La Palma

A Nature Lovers Paradise

The Island of La Palma is also known as La Isla Bonita due to its amazing natural beauty, it is one of the smaller Islands of the Canaries. The Island rises extremely precipitously from the ocean; the complete central mountain range has an altitude of 2,000m. The Roque de los Muchachos at 2,426m is the highest point on the Island and a number of observatories of the Astrophysics Institute of the Canaries have been built, taking advantage of the unique climatic conditions in this high area to observe the Universe. It covers an area of around 706sqkm and has a population of only 80,000.

Although La Palma is not your classic holiday Island, it's still a popular destination and remains untouched by mass tourism, unlike other major Canary Islands. It's more suitable for walkers, nature lovers or anybody who just wants to unwind and take in the dramatic panorama. There are no golden sandy beaches on La Palma, but there are quiet, peaceful beaches with black volcanic sand.

The terrain is exceptionally steep and split by lots of ravines, particularly in the northern half and the oldest part of the Island.  The impressive cavity of the Caldera de Taburiente lies in the centre and was declared a National Park in 1954 for its outstanding natural setting. La Caldera del Taburiente is the World's largest volcanic crater; it has a diameter of 9km and is 770m deep. This fantastic natural monument can be viewed best from the view-point Mirador de la Cumbrecita.

Subsequently, flat areas such as Valle de Aridane are rare, while there is a profusion of layers of recent lava, in some cases, covered by banana plantations, which have raised authentic gardens from wasteland, such as Las Hoyas, at Llanos de Aridane, and El Banco at Fuencaliente. Furthermore, there are numerous pyroclastic cones, mainly in the southern tip of the Island, the last volcanic eruptions in the Canaries which occurred in Teneguía in 1971.

The climate of La Palma consists of the cool north-easterly Canary current and the north-easterly trade winds, giving it a sunny climate with constant moderate temperatures. Precipitation varies considerably across the Island and due to the Islands high altitude most of this falls on the north-east. The drier and sunnier part of the Island is in the south. Average sea-level temperatures range from 22˚ C in August to 15˚ C in January. Temperatures drop significantly with altitude; average temperatures at El Roque de los Muchachos vary from 18˚C in summer to 3˚C in winter, with a usual daily range of around 7˚C.

On Occasions, the Sahara desert wind blows very fine clouds of dust in suspension known as calima across La Palma. July and August are the months that are usually affected.

The airport on La Palma is called: Santa Cruz de La Palma (SPC) and is located on the east coast of the Island. La Palma has air links with Tenerife, Gran Canaria and El Hierro. Charter flights from some of the cities on mainland Spain are available. There are a number of budget airlines that offer cheap flights from the UK or Ireland. There are also charter flights to and from some western European airports. There is a ferry service that operates daily from Tenerife and La Gomera, docking at Santa Cruz de La Palma harbour.