Walking in La Palma
£12.00
48 long and short walks and 4 car tours
by Noel Rochford
A guidebook to walking on La Palma and El Hierro in the Canary Islands, featuring 48 of the best long and short day walks. We show trekking routes of varying difficulty throughout both islands, all of which are mapped in detail.
Hike around volcanic craters and the immense Caldera de Taburiente, trek the Los Tilos laurel forest and make the effort to get to El Hierro – the least-visited of the Canary Islands. Some walks incorporate sections of the GR131.
This guide also includes four car tours, touring maps covering each island, plans of Santa Cruz de la Palma and Valverde and free downloadable GPS tracks.
When to go: The best months for hiking on La Palma and El Hierro are October to June.
★★★★★ amazon review ‘Clear, well organised maps and associated information! I love these Sunflower guides and have used several over the years visiting the Canary Islands & other parts of Europe! Especially good for car tours & walking holidays! Highly recommended!‘ Bladgernock
Printed book: £14.99 / PDF ebook: £12.00
This new 8th edition of our guidebook to walking in La Palma and El Hierro has been completely redesigned in a wider format – with larger type and no mapping lost in the gutter.
Revised on the ground just a few months before publication, the guide also has several new walks and all-new topo hiking maps with contours at 25m intervals. Based on OpenStreetMap mapping, the maps now show waypoints, and free downloadable GPS tracks are available for all the treks.
Colour coding on the contents page enables you to see at a glance the grading of various walks.
In natural beauty, La Palma rivals all the other Canary Islands put together. Its immense, abyss-like crater, the Caldera de Taburiente, is considered to be the largest of its kind in the world.
Deep within its pine-speckled, towering walls is a year-round abundance of gushing streams, boisterous cascades, and a plummeting waterfall.
Outside the crater, high on the cloud-catching hillsides, 20 million-year-old laurel forests grow as dense as a jungle. In the southern half of the island, hills pitted with volcanic craters and mini-deserts of black lapilli speak of the island’s volcanic past.
This stark, striking landscape, all the more dramatic for its stabs of volcanic reds, oranges, and yellows, is far removed from the lush and verdant, tree-clad north.
El Hierro, the least-visited of all the Canaries, at first appears to be a dried-up, sprawling mountain of rock, rising straight from the sea, treeless and barren. But Noel reveals the island’s hidden charms — as remarkable as any in the archipelago.
Whether you tour La Palma or El Hierro by car or discover them on foot, Noel introduces you to the islands’ best beauty spots.
An excellent book… The size, the balance between text and images and facts and maps … makes it perfect for getting out and about. (GCH, Amazon)
Walking in La Palma was spectacular, marvellous… many other superlatives. (VH, Hyde)
The book proved a really useful (no, essential) addition to our holiday and made a good holiday really special. (HOH, Shrewsbury)
For atmosphere and easy access to walks by public transport, the author recommends Santa Cruz or Los Llanos on La Palma. However, if you will be hiring a car, you can take your choice of the island’s resorts. On El Hierro, which only has one bus each day, you’ll need a hire car and here the author recommends staying in Tigaday.
4 car tours, 48 long and short walks, 23 picnic suggestions
168 pages; 2 touring maps; plans of Santa Cruz de la Palma and Valverde; large-scale (1:50,000) topo maps
8th ed, Feb 2020; ISBN 978-1-85691-530-4; UK retail price £14.99 / USA retail price $20.00
Preface 5
Acknowledgements; Recommended reading;
Useful websites 6
Getting about 7
Picnicking 8
Picnic suggestions on La Palma 9
Picnic suggestions on El Hierro 10
Touring 11
LA PALMA’S VERDANT NORTH AND THE ISLAND’S SUMMITS (Tour 1) 13
Santa Cruz • Los Sauces • Barlovento • Garafía •
Roque de los Muchachos • Santa Cruz
VOLCANIC SPLENDOURS IN THE SOUTH OF LA PALMA (Tour 2) 19
Santa Cruz • Los Canarios (Fuencaliente) • El Paso
El Pilar • Santuario de las Nieves • Santa Cruz
CALDERA DE TABURIENTE (Tour 3) 24
Los Llanos • Caldera de Taburiente • Barranco de
las Angustias • Los Brecitos • Tazacorte •
Mirador El Time • (Puntagorda) • Los Llanos
EL HIERRO — HIGHLIGHTS (Tour 4) 26
Tigaday • Sabinosa • La Dehesa • (Faro de Orchilla) •
Cruz de los Reyes • Hoya del Morcillo • El Pinar •
Cala de Tacorón • Mirador de las Playas • Mirador
de Jinama • Mirador de la Peña • Mocanal • Pozo de
las Calcosas • Valverde • San Andrés • Tigaday
Walking (see explanation of grading symbols on page 33) 32
Grading, waymarking, maps, GPS 32
Where to stay 34
What to take 35
Weather 35
Dogs — and other nuisances 35
Country code 37
Advice for walkers 37
Spanish for walkers 38
Organisation of the walks 39
WALKS ON LA PALMA 40
1 From the Mirador La Tosca to Gallegos 42
2 Los Sauces • Mirador de las Barandas • Barlovento 45
3 Las Lomadas • Barranco del Agua • Los Tilos • Los Sauces 48
4 Two viewpoints from Los Tilos 52
5 Casa del Monte • Nacientes de Cordero • Nacientes de Marcos • Los Tilos 54
6 Casa del Monte • Nacientes de Cordero • Casa del Monte • Las Lomadas 59
7 Barranco de la Galga 63
8 Cubo de la Galga circuit 65
9 Puntallana springs 67
10 Puntallana, short and sassy 69
11 From Tenagua through the jungle to the lavaderos in the Barranco del Agua 71
12 LP4 (Pico de la Nieve turn-off) • Pico de la Nieve • La Cumbrecita • Ermita de la Virgen del Pino • National Park Visitors’ Centre 74
13 From La Cumbrecita to the Ermita de la Virgen del Pino and the National Park Visitors’ Centre 80
14 Lomo de los Mestres • La Pared Vieja • Refugio El Pilar • National Park Visitors’ Centre 83
15 Lomo de los Mestres • La Pared Vieja • Cumbre Nueva • Camino de la Faya • Mazo 87
16 Los Canarios (Fuencaliente) • Volcán de San Antonio • Volcán de Teneguía • Faro de Fuencaliente 90
17 Ruta de los Volcanes 95
18 Birigoyo, or Ruta de los Volcanes ‘lite’ 101
19 Pico Bejenado 102
20 Caldera de Taburiente from Los Brecitos 104
21 Barranco de las Angustias and the Cascada de Colores 110
22 From the Mirador El Time to Puerto de Tazacorte 112
23 Tijarafe • Poris de Candelaria (the ‘Pirates’ Cove’) • Tijarafe 114
24 From Tijarafe to Tinizara 117
25 El Fayal • Las Tricias • Cuevas de Buracas • Las Tricias 121
26 Garafía • El Palmar • Juan Adalid • El Palmar • Garafía 125
WALKS ON EL HIERRO 132
27 From the Pista al Derrabado to Sabinosa 130
28 Sabinosa • Mirador de Bascos • El Sabinar • Ermita de los Reyes • Sabinosa 132
29 Coastal walk at Arenas Blancas 135
30 Frontera • Mirador de Jinama • Ermita Virgen de la Peña • Mirador de la Peña 137
31 Frontera • Mirador de Jinama • San Andrés 140
32 Circuit from the Fuente de la Llanía 143
33 From San Andrés to the Arbol Garoé 145
34 Fuente de la Llanía • Mirador de las Playas • La Torre • San Andrés 148
35 Fuente de la Llanía • Mirador de Isora • Parador 152
Some plants you may see on these islands 150, 151
Bus timetables, flights and ferries 155
Index 159
Fold-out touring maps inside back cover
(with plans of Santa Cruz de La Palma and Valverde)
This index contains geographical entries only; for other entries, see
Contents, page 3. Bold type indicates a photograph; italic type indicates
a map. Both may be in addition to a text reference on the same page.
‘TT’ refers to transport timetables.
LA PALMA
Barlovento 9, 10, 13, 16, 42, 45, 46, 47, 121, 125, 127, TT 155, 156
Laguna de Barlovento 10, 13, 16, 46, 47, 48
Barranco de La Galga 14, 63, 64, 64-5, 66
Barranco de las Angustias 10, 24-5, 103, 105, 106-7, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113
Barranco de Ribanseras del Castro 106-7, 108, 109, 111
Barranco del Agua 14, 15, 45, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56-7, 59, 71, 73
Barranco Río Almedro Amargo 106-7, 108, 111
Breña Alta see San Pedro
Caldera de Taburiente 5, 10, 12, 18, 22, 24, 25, 54, 74, 86, 100, 101, 102, 104, 106-7, 109, 111, 112, 125
Casa del Monte 54, 56-7, 59, 60-1
Cascada de Colores 106-7, 109, 110, 111, 111
Cráter del Duraznero 97, 98
Cruce del Refugio 78, 88-9, 109, 110
Cumbre Nueva 23, 75, 77, 78, 79, 82, 83, 86, 87, 88-9
Cumbre Vieja 76, 77, 95
Dos Aguas 104, 105, 106-7, 109, 110
El Fayal 10, 24, 25, 121, 123
El Palmar 125, 126, 127
El Paso 19, 22, 76, 77, 80, 86, 96, 102, 106-7
National Park Visitors’ Centre 19, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 82, 85
El Rodeo 102, 103
Ermita de la Virgen del Pino 22, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 82
Fuencaliente 2, 19, 20, 21, 34, 90, 91, 92, 97, 99, TT 155, 156
Faro de Fuencaliente 2, 20, 21, 90, 91, 92, 92, 93, 94, TT 155
Franceses 16, 17, 18, TT 155, 156
Gallegos 16, 42, 43, 47, 127, TT 155, 156
Garafía 13, 18, 125, 126, 127, TT 155, 156
Hoyo de Mazo 19
Juan Adalid 125, 127
La Cumbrecita 19, 22, 36, 75, 77, 80, 81, 82, 102, 103, 106-7
La Galga 13, 56-7, 60-1, 63, 64, 65, 66, TT 155
Cubo de La Galga 64, 65, 66
La Palmita 42, 43
La Pared Vieja 9, 19, 23, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88-9, 95
La Tosca 9, 16, 42, 43, 44, 136
Las Indias 19, 20, 21, 90, 91, 92, 93, 97
Las Lomadas 14, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 56-7, 59, 60-1, 62
Las Tricias 18, 121, 122-3, 123, 124, TT 155, 156
Llano del Jable 10, 23, 78, 79, 84-5, 86, 95, 96
Lomo de los Mestres 75, 79, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88-9
Los Brecitos 24, 25, 103, 104, 106-7, 109, 111
Los Canarios see Fuencaliente
Los Llanos 22, 23, 24, 25, 34, 96, 102, 106-7, 112, 114, 117, 121, TT 155, 156
Los Sauces 13, 15, 45, 47, 48, 51, 56-7, 60-1, 62, 68, TT 155
Los Tilos 9, 13, 14, 40-1, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56-7, 58, 59, 62, 64, 104
Mazo 19, 20, 38, 87, 88-9, TT 156
Mirador de las Barandas 45, 47, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56-7, 60-1,
Mirador de las Indias 21, 92, 97
Mirador El Time 24, 25, 112, 113
Mirador Espigón Atravesado 52, 58, 56-7, 60-1
Mirador La Cumbrecita 75, 82
Mirador La Tosca 9, 16, 42, 43, 44
Morro de la Era 19, 109, 110, 111
Nacientes de Cordero y Marcos 54, 55, 56-7, 58-9, 60-1, 62
Observatorio Astrofísico 13, 16-7, 18
Parque Cultural La Zarza 13
Pico Bejenado 22, 102, 103, 103, 106-7
Pico Birigoyo 95, 100, 101
Pico de la Nieve 18, 71, 74, 75, 76, 77, 82, 102
Piscinas de la Fajana 16, 17
Playa de los Cancajos 19, 34
Playa de Taburiente 76, 103, 106-7, 110
Playa de Zamora 21
Poris de Candelaria (‘Pirates’ Cove’) 114, 115, 116, 116
Puerto de Tazacorte 25, 112-3, 113, TT 155
Puntagorda 10, 18, 24, 25, 117, 121, 123, TT 155, 156
Puntallana 8-9, 13, 23, 67, 67, 68, 69, 70, 70, 71, 72, 73, TT 155
Refugio El Pilar 9, 19, 23, 78, 79, 83, 85, 86, 95, 96, 101
Refugio Punta de los Roques 74, 75, 76, 77
Reventón Pass 77, 78, 79, 79, 82
Río Taburiente 106-7, 108, 109, 110, 111
Roque de los Muchachos 13, 16, 18, 76
Roque de Teneguía 21, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94
Ruta de los Volcanes 5, 33, 83, 95, 96, 97, 98-9, 100, 101
San Antonio 13, 17, 19, 20, 90, 93, 114
San Isidro 9, 23, 84, 87, 88
San Pedro (Breña Alta) 23, 84
Santa Cruz 7, 10, 13, 14-5, 19, 23, 34, 156, 158
town plan with touring map
Santuario de Las Nieves 19, 23
Somada del Palo 65, 66, 106-7, 108, 154
Tajuya 22
Tazacorte 24, 25, TT 155
Tenagua 71, 72
Tigalate 20
Tijarafe 25, 114, 116, 117, 119, TT 155
Tinizara 25, 117, 118-9, 120, TT 155
Volcán de San Antonio 90, 93
Volcán de Teneguía 20, 21, 90-1, 92, 93, 94
Volcán Deseada 95, 97, 98
Volcán Martín 5, 97, 98-9
EL HIERRO
Arbol Santo (El Garoë) 31, 128-9, 145, 146-7, 147
Arenas Blancas 27, 135, 136, 136
Bailadero de las Brujas 143, 144
Cala de Tacorón 11, 26, 29, 30
Cruz de los Reyes 26, 29
El Golfo 10, 27, 28, 30, 130-1, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 141, 144, TT 157
El Pinar 11, 26, 29, 30, 148, 149, TT 157
El Sabinar 1, 28, 132, 134
Ermita de la Caridad 138
Ermita de la Virgen de los Reyes 11, 17, 26, 29, 132-3, 134, 142, 143, 148, 152
Ermita Virgen de la Peña 10, 26, 137, 138, 139
Faro de Orchilla 26, 28
Frontera 10, 11, 26, 27, 29, 34, 137, 138, 140-1, TT 157, 158
Fuente de la Llanía 10, 11, 143, 144, 148-9, 151, 152-3
Fuente del Lomo 143, 144
Guarazoca 10, 30, 138, 139, 142, 147
Guinea, Eco-museum 29
Hoya de Fileba 143, 144
Hoya del Morcillo 11, 26, 29, 30, 144, 148
Isora 31, 148-9, 151, 152-3, TT 157
La Dehesa 26, 28, 131, 132, 133, 134
La Restinga 11, 29, 30, 34
La Torre 148, 151
Las Casas (El Pinar) 29, 149
Las Playas 148-9, 152-3, 153
Las Puntas 26, 134, 137, 140, TT 157
Meseta de Nisdafe 138, 140-1, 145
Mirador de Bascos 132, 133, 134
Mirador de Isora 31, 152-3, 153, TT 157
Mirador de Jinama 10, 26, 30, 137, 138, 140-1, 141, 142
Mirador de la Llanía 29, 143, 144, 144, 148-9
Mirador de la Peña 10, 26, 137, 138, 139
Mirador de las Playas 11, 30, 148-9, 150, 152-3
Mocanal 26, 31, 146
Montaña Bermeja 151
Pista al Derrabado 130-1
Playa del Verodal 11, 26, 27, 136
Pozo de la Salud 28, 114, 130-1, 134, 135, 136, TT 158
Pozo de las Calcosas 26, 31
Puerto de la Estaca 11, 31
Sabinosa 26, 27, 130-1, 131, 132, 133, 134, 137, TT 158
San Andrés 11, 15, 26, 30, 31, 68, 140-1, 142, 145, 146, 147, 148-9, 151, 152, TT 157
Taibique (El Pinar) 26, 29
Tamaduste 31
Tigaday 26, 27, 29, 31, 34, 130, 137, 138, 140
Timijiraque 11
Tiñor 31, 145, 146, TT 157
Valverde 7, 26, 28, 29, 31, 141, 142, 145, 146, TT 157, 158
town plan with touring map
LA PALMA AND EL HIERRO: WALKS AND CAR TOURS, 8th edition (2020), updated 29/09/2024
Updates for walks and car tours (drives) on La Palma and El Hierro given below supplement those provided in the guidebook. It is vital that this Update is read in conjunction with the text of the book, but note that the Update applies only to the edition stated and not to any earlier editions. (If you have an older edition of this book you can “upgrade” to the latest edition at half price.)
Information has been forwarded to us by users of the book, and Sunflower Books offers the data in good faith but cannot be held responsible for any misleading or inaccurate content in the Update. Unless indicated otherwise, what appears here has not been verified by the author or publisher, so please allow due caution when new or amended routes are suggested. Each piece of information is dated; bear in mind that some of the older observations may have since been overtaken by events or further changes. If, during your holiday, you are using the current edition of the guide and are able to provide any additional updating to add to this page, we will be pleased to hear from you. Please send information, preferably by e-mail, to info@sunflowerbooks.co.uk.
ERUPTION: Most people have heard about the eruption of Montaña Tajogaite on Cumbre Vieja in September 2021. A user who visited this autumn writes: ‘The current status in La Palma is normal except for the areas which are under the new lava field’. (User, 10/23)
Gremlins at the printers have played havoc with the few waypoints that are identified by letters, not numbers — waypoints for short or alternative walks. If you see a red circle waypoint indication in the text with no number (the maps are correct), it is because a letter is missing. We think the instructions are clear enough without those waypoints, but if you find empty red dots too confusing, please email info@sunflowerbooks.co.uk and we will send you the offending page(s) as a pdf. Pages affected are: 66, 99, 130, 145, 148. Sorry. (Sunflower)
Car tour 2: partially driven on LP-2 and LP-3
Walks
All paths outside the lava area are in very good condition if they form part of the https://www.senderosdelapalma.es/.
Walks (3,4),5 and 6: (Background information: I walked from Los Tilos to Casa del Monte (Walk 5) and back to Los Tilos via Las Lomadas (Walks 6 and 5)). Please note that there is no mobile phone network in the Los Tilos valley including the canal area (Walks 5,6). …Walk 5: There have been some landslides some years ago in Mirador de los Espejos area, but the path has fixed. … Walks 5 and 6: In Nacientes de Cordero the path has just been repaired and there is a secure cable next to the path. Note that no path is visible from the Casa del Monte to waypoint 6 on your map (Barranco Ribero). The path is not mentioned in your book, but it may seems as an attractive short-cut back to Los Tilos instead of having a (boring) walk to Las Lomadas and an asphalt walk to Los Tilos. I wonder whether the path (which is show on Open Street Maps) was used in during the canal construction project (1950’s?). There is almost 1 km height difference in very short period! (User, 10/23)
Walk 18: (Background information: Hiked Walk 18 from a parking area 500m east of El Pilar): In the El Pilar area it is recommended to hike only marked paths so this walk is not recommended beyond waypoint 2. (User, 10/23)
Walk 21: (Background information: Hiked from the parking area to Cascade de Colores and back): The path from the parking area to Cascade de Colores requires no boulder-hopping etc. There is made well-marked bypass/detour paths for all difficult, rocks or/and water riverbed sectors… In the dry season Cascade de Colores is not so colourful but a nice place to visit. (User, 10/23)
Walk 23: (Background information: Hiked Walk 23 down and walked back by using the road): The intersection at waypoint 1 is not marked, and the path is quite small. The path starts after the last house on the right-hand side of the road… After the walk joins the LP12.2 (2) it’s well marked and there is no risk of taking the wrong path. (User, 10/23)
Walk 26: (Background information: Hiked to Barranco El Palmar (4) and back): The walk goes across abandoned farming area and the ruined gates look like they haven’t been in use for decades. So there is not need to close them! (User, 10/23)
Page 158: Flights to La Palma and inter-island travel: There are currently very limited direct flight connections from mainland but on the other hand there is good flight service to La Palma from Gran Canary and Tenerife. Flight operators are https://www.bintercanarias.com/ and Canaryfly.es | Canaryfly Web Oficial
If you are an early bird the two-ways tickets are 100€ or less. (User, 10/23)
The following are suggestions, not corrections to the text.
Walk 12: In fact we walked from the Centro de Visitantes to the Mirador Llano del Jable (which was not in cloud) but returned down SL EP101 to El Paso to catch the bus back. This is a very pleasant and well-marked path down passing Mna de Enrique. At the bottom turn right and then take the next right to reach a bus stop on the main road. (User, 3/16)
Walk 14: I can suggest another good walk from El Pilar. I found the path ascending Montana de la Barquita blocked, but from the same location there was a good path heading in the opposite direction (south) leading to the peak called Montana de Magdalena on your map. I can recommend taking a detour to this peak as it offers good views, I could see Tenerife/Teide from there, and there are nice pines offering shelter. (User, 4/17)
Walk 16: Timing the descent to reach the two hourly bus service on time is difficult – we stopped at the final road crossing and caught the bus there as it had already left the Faro. It cannot be caught at previous road crossings as it goes to the west side of the island. (User, 3/16)
EL HIERRO
Car tour: Re the drives to El Sabinar and Bascos along dirt tracks. Whilst these are well maintained on the whole, they are very bumpy and lots of loose stones, and strictly not allowed by the standard car hire agreements (although many hire cars did make the journey…). We took the view that it was safer to park at the Ermita and turn the rest into a 3 hour walk. It gave us chance to talk to the cows along with way! Similarly with the route back to Valverde via Cruz de Los Reyes – in fact, that track was closed off when we drove past, possibly to do with the risk of forest fires (the risk was marked as ‘extremo’ when we visited). (User, 5/20)
General: The bars Noel favours in both Sabinosa and San Andrés are both permanently shut, but others are open. (User, 2/20)
Walk 30: Suggestion: do it from Mirador de La Pena to Frontera, not the other way around. Firstly, you go down the cliff path not up, which I know from experience is a lot easier and took around 40 mins less. Secondly, it ties into buses much better. You end up in La Frontera, in time for either the 14.45 or 16.15 buses back to Valverde, with a whole town to pass an hour or so, with plenty of shops and bars. If you are staying in Frontera, you can catch the 9.30 bus to Valverde, but get off at El Mocanal and wait 20 mins for the bus coming the other way to Isora which goes through La Pena. The way suggested leaves you at La Pena, and there is nothing there other than the one restaurant, which is not really aimed at walkers. (User, 5/20)
Walk 32: The short walk at Llania is unquestionably beautiful. It is marked as one of only 3 ‘green’ SL local walks (along with your walk at Arenas Blancas and another coastal walk at Tamaduste) and is therefore very well signposted. However, the official route goes the opposite way around to your version, and so makes the markings and arrows confusing. (User, 5/20)
Walk 28: The Mirador de Bascos is fenced off, I guess permanently, due to landslides, and you can’t drive up to it either. It is still worth the walk to get the views from just back from the fence. (User, 2/20)
GPS files for use with Landscapes of La Palma & El Hierro:
Download GPS files for Landscapes of La Palma & El Hierro
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