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The Island of La Palma in the Canary Islands The following offers a brief introduction to the island of La Palma. Explore our website further for details on where to stay, what to do and how to get around once you are there. Geographically, La Palma is the fifth largest of the Canary Islands in Spain, located 200 km west of the Moroccan coast in the Atlantic Ocean. The island is around 30 km across at its widest point and less than 50 km long.
The 728 square kilometres that make up La Palma are home to some 80,000 inhabitants and many are employed in the subsidised banana growing trade or more increasingly, the tourism industry. Banana plantations are prevalent on the island, particularly in the coastal regions and you'll see bananas growing pretty much wherever you go.
La Palma's volcanoes are a highlight of the island and vary tremendously in their time of formation. In the centre lies Caldera de Taburiente, the largest known crater and one of the best possible walks on the island. Aside from a place to relax and enjoy the sun, the island offers a good range of activities including walking, cycling, paragliding, diving, pot holing, caving, horse riding and fishing. For keen walkers and hikers, La Palma offers a network of some 1080 kilometres of way-marked paths all of which provide varied and often stunning scenery and flora along the way.
The three main tourist areas of the island are Los Cancajos on the east coast, and Puerto Naos and Tazacorte on the west coast. To sum it up, La Palma is a peaceful, traditional island to relax in and explore. If you're looking for a wild party atmosphere with English fish and chips and nightclubs, this is probably not the place for you! If you have any questions or comments on La Palma or our website in general, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive source of information but if you feel we have missed anything or our information is incorrect, please let us know. |
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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.
La Palma itself is very steep for its land mass, with many areas growing steeply upwards from coastal regions to volcanic tips. This terrain forms the backdrop for some interesting walks, paragliding and in some areas cycling but since many of the roads are steep, winding and narrow, they are not ideally suited to roadside walking or cycling.
Beautiful carved wooden balconies, old churches, charming villages and 