About La Palma

La Palma is one of the most beautiful islands of the Canary Islands.

Known as “Isla Bonita” (pretty island), or “Isla Verde” (green island), La Palma carries its own charm and character and being largely unspoilt and undeveloped, it offers a more natural, peaceful and relaxed environment than some of the other well-known Canary Islands. If you’ve been to Madeira, you may find some areas similar and the upper volcanic regions compare to Mount Teide in Tenerife.

It is part of Spain, and it is fairly autonomous.

Want to know what’s happening during your holiday on La Palma? Check here and/or here for the events on La Palma.

Webcam Cumbrecita

Webcam Fancy

Webcam playa Puerto Naos.

Webcam playa Tazacorte.

Webcam Tazacorte.

Webcam Roque de los Muchachos.

Webcam Puntagorda.

Size and population of La Palma

La Palma is approximately 45 kilometres long, and the broadest part is about 25 kilometres wide. It has a surface area of around 720 square kilometres. La Palma has about 85,000 inhabitants, who mostly live in the western valley and along the east coast. The largest source of income is agriculture (banana cultivation and such).

Public Holiday

01-01              New Year´s Day

06-01              Epiphany

01-05              Labour Day

30-05              Día de Canarias

25-07              Santiago

15-08              Assumption (Asunción de la Virgen)

12-10              National Day

01-11              All Saints Day

06-12              Constitution Day

08-12              Immaculate Conception

25-12              Christmas

Variable holidays (national):
Carnival (February / March) – the main celebration of the year, lasts all week
Easter Processions (March / April)
White Thursday, Good Friday & Easter (March / April)
Pentecost (May / June)

Geography

A large part of La Palma consists of volcanic rock formations – it is, in fact, the top of a volcano.

A mountain range, called the “Cumbra Vieja”, runs through the middle of the island. It consists of (quite fertile) volcanic stone. The highest part of this mountain range is just below 2,500 meters high, and it causes a great climatic contrasts; this results in great varieties in vegetation and nature.

The foot of the island La Palma is about 3,500 meters below sea level.

The last instant of volcanic activity was in 1971, in the southern part of La Palma.

Climate and temperature on La Palma

The northern and north-eastern parts of La Palma are more humid and cool than the rest of the island. Trade winds dominate this area, which makes it rainier than the western part. The south and especially the west part of La Palma are sunny and dry. These parts have a subtropical climate, which means the temperature is usually between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, the whole year round (below a certain altitude of course). La Palma is truly the island of eternal spring.

Click here for the weather on La Palma.

Vegetation on La Palma

La Palma, a green island! It is also known as “La Isla Verde” and “La Isla Bonita”. It is the greenest of the Canary Islands. La Palma has different vegetation zones: Mediterranean dry vegetation on lava fields, pine forests on plateaus, and hardwood forests in the Northeast. 170 different types of indigenous, typically Canarian plants grow on La Palma, not to mention the rich vegetation of laurel forests, cactuses, enormous ferns, almond trees and citrus trees. La Palma has brightly coloured plants, and it is also the home of the characteristic Canary Islands Dragon Tree.

La Palma’s coast line

The island’s coast line is known for its steep volcanic cliffs, bays, volcanic beaches and banana plantations. As there are no white beaches here, tourism has not yet taken over.

Important advice

La Palma is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, the sea can be more dangerous than you might think! NEVER WALK ALONE IN THE MOUNTAINS OR SWIM ALL ALONE IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

* Flags on the beach: green = good, yellow = caution, red = forbidden to swim.

* Do not swim in areas that are not identified as beach.

* Don’t get too close to the coast when there are high waves, and never go in the Atlantic when there are high waves.

* If you go hiking, stay on marked trails, do not deviate from the marked trails. Always let someone know where you are going to hike, leave a note on the table, for example.

Phone numbers on La Palma

Alarm number (international)         112

Dr. Prondzynski (German/English) El Paso: (0034) 922 49 72 87

Dr. Voss (German/English) El Paso: (0034) 922 48 60 28

Centro de Salud Los Llanos: (0034) 922 40 31 91

Airport La Palma: (0034) 922 42 61 00

Taxi Los Llanos: (0034) 922 46 27 40

Taxi Tazacorte: (0034) 922 48 06 52

Taxi English: (0034) 628 676 110