UKH

Hi - I'm going to La Palma next month for 5 nights - so 3 full days of hiking/trekking - and would love to hear any recommendations / tips / advice etc - i.e. if we're only going for 3 full days which are the 3 best hikes? We've rented a car so we can get to any start points easily enough but the hikes would need to be circular to end up back at the car. Thanks.

In reply to James58t:
It is sold as the greenest of the Canaries but it's still pretty barren by most people's standards. Almost completely devoid of mammal and bird life.
The roads are poor in the south end of the island, main road about 700 m above sea level.
Only walk I did was from Fuencalliente to the lighthouse on the southern tip of the island, 2000 ft descent and great beer at the end.(I think it was Picara)

In reply to James58t:

It's worth getting the Cicerone Walking Guide. I think the best walk I have done was Walk 1 from Santa Cruz and up Barranco de la Madera coming back down via the the tunnels cut through the cliff face of the Lomo de las Nieves is well worth doing. Very varied quite exposed in places with stunning views. Take a head torch for the tunnels, quite low roof height in places, we didn't take helmets, but if you've got them it saves banging your head in places!! The full 19k from Santa Cruz and return, is a great day out, or you can shorten it by taking a taxi up to Las Nieves (the church here is worth visiting, and you can get a beer or coffee in the village square at the end). That reduces the walk to 8k if you get the taxi to meet you again, or 11k if you walk down to Santa Cruz.

Walk 26 is a good 19k circular. you can start either at El Tablado, Franceses (where we did) or the cafe at Roques del Faro. . The way we did it meant we had to cross the very deep Barranco de los Hombres at the end of a very hot day and the climb back up to Franceses was knackering, but well worth it. Probably better to do this earlier in the day by starting from El Tablado.

You can do sections of the GR 130 along astoundingly beautiful North coastlines with much up and down crossings of Barrancos, but these are linear, so you have the problem of getting back to your car at he end of the day. We were B&B ing which made this less of a problem, but accommodation up there is sparce and you must book in advnce.

Enjoy! I'm quite envious

In reply to James58t:

Not really a hike but visiting the tourist view point into the caldera at Roque de low Mucachos is like another world. Some spectacular sights driving past the telescopes - especially the exposed, segmented ones by the 4 helipads. Quite an exciting drive up the volcano to get there.

In reply to Tom Valentine:
The North of the island is very different from the South with lots of banana, orange, and lemon plantatations. Higher up the slopes are forested until you get right up by the caldera where it is very bleak and rocky, and can be cold and windy. I did do some walking around the rim but it's not particularly interesting apart from the stunning cliffs. The area aroud the observatories is grim - I wouldn't want to work up there for long periods if I was an astromoner.

In reply to Trangia:


It’s bloody mint staying up there. I never used to tire of the view above the clouds - especially at dusk and dawn. Seeing the top of Tenerife over the clouds is quite something. Amazing night skies with total control of light pollution over the whole island, and you’re low enough that you don’t loose night vision due to oxygen deprivation. You’re just on the verge of vegetation with things here and there to look at. Also, unlike less enlightened observatories alcohol is permitted, served with meals and vended from a machine in cans. Also you’re not far from El Bailadero at Hoya Grande. Excellent establishment.

In reply to wintertree:

Thanks for that, I'll stop feeling sorry for you!!

I think we were unlucky in that on the day we went up to the rim the islands had a Sahara sand haze over them, and we couldn't see any of the other islands

Also the wind was viscious and there was snow in the air, not settling.