must30
Español
The crater walls of the Caldera de Taburiente and Roque Palmero seen from the Lomo de las Chozas viewpoint
The new Tajogaite cone on Cumbre Vieja in January 2023, with cloud over the ridge
The Telescopio Nazionale Galileo under a starry sky at the Roque de los Muchachos
The Deseada volcano and pine trees on the ash slopes of the Ruta de los Volcanes

Things to do in La Palma: 12 experiences

Updated Leer en español

Up next

Photo: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0

El Paso

Walk to the Tajogaite volcano with an authorised guide

Check dates and prices

Photo: Rolfcosar, CC BY-SA 4.0

La Palma

Join a guided stargazing night under a protected sky

Check dates and prices

Photo: Gianni0088, CC BY 4.0

Refugio de El Pilar

Walk the Ruta de los Volcanes along Cumbre Vieja

Check dates and prices

Photo: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0

La Palma is the steep, green, north-western island of the Canaries: a summit ridge above 2,400 metres, a national park inside a basin six and a half kilometres across, and a sky protected by law for the telescopes on the Roque de los Muchachos. Almost everything visitors come for happens outdoors: walks into the Caldera de Taburiente, the volcano ridge of Cumbre Vieja, the laurel forest of Los Tilos and stargazing.

The island divides clearly. The east has the airport, the capital Santa Cruz de La Palma with its balconied seafront, and the damp forests of the north-east. The west, the Aridane valley around Los Llanos and El Paso, is sunnier, and it is where the 2021 Tajogaite eruption covered roads and homes in lava. The south ends at Fuencaliente: young volcanoes, Malvasía vines on ash and salt pans beside two lighthouses.

12 things to do in La Palma

We earn a commission when you book through our GetYourGuide links, at no extra cost to you.

Walkers on the stony riverbed at Playa de Taburiente, inside the Caldera

Hike down through the Caldera de Taburiente from Los Brecitos

Los Llanos de Aridane

A full dayGo alone or with a tour

The classic walk into the national park, one-way and mostly downhill, through pine forest and back along the barranco.

Check dates and pricesCaldera hike from Los Brecitos, guide and transfers
Pine forest and the crater walls of the Caldera from the Mirador de los Roques, on the La Cumbrecita circuit

Walk the La Cumbrecita viewpoints with a booked parking slot

El Paso

1 to 2 hoursTimed entry

A road that ends on the rim of the Caldera at 1,287 metres, with a 3 km loop of viewpoints.

Tours in La Palma
Observatory telescopes on the rim of the Caldera, seen from the Roque de los Muchachos viewpoint

Stand on the Roque de los Muchachos and tour the telescopes

Garafía

Half a dayBook ahead

The island's highest point, on the rim of the Caldera, shared with an observatory whose telescopes you can tour with a guide.

Check dates and pricesObservatory and visitor centre day trip with a guide
The Telescopio Nazionale Galileo under a starry sky at the Roque de los Muchachos

Join a guided stargazing night under a protected sky

La Palma

Book ahead

The world's first Starlight Reserve, its sky protected by a 1988 law, so you need not drive far for real darkness.

Check dates and pricesSmall-group stargazing with telescopes and a guide
The Deseada volcano and pine trees on the ash slopes of the Ruta de los Volcanes

Walk the Ruta de los Volcanes along Cumbre Vieja

Refugio de El Pilar

A full dayGo alone or with a tour

The island's great ridge walk, over a chain of craters and cinder cones to the lighthouse on the southern tip.

Check dates and pricesGuided Ruta de los Volcanes with return transfer
The crater of the San Antonio volcano with the village of Los Canarios behind

Walk the rim of the San Antonio volcano above Teneguía

Fuencaliente

1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

Walk the rim of a volcano that erupted in 1677, looking south to the Teneguía, which added a beach to the coast in 1971.

Tours in La Palma
The new Tajogaite cone on Cumbre Vieja in January 2023, with cloud over the ridge

Walk to the Tajogaite volcano with an authorised guide

El Paso

Half a dayBook ahead

A new cone built by the 2021 eruption, still inside an exclusion zone, reached only on a guided walk with gas checks.

Check dates and pricesGuided walk to the Tajogaite cone on the authorised route
Tunnel entrances cut into the cliff on the Marcos y Cordero trail

Hike the tunnels to Marcos y Cordero and down to Los Tilos

San Andrés y Sauces

A full dayBook ahead

The island's most famous walk, through 13 tunnels to the springs of Marcos y Cordero and down into laurel forest.

Tours in La Palma
Painted wooden balconies on the historic houses of the Avenida Marítima in Santa Cruz de La Palma

Stroll the balconies and squares of Santa Cruz de La Palma

Santa Cruz de La Palma

Half a dayFree

A capital founded in 1493, small enough to walk in a morning, with a row of brightly painted wooden balconies facing the sea.

Tours in La Palma
The evaporation pans of the Salinas de Fuencaliente with the old and new lighthouses behind

See the salt pans and twin lighthouses at Fuencaliente Point

Fuencaliente

1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

Two lighthouses side by side above black lava, and salt pans where sea salt is still harvested by hand.

Sunshades and the rock pools of Charco Azul on the north-east coast at San Andrés y Sauces

Swim in the Charco Azul natural pools

San Andrés y Sauces

Half a dayNo booking needed

A lava shoreline turned into the island's best-equipped bathing spot, with a big pool sheltered from the waves.

Vines planted in rows on black volcanic ash on the slopes of Fuencaliente

Taste Malvasía and vino de tea in the island's bodegas

Fuencaliente

Half a dayBook ahead

Vines creeping over volcanic ash, a naturally sweet Malvasía, and a wine aged in Canary pine with a note of resin.

Check dates and pricesBodegas Teneguía winery visit with a tasting

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    The airport is 9 km from Santa Cruz de La Palma. The island tourism board lists direct flights from Frankfurt, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Munich, London, Zurich and Amsterdam, and Binter and Canaryfly fly in from Tenerife and Gran Canaria in 30 to 45 minutes. Armas and Fred. Olsen ferries link the port of Santa Cruz with the other islands; the Canary Islands page covers the crossings.

  • Getting around

    Hire a car. The TILP guaguas link the towns, and line 300 (Santa Cruz to Los Llanos de Aridane) stops at the national park visitor centre in El Paso, but no regular service climbs to the Roque de los Muchachos, and the trailheads at Los Brecitos and Casa del Monte are reached by taxi. Taxis serve every municipality; in the small ones you call ahead.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, four or five full days. The three long hikes (Los Brecitos to Las Angustias, the Ruta de los Volcanes and Marcos y Cordero) take a day each, and the summit, the south and Santa Cruz each fill most of another. Keep one day loose: rain alerts close trails at short notice.

  • When to go

    You can walk all year, with two catches. Between autumn and spring heavy rain is possible, and every rain alert closes the Barranco de las Angustias section of the Caldera and trails such as Marcos y Cordero; both were closed on 22 October 2026. In high summer the exposed Ruta de los Volcanes gets hot, and winter storms from the north can bring ice and fog to the summit. The Bajada de la Virgen festival returns to Santa Cruz in 2030.

  • Where to base yourself

    Santa Cruz or Los Cancajos, 5 km from the airport, suit the east, Los Tilos and Charco Azul. Los Llanos de Aridane, El Paso or Tazacorte put you closer to the Caldera, the Tajogaite area and the south-west. On a week-long trip, splitting the stay between east and west saves the most driving.

Questions travellers ask

Do I need a car in La Palma?

In practice, yes. Guaguas link the main towns, but no regular bus runs up to the Roque de los Muchachos, and the trailheads for the Caldera and Marcos y Cordero depend on taxis. A car also lets you switch plans when a rain alert closes a trail.

Can you visit the Tajogaite volcano?

Yes, but only with a guide. The cone sits inside an exclusion zone, and since 2022 the Cabildo has allowed small groups on a set route from the Llano del Jable with expressly authorised guides. The viewpoints outside the zone are free, and the rules are worth checking again before you book.

Do I need to book La Cumbrecita?

Only if you drive up between 08:30 and 16:00, or 18:00 in busy periods. The free car park permit is booked on the national parks booking site up to a month ahead, and a barrier at El Riachuelo stops cars without one.

How many days do you need in La Palma?

Four or five full days covers the Caldera, the summit and observatory, one volcano walk, Los Tilos and a night of stargazing. With only two days, pick the Caldera and the Roque de los Muchachos and leave the long hikes for another trip.

When is the next Bajada de la Virgen?

In 2030. The festival comes round every five years in Santa Cruz de La Palma, with most of its big acts in the first two weeks of July and the Virgin's return to her sanctuary on 5 August. The 2030 programme had not been published by October 2026.

More places in this region

Things to do in Spain

Photo credits (13)