do this yourself. 
There is also, of course, a store with its own products. The price of cigars is low, but actually almost the same as in other shops on the island and in duty-free in Tenerife: from 1 to 4 euros per cigar. There are packages of 5 or 10 cigars, boxes of 20-30 pieces and individual cigars in individual gift packaging. I dialed different types 2-something euros apiece. The auntie’s English was completely zero, she couldn’t answer the questions I had in any way, but she promptly called some friend of hers, who spoke quite decent English.
Product range on a poster 
And bought by us 
Very pleased with our visit to the museum, we went to the north of the island to Los Tilos. We found it quickly enough using the navigator. We drove along the mountain road to the end until we came to a tourist information office; there was a small museum right there. There we were told that the trail to the waterfalls was closed due to apparently rain. Now I think that this is still reinsurance and I had to go at my own peril and risk. But the trouble is that we had absolutely no idea which way to go or how long to go. At the tourist office they told us that the route to Mirador is open Espigon Atravesado(something like Crossed Peaks), just a couple of kilometers. The route starts just below tourist office, the road goes sharply uphill. They gave out a brochure. Here is a scan of the route. 
I’ll tell you right away: don’t go! Wasted time, an hour of tramping up a wide forest road, 
to see this at the end: 
even with this look 
So the conclusion can be drawn as follows: either waterfalls, or, well, screw this Los Tilos.
Day five. At about 12 o'clock we slowly checked out of the hotel and went to the capital of the island Santa Cruz de la Palma. It was Sunday, the car was abandoned somewhere close to the center. There is a weekend market in the square near the port. Locals sell their products and other crap. We bought homemade liqueurs there from a nice elderly couple, first tasted these liqueurs until there was a good buzz in our heads, and got into conversation with the sellers. It turns out they were part of some cruise tour in St. Petersburg, delighted with our city. Happens.
Then we examined the town itself, quiet, provincial, colonial, and in no way similar to the capital. In the center there is the loudly called Plaza de Espana (Plaza de Espana). A ten by ten meter patch. 
We reached a local landmark: the Santa Catalina fortress. Of course it's closed. Well, that’s right: why work on Sunday. After lunch, everything is completely closed, including the Sunday market. 
We had a snack “what God sent” and headed towards the airport, returned the car and at 18:00 we flew from the island to Fuertoventura with a transfer in Tenerife. Who knew that on this day we were not destined to get to the final point of the route and that we had a lot of wasted nerve cells ahead of us.
To be continued...
Part 1 - Santa Cruz de La Palma - Caldera Taburiente (Cumbrecita)
Part 2 - Los Llanos - Roque de Muchachos - petroglyphs of La Zarza - Los Tilos
Part 3 - Volcanoes of San Antonio and Teneguia - Tazacorte
They say La Palma is the greenest of Canary Islands. We decided to see this for ourselves. Last year, Tenerife and I started traveling to neighboring islands (Lanzarote), and we really liked this idea. A visit to the green island was planned for the January holidays.
Back in the summer, I booked a couple of hotels on La Palma: Sol La Palma And H10 Costa Salinas, deciding to make the final choice closer to the trip. But tickets for the Fred Olsen ferry appeared much later - at the end of October. I decided not to delay, and besides, take advantage of the promotional rate, and booked tickets in advance on the Internet. However, with such a reservation, two small pitfalls may await you: if you are sailing with a car, then you need its number; and second, boarding tickets for the ferry must either be printed 48 hours in advance, or go to the port and get them at the ticket office.
When I was choosing tickets on the website, I was very upset by the proposed schedule: the ship departed from Tenerife at 19.00 and arrived at Palma at around 22.00. A completely uninteresting option. And only on January 6th (!!!) when nothing works in Spain and they celebrate their favorite holiday, a morning flight was listed on the schedule. I didn’t think twice, changed the dates of my hotel stay for one day, and grabbed such interesting tickets!
We sailed from the port of Los Cristianos on January 6th. We already know how to load a ferry by car from our trip to La Gomera last year. The ship was, surprisingly, half empty, and those who boarded on Tenerife, for the most part, got off on Homer. From La Gomera to La Palma there were only two or three dozen of us left. The children had complete control of the empty playroom, and we watched the seascapes through the window.
Here is our friend from last year - La Gomera.
And on the other hand, Teide floats above the clouds, showing off its snow cap.
Almost three hours after departure, La Palma began to loom on the horizon
And here is Binter Canaries hurrying to the island. We flew this baby in the summer in Lanzarote
From the water I recognized the outline of the hotel I had booked.
And we are greeted by the capital of the island, which has almost the same name as the capital of Tenerife - Santa Cruz de La Palma.
Immediately from the ferry we go to check into our hotel H10 Costa Salinas, which is located exactly ten minutes drive from the port of Santa Cruz, in cozy place called Los Cancajos. Surprisingly, the hotel doors were locked. There was an announcement on them that the reception should be found in the nearby four-star hotel H10 Taburiente playa. We were given keys to the front door of the hotel and to our room. Guests of our Costa Salinas can safely use the infrastructure of their older brother Taburiente playa, which is essentially located in the middle between them. We were given a room in a higher category than I ordered, apparently due to the low season and the hotel being unoccupied. And our cute house appears in all the photos of this hotel on Booking.com. More details about the room, its pros and cons, can be found on my review page.
We went out onto our huge balcony and saw off Fred, who, having dropped off the passengers, sailed back to Tenerife.
We walked a bit around the hotel grounds, which offered a wonderful view of the capital of the island.
We began to think about what we could do today, given that nothing was working anywhere, due to the holiday - the Parade of the Magi.
So, before us is the island of La Palma:
We decided to start with the observation deck above the capital - Mirador de la Concepcion. But in order to get back - towards Santa Cruz de La Palma, each time we had to start moving in the opposite direction from it - this is how the road in Los Cancajos is arranged. The first one we came across on the way was another lookout, which offers a view of our lovely village.
Well, Mirador de la Concepcion gave us simply fantastic views, both of the capital with its colorful houses, and of its neighboring areas.
An interesting monument that we drove past for 4 days, but we still didn’t understand what the author wanted to say.
With trepidation and impatience, I looked at the mountain range that we had to overcome tomorrow.
Well, having finished the photo shoot at the mirador, we begin the long descent to the capital. So far, everything around me reminds me of the north of the island of Tenerife - the Santa Cruz - Anagi area.
It took a very long time to go down, the road twists and turns continuously, along beautiful bright houses, palm trees and gardens. Surprisingly, we did not meet a single oncoming car. The navigator took us around the edge of Santa Cruz and turned us onto a one-way road - the oncoming one. In fact, we could have gotten to the parking lot much faster if we had gone down the same road we went up to the mirador, but that wouldn't have been fun! Finally we got to the embankment, found parking, and it turned out to be free today.
We went for a walk through a completely empty city: all shops and restaurants were closed, there were practically no people on the streets, and the paved central street was dotted with colorful confetti - traces of the past holiday.
Deserted Calle Anselmo led us to Piazza di Spagna. The silence here was broken by an interesting character: on a bench, opposite the Church of the Holy Savior, there was a man with a tape recorder turned on at full volume, from which catchy reggae sounded. Reggae in an empty city, on central square- makes a strong impression :))
Most of the cathedrals, built during the 16th century, are made in the Moorish style: thick walls painted white and masonry of volcanic stones in the corners.
Church of the Savior (Iglesia Matriz de El Salvador). The bell tower was erected at the very beginning of the 16th century.
Here, in Plaza de España, in addition to the church, you can find a stone fountain (late 16th century) and the City Hall building.
Climbing up an empty street, we found ourselves in Saint Domingo Square with the church of the same name.
An interesting house was also discovered here. Judging by the inscription, Palmovsky architects work here, who apparently were original.
Even the city roofs are a constant reminder that we are on the greenest island. And tomorrow we will be convinced of this for sure.
Having walked around a small block, we again found ourselves near the Cathedral of the Savior.
Door handle collection
Where there are elegant entrance groups in the entrances - doors are open everywhere.
Santa Cruz Fortress
We spent a little over an hour walking around the city. With great difficulty we found a restaurant here that was ready to feed us. The food is cheap and very mediocre. But, as they say, without fish there is cancer.
Second day. La Cumbrecita - Los Llanos
The most important thing planned for today is a trip to the Taburiente National Park (Caldera de Taburiente) in the Cumbrecita area. You can find a lot in Kumbrechit walking routes. Due to the fact that the parking space there is very limited (there are only 16 spaces available for booking), there are only two ways to get there by car: either take a taxi from the information office, or book a parking time in advance on the Internet on the website of the National parks of the Canary Islands. I preferred the second method. On the website you need to select the date, hours of arrival and the amount of time spent there, print out this reservation (it’s free) in two copies and be sure to take it with you.
On the way, we stop at the observation deck de la Cumre, from where you can see two islands at once: Tenerife and La Gomera.
Then, through a series of tunnels, along a simple serpentine road, we continue our journey in the direction of the town of El Paso, where the branch of the road to Cumbrecita begins.
IN information center We grab a map of the Caldera, indicating all possible routes, distances, and approximate travel time.
The nature here is amazing! A variety of trees grow: fluffy Canary pines, different varieties of palm trees, blooming almonds and even bald ones.
After some time we pass the checkpoint and present our reservation. The narrow road begins to twist and rise.
We found a place not in the main parking lot, but in an additional one. We buried our noses in a mosaic of Christmas trees.
That's all (almost) parking on Cumbrecita
We looked around - beautiful! We unfolded the map and began to choose a route. It took a long time to come to a decision. Where I wanted to go it was 5-6 km, where the path was 1 km it seemed sad and uninteresting. I booked a time for 3 hours.
After much deliberation, the route to Pico Bejenado (1.854 m) was chosen. And although the map said that the path there was not close and was more than 4 km, with an ascent of 560 m, we somehow ignored this information, or rather, we did not take it seriously enough. Having dressed the children and ourselves in the warmest clothes (January 7, after all, and the mountains), we cheerfully began the climb. A narrow path led up the slope, and very quickly the car parking lot was somewhere far below, which gave us strength and confidence that we could cope with the climb without any problems. We started at 11.40, noting the time to calculate the return point.
Here you can clearly see the width of the path along which you need to climb up above the caldera.
Our children, experienced travelers, walked forward “like tanks” and did not know Tired at all. But for adults, the climb was harder. The flat sole of our shoes constantly slid along the pine needles covering the path, and every now and then tripped over volcanic stones and cones that came across the way.
All our suffering was compensated by the beauty and fresh pine air around us.
Look down, and there is an abyss!
Warm clothes turned out to be unnecessary, and after 30 minutes of getting up we were all wet. Finally, we reached the first peak of El Rodeo, where we rested, undressed, and packed all our warm clothes into my dad’s enormous backpack.
The Canary Islands are a very popular holiday destination among the Dutch. That's probably why when we decided to take a week of summer in November, we didn't have to think too much about choosing a place to escape. Having packed our bags, we went to the island of La Palma for 7 days - and spent one day more there. During the week, I only heard Russian speech once briefly (perhaps it was even my imagination)) - but I often saw Russian Salad on the menus of restaurants and food courts. All about this is my report today on how I spent my summer vacation.
The trip report was written in December 2014 and updated after the second trip to La Palma in December 2016.
A few facts about the island of La Palma
So where did we go? Geographically La Palma island (not to be confused with Palma de Mallorca and Las Palmas (the capital of Gran Canaria)):
- located in the Atlantic Ocean
- part of the Canary Archipelago
- is furthest from the mainland of the other Canary Islands
- belongs to the territory of Spain.
La Palma often call:
- island eternal spring– the average air temperature here throughout the year is +23º
- the greenest of all the Canary Islands
- "beautiful spicy" or La Isla Bonita.
The famous shoe designer Manolo Blahnik was born here. The dragon blood tree grows here, from which Stradivarius made his legendary instruments. About this island Madonna sang. In my opinion, quite good “star achievements” for an island with an area of only 706 km2 :)
However, before the trip I found very little information and reviews about the island of La Palma in Russian. Therefore, I decided to make my contribution to correcting the situation :) I hope you find it useful!
How to get to La Palma island
We flew to La Palma on a direct Transavia flight from Amsterdam. From Moscow, as far as I understand, you can get there with a transfer in Madrid, Berlin, Dusseldorf and other European cities. Minsk residents can fly from Vilnius to Tenerife, and from there take a ferry or take a local flight to Santa Cruz de La Palma airport. Perhaps there are other, more convenient flight options.
About hotels on La Palma
On La Palma we stayed at a hotel on Los Canjajos beach on east coast islands (if you are interested in three or four star hotels, then you need to go either here or to the west coast in Puerto Naos). There are such small apartment complexes here at every turn.
In the photo: Aparthotel La Caleta
Both of our hotels were generally quite good, with one small “but”: after all, such complexes have a connotation of Egyptian-Turkish “settlements” for all-inclusive vacations. And this largely eats up the local flavor. So next time - only a villa or apartment! Update: In December 2016 we will go to La Palma again and have booked a bungalow in Los Llanos de Aridanes.
Santa Cruz de La Palma
The capital of the island is completely small town, where two main streets stretch along the coast. Here the color is already starting to be felt! Multi-colored houses, a local market, grandfathers playing dominoes on the street, bright Spanish women (on the paving stones in 10-centimeter heels - mmm, our people! :)) - beauty!
And this is an exact copy of the ship “Santa Maria” of Christopher Columbus and the patron saint of the island of La Palma, the dwarf Enano.
Los Llanos de Aridane
The largest city on the island, it seemed to me even more real, full of emotions and colors than the capital. If I came to La Palma for a month or two, then most likely... Update: Yes, and we have already booked accommodation here for our next trip! Update 2: I take my words back about a month or two :) The city is good, but in a week you have time to explore it far and wide, and it becomes a bit boring.
Los Canarios
We came to Los Canarios, a city in the south of the island, to see the volcanoes, but the entrance to tourists was closed due to strong winds. In general, there was a feeling that, having traveled only a couple of tens of kilometers from our habitat, we were in autumn. But don’t go back right away! We decided to go along the hiking trails: 
Winemaking flourishes in this part of the island, and what turns yellow below is precisely the vineyards.
In Los Canarios you could go on some wine excursions and tastings. But the city was shrouded in such gloom and fog that after a couple of hours we preferred to jump on the nearest bus to the capital - and return to our November summer.
Puerto Naos
A city in the southwest of La Palma, whose black volcanic sand beaches are considered by many to be the best on the island. Overall, we liked it too. The beach is good, the sea is warm (even at the end of December you could swim), the city is not crowded (at least in winter). The only thing is that it makes sense to stay here only if you have a rental car. Otherwise, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to travel around the island much.
Tazacorte
Coastal town in the western part of the island. In fact, it is divided into two parts - Puerto de Tazacorte. The port is located here (from here they depart boat excursions and boats for amateur fishermen) and a small beach (it is considered one of the warmest on the island).
And Tazacorte Pueblo, a more urban part of the city 1 km from the beach.
About the restaurants
During 8 days on the island we visited about a dozen restaurants. Returned ( or would come back :)) we are most likely only in three of them. I highly recommend them!
La Muralla in Tijarafe
We discovered this restaurant in the mountains quite by accident. We stopped by for coffee and liked the terrace with a bird's eye view of the ocean. We made a reservation for the evening... and it was the best dinner of the entire trip! The food was not just food, but some kind of miracle of molecular chemistry. The service is friendly, fast and at a high level. The view from the window is amazing. The price tag for all this is about 12 - 15 euros for the main course. A bottle of excellent wine costs the same.
That's all I have for now. I will be happy to answer all questions in the comments or tell you in the following posts!
Stay in touch! :)
Discover the selection best places and attractions LA PALMA CANARY
National Park
This is amazing national park, which you can find in La Palma. It was once thought to be a huge crater due to its shape. It received the name of a national park in 1954. The site is simply breathtaking and one of the most visited places in La Palma. The view from the highest point of this place is simply incredible.
Common Road Padron, 47, 38750 El Paso, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Rocky Kurgan
It is a rocky hillock and is located at the highest point on the island of La Palma. The view from the top of this place is simply breathtaking. Huge rocks here, which are more than 2400 meters above sea level. There is an observatory nearby where some of the world's largest telescopes can be found.
LP-4 municipality of Villa de Garafia, 38788, La Palma, Spain
Reserve
This is a very special place for people who love to travel. Be sure to arrive early if you want to hike here. There are many tunnels and diversified forest. This place is a true delight for adventure lovers. Don't forget to take all the necessary accessories with you that you may need for mountaineering and hiking.
San Andres y Sousa, La Palma, Spain
This is a conical shaped beautiful rock that was once an active volcano. It is located on the island of La Palma and is a good place to visit. It gives a beautiful appearance and is covered with different colors of rocks such as red, pink, brown, black and grey. You will love the natural beauty of this place.
Fuencaliente, La Palma, Spain
Amalgamation of natural pools
This is a combination of 3 natural pools on the island. It is very unique because of this feature. The view of the place is simply amazing. You can find restaurants and bars near this area and it is very a good place to enjoy with the whole family. You can easily move from one pool to another and have great fun.
Calle la Fajana, 25, 38726 Barlovento, Spain
Natural pool
This is a natural pool on the island of La Palma. You can enjoy the clear water of the sea here and this place offers many services to visitors. This perfect place to enjoy with your family. Many swimming enthusiasts come to explore this amazingly beautiful place. This is one of the most beautiful places on the island.
Melonar Road, San Andres y Sousa, La Palma, SpainPalm Island small green island with an area of only 728 sq. km. La Palma very beautiful, ideal for lovers of a relaxing holiday. The island's coastline is mostly rocky, so there aren't many beaches, but they're just as stunning as the others. islands of the Canary archipelago.
La Palma unusually mountainous island. The most high peak Roque de los Muchachos peak 2387 m. The entire north of the island at an altitude of 500 1500 m above sea level is covered with cherry laurel forests. These are the last representatives of the forests that once covered the entire south of Europe. The ravines of Cubo de la Galga and Los Tilos, declared by UNESCO biosphere reserve and are excellent examples of such forests.
Hotels in La Palma
Hotels on La Palma there are about 7,000: in tourist centers on the coast, cities and rural areas. There are two small tourism centers: one in the east and the other in the west of the island. Village Los Lancajos, in the east, is located a few kilometers from the airport and from the capital of the island. Puerto Naos, in the agricultural municipal district Los Llanos de Aridane, in the west, has a sunnier climate. Both centers are located on secluded volcanic sand beaches. There are also hotels in the capital, the city Santa Cruz de la Palma, and in the second largest city of the island, Los Llanos, not far from National Park Caldera de Taburiente .
It is also worth noting the growing supply of housing and hotels in rural areas. This sector is well developed in La Palma, since the island is well suited for relaxation in the lap of nature.
Attractions La Palma
Meaning La Palma Islands during the Renaissance, when its capital, Santa Cruz, became the third port of the Spanish Empire after Seville and Antwerp, reflected in its architecture. The artistic splendor characteristic of that era, manifested in beautiful secular and church buildings, as well as in the spread of Flemish artistic embroidery, greatly influenced the culture of the population La Palma. In the city Santa Cruz de la Palma most concentrated beautiful buildings islands in colonial style.
The city has preserved buildings from the 16th century, including the City Assembly and El Salvadors. The Museum of Natural History contains magnificent examples of local flora and fauna. On the sea embankment they stand side by side modern houses and ancient buildings with wooden balconies.
The capital of the island is Santa Cruz de La Palma a small town with many ancient buildings and narrow streets. City center small triangular Plaza de España (Plaza de Espana) with a wonderful stone fountain (1776). Here it is Church of the Savior with a high bell tower ( Iglesia Matriz de El Salvador), built in 1503. The Mudejar style ceiling is made from the heartwood of pine trees. The sacristy houses fine examples of wood carvings in the Gothic style.
On the other side of the square stands Town Hall (Ayuntamiento), built in 1569, with an arcade in the Italian Renaissance style. The second floor is decorated with coats of arms Philip II of Spain, Palm trees and the Austrian royal house.
Another attraction of Santa Cruz fortress Castillo de Santa Catalina, which perfectly protected the city from pirates.
At the end of the street Calle Real can see Columbus ship model Santa Maria real size. The model is used as a maritime museum.
North of Santa Cruz in the mountains is sanctuary of the island's patroness, Nueatra Senora de Las Nievas (Madonnas of the Snows). The church has an altar made of Mexican silver and a terracotta statue of the Madonna. Every five years the Madonna is brought to Santa Cruz for the holiday La Bajada de la Virgii(Appearance of the Madonna) a mixture of religious sadness and general joy and entertainment.
Another holiday is celebrated on May 3 day of the cross in Santa Cruz de la Palma. A competition of decorated crosses is organized.
Other interesting settlements islands: Los Llanos, the second largest city; El Paso, famous for its silks and cigars; Fuencaliente, home of great wines; And Maso, in the vicinity of which there is a pre-Hispanic Belmako cave.
La Palma especially rich in various natural attractions. Palmitos Park the biggest butterfly sanctuary. In addition to butterflies, you can see about 230 species of exotic birds here.
The cherry laurel forests that cover the entire north of the island at an altitude of 500-1500 m are genuine plant relics, the last representatives of the forests that covered the entire south of Europe in the Tertiary period. In the narrow gullies of the northern part of the island, 20 native tree species form a dense plant mass that is often shrouded in fog. Another interesting natural attraction is the volcanic ridge that stretches from north to south across the entire island. So-called "Volcano route" runs along this ridge with cones and craters, which ends in the extreme south of the island with a volcano Tenegia. which last erupted in 1971.
In the center of the island there is a huge crater La Cadera de Taburiente, which is a National Park. The crater is covered with a dense pine forest, its depth reaches 770 m and its circumference is 28 km. To view it in all its grandeur there are several observation platforms: La Cumbrecita , Las Chosas , Roque de los Muchachos highest point(2423 m) islands where the largest astrophysical observatory in the northern hemisphere is located. A stone spire 800 m high rises from the bottom of the crater Idafe Rock. They say that there was a sacred Guanche altar where sacrifices were made.
Holidays on La Palma
La Palma provides excellent opportunities for activities aquatic species sports and for hiking. There is a yacht club on the island Puerto de la Playa. In the capital there is a sports club fishing la Gaviota.
Puerto de Naos the biggest island resort with magnificent black sand beaches. There is a village nearby San Nicolas, which erupted in 1949 volcano Nambroque, now only a lonely church rises among the frozen lava fields.
Near San Andres y Sauces there is a dense forest of lime trees with huge ferns. Fuencaliente, the southernmost village of the island, is surrounded by vineyards, pine forests, and volcanoes, the most famous of which are San Antonio and Teneguia.
Cancajos Beach near the village Breсa Baja consists of several bays with clear water. In the village Puerto de Naos with good tourist infrastructure, the location is delightful black sand beach. Near Tijarafe beautiful natural location Cueva Bonita grotto.
Souvenirs. Palma is famous for its cigars and silk fabrics. At the Tobacos Vargas tobacco factory, which is located in Santa Cruz de la Palma, you can see how workers roll cigars by hand, and you can also buy samples. In the village of Maso you can buy excellent ceramics. The island's handicrafts rival its cuisine in richness, with some of the best mojo sauces in the Canary Islands.