La Palma

A wander around the Historic-Artistic Site of Santa Cruz de La Palma, so declared in the 1970s, is the starting point of this tour. The pedestrian street Calle Real and the most representative buildings such as the town hall, the church of El Salvador or the typical balconies along the promenade, are an obligatory stop. In Santa Cruz we will be able to reach El Barco de La Virgen, a replica of Santa María caravel, located in La Alameda square.

From the northern area of the capital, we will ascend towards the upper area. There we will visit the The Royal Island Shrine of Nuestra Señora La Virgen de Las Nieves, one of the oldest Marian statue in the Canary Islands, sculpted in the 14th century and worshiped by the people of La Palma. The temple is a veritable sacred art museum which has some of the most important Flemish sculptures in Spain on display.

After this stop, we will continue our way to La Concepción Viewpoint from where you can enjoy the best panoramic views of the capital city, Santa Cruz de la Palma, at an altitude of 400 metres above sea level.  

The route will take us across the summit on a path surrounded by chestnut trees and Monteverde until we reach the well-known "time tunnel", so called by the local due to the abrupt temperature changes at both ends, humid on the east and dry on the west coast. 

In the municipality of El Paso we will visit the Silk Museum "Las Hilanderas", exhibiting the ancestral tradition of silk production process from raising silkworm to the manufacturing of the final garment. For centuries, this craft has been strongly connected with the island in general and with El Paso, in particular.

Our trip continues to Tazacorte, a coastal enclave and sunny spot, around its harbour and black sandy beach where we will have lunch. We are now right where the natural mouth of the Caldera de Taburiente flows into the sea, the Barranco de las Angustias. We will take the bus across the ravine to reach the marina, the spot from where the lava delta, or fajana, formed when the lava of the volcano erupted in 2.021 flowed into the sea can be seen. Before starting our return journey, we will quickly stop at La Cumbrecita Viewpoint, one of the privileged points of the area due to its great beauty and glorious views of the vastness of the Caldera de Taburiente National Park, the real natural gem of the island of La Palma. The Caldera de Taburiente is an 8 km diameter crater, home to most of the endemic species of La Palma and whose maximum height rises to 2,426 metres above sea level.