La Palma

“It’s lush. It’s green. And it’s absolutely gorgeous. Mother Nature had a field day with La Palma.”

Ask someone on the street to name all the Canary Islands and most people can normally drum up the big four – Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. But the smaller ones don’t tend to spring to mind quite so easily. And little La Palma certainly falls into this camp. A lot of people haven’t even heard of it. Others think it’s a city, confusing it with Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. One thing’s for sure, it’s off most people’s radar. But this is where the appeal lies. La Palma remains totally unspoilt. It’s quiet. It’s peaceful. And it’s far from the madding crowd. You won’t find any of the telltale marks of mass tourism here - there are no concrete jungles or neon-lit strips to speak of. Instead, what you get is a more authentic picture of the Canaries. One of quaint, whitewashed houses, colonial buildings and tasteful low-rise resorts. And then there’s La Palma’s trump card – the scenery. Think mountains cloaked in pines and dramatic, almost theatrical-looking ravines. No wonder the locals call it La Isla Bonita – the Beautiful Island. But La Palma’s more than just a pretty face. It’s a record breaker, too. It’s home to the largest volcanic crater in world, La Caldera de Taburiente. Like the rest of the Canaries, La Palma has a volcanic past and is sprinkled with volcanoes and bizarre geological oddities. The famous ‘volcano trail’, down in the south of the island, will get keen walkers scrambling for their hiking boots while La Palma’s volcanic black sandy beaches will appeal to the sun-worshipper in you. With all this on offer, we think La Palma is one of the Canaries’ best-kept secrets.

Weather

The Canaries may be Spanish but they’re a long way from Spain. A thousand miles from Madrid and cast adrift in the Atlantic, they’re actually closer to the coast of Africa. And like Africa, they’re bathed in hot, hot sunshine. Dubbed the ‘Islands of Eternal Spring’, temperatures in the Canaries rarely fall below 20°C in winter and 25°C in summer. And with around 10 hours of sunshine a day in the summertime, La Palma is no exception. From June through to August the mercury can sky rocket up to about 30°C. The heat is manageable though, thanks to the fresh trade winds that cool the coast. In winter the sun tends to shine rather than pummel, making it a very popular time of year for ramblers and hikers to visit. The south of the island is warm and dry while the north tends to get more rainfall – hence the lush forests and meadows. Inland, it can feel quite chilly at times, what with the high volcanic altitude, so pack a sweater or two if you plan on heading up into the mountains.

Beaches

It’s fair to say that La Palma isn’t your run-of-the-mill beach resort. And, unlike some of its neighbours, it isn’t blessed with mile upon mile of golden sands. The coastline tends to be quite wild and rugged. However, that’s not to say you can’t unfurl your beach towel and soak up the sun here. You’ll find hideaway coves tucked here and there, and there are some good sandy beaches, too. Most of these are concentrated around Puerto Naos, Puerto de Tazacorte and Los Cancajos. All three areas offer up striking strips of black volcanic sand where you can while away a few hours in the sun with the latest Jackie Collins. And finding a spot all to yourself shouldn’t be too much trouble either – the beaches don’t tend to get overly crowded. La Palma’s a bit of a hit with the diving fraternity, too. During the summer months the ocean’s pleasantly calm and clear, as well as being rich in aquatic life, and the southern resort of Fuencaliente is a favourite scuba haunt. It’s worth remembering that the sea can get choppy in the wintertime, though, so keep an eye on the flag warning systems.

Shopping

Sometimes, to really get a feel for a place, you need to see what the locals get up to. And this is certainly the case when it comes to shopping in La Palma. When the Palmeros are in need of some serious retail therapy, they hotfoot it to Tenerife! Shopping malls, hypermarkets and department stores are more or less non-existent in La Palma. But this is all part of the charm of the island – it’s not overly commercialised in the slightest. Of course, though, there are some shops and the main ones tend to be clustered in and around Santa Cruz and Los Llanos de Aridane. And down in the holiday resorts you’ll find a few souvenir shops and a supermarket or two where you can get your hands on all of those holiday essentials like sun-cream and postcards. But for an authentic La Palma shopping experience you need to head up to the sleepy inland towns and villages. Here, you’ll stumble across little artisan workshops and handicraft stalls selling traditional Canarian items like embroidery, lace and pottery decorated in geometric patterns. La Palma is also famous for its cigars – ‘puros palmeros’ – made in the town of Mazo. Granted, they may not be as famous as Cuban cigars but their quality and flavour is such that they’re purchased for Spanish Royal Court in Madrid. Can’t be bad!

Food & Drink

When thinking about La Palma, you need to put any Canary Islands preconceptions you may have on hold. This is especially true of the food. You’ll be hard pushed to find a fast-food joint in La Palma. That’s just not what the island’s about. Instead you can graze on big juicy olives and slices of cured Serrano ham in the little tapas bars that barnacle the backstreets. Or tuck into traditional seafood dishes in the fish restaurants that hug the harbour-fronts. Dishes like ‘churros de pescado’ - crispy fishcakes made from minced fish that are coated in a salty batter and then fried. ‘Sancocho de pescado’ – salty fish that’s slow-cooked with potatoes and vegetables. And ‘caldereta’ – a type of fish soup. Fish aside, the Palmeros love all things meaty, too. They mainly eat pork but you’ll also notice goat and rabbit on menus. ‘Cabrito en salsa’ is a typical Canarian dish – diced pieces of goat meat stewed in a wine-based gravy that’s flavoured with red peppers and herbs. ‘Puchero’ is another favourite and is a hearty stew made with chunks of peppery chorizo sausage, beans, chickpeas and vegetables. But whether you order meat or fish, most dishes are served with ‘papas arrugadas’. These are little potatoes that are cooked in brine and salt. They come out looking all wrinkly with residues of the salt still visible on their skins. They’re usually eaten with garlicky ‘mojo’ sauce, which varies in its taste and colour depending on whether it’s made with coriander, in which case it’s green, or paprika, in which case it’s red.

• La Gaviota, Barlovento Tuck into straight-from-the-net fish at this lovely little seafood restaurant up on the northeast coast of the island. Not only is right next to a beach but it’s set within a cave, too.
• El Quinto Pino, Fuencaliente With a wood-fired oven on site, the pizzas here are particularly good. It also serves up lip-smacking king prawns and grilled steak.
• Restaurante El Lagar, Los Cancajos A large terrace. A varied menu. And views over Santa Cruz de la Palma. This place ticks all the right boxes.
• Bodegon El Sanavadit, Santa Cruz de la Palma A great choice if you want to sample some traditional Canarian cooking. Try the ‘quesillo’, a kind of crème caramel made from eggs and sugar.
• La Placeta, Santa Cruz de la Palma Located in a gorgeous old Canarian townhouse, it specialises in fresh fish, rabbit and vegetarian dishes.

Nightlife

In keeping with the authentic Spanish feel, evenings tend to revolve around meals out and enjoying drinks and nibbles in the local tapas bars. There are some disco-bars around Santa Cruz and Los Llanos, but generally speaking, most people tend to visit La Palma to relax rather than boogie the night away. Of the holiday resorts, Los Cancajos has the liveliest nightlife but it’s still quite low-key when you compare it to what you’d find on some of the other, more ‘touristy’ Canary Islands.

• Bodegon Tamanca, San Nicolas This drinking den is where the locals come for their nightly booze up. Set in an old wine cave, it’s warm, rustic and has a great atmosphere. You can eat here, too.
• Restaurante Cervantes, Los Llanos de Aridane This dinky bistro-come-theatre only has 10 tables or so and usually has live music. It also serves up creative Canarian cuisine like grilled steak with chestnuts, honey-drizzled cheese and lemon mousse with figs.
• H20, Los Cancajos Want to dance the night away? Then get into the groove down at this funky little disco.
• Bar Guantanamera, Los Cancajos For cocktails, tapas and pumping beats, give this popular hangout a whirl.
• Pub Tagoror, Los Cancajos Playing all sorts of music and offering up a fun-filled atmosphere, this disco-bar is great for a night out.

Date For Your Diary

A couple of days before Ash Wednesday, La Palma hosts Carnival Monday. Without a doubt, the highlight of this celebration is the Desfile de los Indianos. It recalls the time when islanders emigrated from La Palma and made their fortunes in the New World. When they returned home, they were said to have bragged about their wealth and became the target of jokes. And that’s what the Desfile de los Indianos is all about – a tongue in cheek dig at the nouveau riche. White colonial outfits, panama hats and Hawaiian-style leis are pulled out of the wardrobe as locals dress up as these emigrant Palmeros and parade suitcases stuffed full of money through the streets. The festivities culminate in a monumental talcum powder fight in the capital. Watch out though, passing tourists provide excellent target practice!

Top 10 Things to See and Do

Santa Cruz de la Palma
It may sound a bit schmaltzy, but Santa Cruz is cute. Incredibly cute. Think twisting backstreets with dinky houses huddled together. Palm-lined streets dotted with stately colonial mansions. And grand Renaissance churches and chapels. Not only is Santa Cruz one of the Canary Islands’ prettiest towns, it also just happens to be the capital of La Palma. Back in the 16th-century, Santa Cruz was one of the most important ports in the Spanish Empire, standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Seville and Cadiz. And reminders of the glory days are sprinkled here, there and everywhere. Take the main street, Calle O’Daly. It brims with whitewashed houses and historical residences. And not far away, you’ve got the Plaza de Espana - an oddly-shaped triangular town square that’s home to a 16th-century fountain.

Iglesia de El Salvador
This lovely little church is one of Santa Cruz’s star attractions. Adorned with an eye-popping monumental façade, it’s one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture in the Canaries. Inside it’s just as beautiful. It features a honeycomb-like coffered ceiling that’s reminiscent of the Alhambra Palace in Granada.

Avenida Maritima
No visit to Santa Cruz is complete without taking in the Avenida Maritima. At one end of this sea-front boulevard stands a twisted and gnarled dragon tree, one of the most unusual plants you’re ever likely to see. At the other you’ll find the famous Casas de los Balcones – a row of quaint traditional Canarian houses. Some are whitewashed, others have been painted in soft shades of peach, terracotta and avocado. All of them, though, feature colourful elevations and beautiful balustraded wooden balconies. Lovely, just lovely.

Naval Museum
An old Spanish galleon parked up in the middle of a street. Now you don’t see one of those everyday! Not so in La Palma. Close to the Plaza de Alameda in Santa Cruz stands a replica of the Santa Maria - the ship Christopher Columbus used in 1492 to sail to the Americas. Inside, it’s been converted into a little museum and is home to a fascinating collection of maritime pieces including old maps and charts and navigational instruments.

La Zarza Cultural Park
Long before the Spanish arrived, La Palma was inhabited by a group of people called the Benahoares. For an insight into their lives and a glimpse into the past, head to the information centre at La Zarza. Here, you can find out about the food they ate, the medicines they used and even their burial practices. The highlight of the park, though, has to be the strange rock carvings that were discovered here in the early 1940’s. They mainly consist of circles, spirals and stick men figures but their meaning remains a total mystery.

La Caldera de Taburiente National Park
In the natural wonders stakes, La Caldera de Taburiente gives the likes of the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains a run for their money. This enormous National Park is actually a volcanic crater. But this isn’t just any old volcanic crater. With a circumference of 28km, it’s actually the biggest one in the world. To put that into perspective, imagine two and a half thousand double-decker buses parked up end to end in a circle. Now visualise eight Big Bens stacked on top of each other and you’ll have some idea for just how deep it is, too. You get the picture. It’s big. Very big. The rugged walls effectively form a natural fortress – so much so that the Benahoares sought refuge here when the Spanish invaded in the 15th-century. Inside the crater bowl you’ll find sweeping woodlands and dense pine forests. As you can image, it’s a nature lover’s dream-come-true and there are numerous trails running through the park for you to enjoy. The jaw-dropping spectacle of the park is best seen from La Cumbrecita, an observation platform that has views that’ll blow your mind.

Roque de los Muchachos
Standing at nearly 8000 feet high, the Roque de los Muchachos is La Palmas’ highest peak. It’s part of La Caldera de Taburiente National Park and there’s a trail you can follow up the slopes. It offers up amazing views of the crater walls and a lot of the time they’re shrouded in thick fog and mist which gives them a haunting air. La Palma’s clear skies mean it’s great for star gazing. So much so that an astronomical observatory with six enormous telescopes was set up along the steep mountain roads around the Roque de los Muchachos. And here’s an interesting fact – once a year all the lights are switched off across the entire island in order to limit light pollution and help with star-gazing.

El Paso
Follow the winding mountain road over Las Cumbres mountains to this delightful little village, right in the centre of the island. It’s particularly well known for its silk production and handmade cigars. Great if you want to team up a day’s sightseeing with a spot of shopping.

Marine Reserve
The sea and coastline around the southwest of La Palma is home to two marine conservation areas, one inside the other. Almost every kind of activity is banned in the green zone but you can go diving in the blue zone with the appropriate permit. Meanwhile, on dry land, you’ll find the Marine Reserve Interpretation Centre. Located in Fuencaliente’s old lighthouse, its informative displays tell you all about life beneath the waves and the problems facing the creatures of the deep.

Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro
With regular ferry crossing departing from Santa Cruz, you can check out some of La Palma’s brothers and sisters. Take your pick from the sleeping beauties of La Gomera and El Hierro or the holiday titan that is Tenerife.

Just So You Know

The Spanish like to spend their afternoons snoozing so don’t be surprised to see plenty of places shut up shop just after lunch. Things come to life again early evening, so use the siesta to recharge your batteries ready for the night ahead. Now and again temperatures can rise to 40°C which triggers a phenomenon called La Calima. It can last anything from a couple of hours to a week. During this time tiny sand particles are carried over from the Sahara Desert and are blown over the Canary Islands and exposed surfaces are covered by a fine reddish dust.