A travel diary from La Palma

Hi, I'm Nanna. I work at Bering Travel as a Travel Consultant, and have just returned from La Palma. I was there to test the trip and see if there could be any improvements or the like. At the same time, I have also gained a lot of good knowledge that we can use when you have questions about the trip.

I have made a logbook of the trip, so you can get a better understanding of this journey*.

Day 1 / Arrival day

We arrive at the airport. Out in the arrivals hall there is a taxi driver with a sign with my name on it. He takes us to our first hotel, which is in Santa Cruz de La Palma. Santa Cruz is the main town of the island and is only about 15 min. away from the airport.
We arrived early in the day and had plenty of time to explore the beautiful town with its black beach and seafront promenade with its colourful buildings resplendent with flowered balconies. Parallel to the seafront is the city's main street, Calle Real, which offers plenty of places to eat and shop.

In the evening we had an introductory meeting in the hotel reception with our local partner, who gave us the useful documents and a thorough description of the walking days. He also gave us his telephone number where he was always available.

Day 2 / first trekking day

This day, by appointment, we were picked up by a taxi at 9am. The taxi drove us to Los Sauces, about half an hour drive. From Los Sauces to the starting point it was about half an hour downhill. We started down by the coast, and walked along it, with a view of the beautiful cliffs. The trip is about 14 km, where there are some ascents and descents. The trip took us through some banana plantations, valleys along the sea and green, flowery paths. An incredibly beautiful and lush walk. The tour ended in a small town where we hopped on the local bus that took us directly back to Santa Cruz. We paid for the bus with the completed bus pass we had been given.

Day 3 / second day of hiking

This day we were driven to Los Tilos, a drive of about 40 mins. Los Tilos is literally in the middle of the jungle. You get dropped off right at the Visiter Centre, which has a lot of information about the fauna and springs of the forest. Before we followed the route, we took the described detour of 5 min. which led us through small cave formations and to a nice little waterfall, which was completely hidden away. A very beautiful sight. We walked back to the Visitor Centre, from where we started the ascent of the route. The route itself is about 10 km. It went a lot of zigzag on small paths up through the forest. After some ascent we came up to the opening with a bench set, shelter and a view of the lush mountains. Afterwards the hike was fairly steady on wide paths through lush forest. Along the way you cross an old mine track in the forest. The walk continues out of the forest, where you can look down to Barlovento, which you are heading towards. Out of the forest you reach the tarmac, where you pass a campsite and then a large water reservoir before arriving at your hotel.

Day 4 / third day of hiking

This day we started the hike directly from the hotel. Moving slowly out of the town, we came across a path that took us towards the mountains with views of the Atlantic Ocean to the north. We met a few small houses along the way before moving down into the valleys. During the descent, we suddenly encounter a large group of at least 100 goats heading in the direction we came from. On the ascent from the valley, we encounter goats several times before we come up to something that looks like their goat farm. Now we have reached the small town of Gallegos, a very steep town, where we passed a small bar, which offered something to drink before the trip continued steeply down along the town. At the end of the town we now again had a view of the coast, which we walked along with a lot of climbing and zigzagging of small, rocky paths. The walk ended in Franceses, where we were picked up by a taxi driver who took us back to the hotel in Barlovento - a drive of about 20 minutes.

Day 5 / fourth day of walking

This day we were picked up from the hotel and driven to Franceses. From here the ascent to Roque Faro began. For a long part of the walk you walk among large trees, down along the tree roots. A very unique feeling, where all the trees closed us in a kind of tunnel.  After a good distance uphill, we meet the road a couple of times, which the path crosses. This continued for most of the trip until we slowly approached Roque Raro. Here the road continues in a zigzag. We crossed it and were led through overgrown paths until we finally arrived at Roque Faro, where we took the local bus back to the hotel in Barlovento. A bus journey of half an hour.

Day 6 / fifth day of walking

We were picked up by a taxi at the hotel and driven to the highest point on the island, Roque de Los Muchachos - a drive of about an hour and a half. This drive was a bit tough for me as the roads were very winding and therefore triggered a bit of motion sickness. When we were dropped off, it was very windy and the clouds hovered around us. You could feel that we were high up, and it also required a light jacket to start. We began the hike, which took us out into the breathtaking nature. The first part we walked on larger stones and gravel paths that took us past a lot of telescopes. La Palma is said to be one of the best places in the world to see stars from. We walked along the crater, which mostly looked like a big canyon with mountains sticking up randomly. From here you can really see how amazing the nature on La Palma is. Along the way, the landscape changed, becoming more arid and with sandy soil. After a good distance, you could suddenly see the sea and sense Tiede, the volcano of Tenerife, in the background. We followed the route, which for much of the day was fairly level, until we reached the final stretch, which took us through a large pine forest. Here we walked for a good distance until we hit a car park where our taxi driver was waiting to take us to Santa Cruz, where we would be staying down to the beach.

Day 7 / last trekking day

This day we were again picked up from the hotel and driven to the volcano route. The walk took us along the ridge of the island, where the black landscape was broken by the light green conifers that randomly popped up. The walk is the longest in the programme at 18 km, much of it on sandy terrain. The trees are clearly characterised by forest fire, as the trunks are black. Along the way we were also led through beautiful meadows filled with common celandine, which provided a beautiful contrast to the black path where the conifers shot up into the blue sky. At the end of the trail we took the local bus back to Santa Cruz. The evening offered locally caught seafood at the seafront restaurant La Chalana. We enjoyed a game of Paella overlooking the local windsurfers as the sun slowly set.

Day 8 / Homeward journey day

In the morning we were picked up at the hotel by a taxi driver who drove us the 15 min. to the airport, where we headed back home after a fantastic week on wonderful La Palma.

See our tour to La Palma here!

*This journey describes Nanna's trip to La Palma. There may be changes in the programme if, for example, a hotel is sold out and you would have to stay somewhere else.