Walking the Cumbrecita

A couple of days ago, we were in the West of La Palma with some time to spare - quite a rare thing as normally our expeditions south are a whirlwind affair with a whole list of jobs to do, friends to see and shops to visit. But this time, we decided to award ourselves a little treat by staying the night at an apartment in Tazacorte.

Located right by the beach, a swim was the obvious thing to do. But I had a whole myriad of other fun things I wanted to do as well - the salt pans at Fuencaliente, the banana museum at Tazacorte and walking the Cumbrecita. To name but a few. It was certainly tricky to decide but with such a beautiful day, we decided that it would be a shame to be in a museum or in the car longer than necessary and so the Cumbrecita walk won the vote. 

The Cumbrecita is not a long walk by any means at around one and a half hours, but it's a walk that packs a punch with amazing views virtually all the way. And the other great thing is that for those who are not dedicated walkers, it's not a long walk to get there and nor is it a steep walk although admittedly there are a couple of fairly narrow sections which some might be too fond of. But what you can also look forward to is a warm welcome from the resident ravens. 

The start of the Cumbrecita walk is just over 6km from the main road and it takes around 15 minutes to drive up there. But before you set off, you'll need to pop into the nearby Visitor Centre to get your pass. It's free but you will need to show your driving licence or passport as proof of identity. 

Once at the top, you can walk to one of the Miradores (look out points), either the Lomo de las Chozas which takes about 20 minutes from the car park or the Mirador de los Roques just 15 minutes from the car park. 

Or you can do the 1.5 hour circular walk which takes in both look out points. 

From here, I'll let the photos do the talking. Hope you get to enjoy walking the Cumbrecita while you're on La Palma!

You might be interested to know that detailed route notes for our walks on La Palma are now for sale, including walking the GR130, the Volcano Route, the Caldera, Los Tilos and more. Please contact us for details ann@holiday-lapalma.com

Exploring the Peaks of the GR131

This week, we were lucky enough to take a trip up to Roque de Muchachos and the observatories.  Although it is only 50 minutes away from the house by car, we still continue to be amazed by it!
The past week or so, we have had absolutely fabulous weather and the view up at the top of the island did not disappoint. Even Rocky the Raven was in fine form, doing his best to gain attention - and bread.

After a walk to the mirador which gives an impressive view down into the Caldera, walking back up to the Roque de Muchachos was also brilliant!

Path up the Roque de Muchachos

However, we were on a bit of a mission on this occasion, walking and exploring along the ridge and so set off in the Land Rover first of all passing the Mirador de los Andenes and then on past Pico de la Cruz and then towards Pico de la Nieve. Here we left the road and followed the forest track up towards the GR131.  After bumping along the track for a good ten minutes (not that good), we arrived at a flat area which serves as a car park.  Here we were at LP3 walking route which goes up to the GR131 and all the way down to Santa Cruz.

We decided to save the walk to the GR131 for another time and it's one to look forward to, up through the pine forests to emerge right at the Pico de la Nieve, Peak of the Snow.  Exciting or what!
Returning back to the road and towards the Pico de la Cruz we were struck by just how many walking trails there are that cascade down from the GR131. It is quite incredible and I don't think you could ever be stuck for an amazing walk on La Palma!

Near the Pico de la Cruz, we did stretch our legs a little more and walked up to the GR131.  It's a very short walk at just 0.5km and well worth doing.  In fact, there are a couple of viewing points and this is also where the LP7.8 goes down towards Los Tilos where we made our last walk and on to La Laguna and Barlovento.

On reaching the GR131, we had a fabulous view not just down into the Caldera but looking straight into the heart of the ravine as it goes towards Tazacorte and the sea. This is where rain water collects and begins its journey to the sea and is aptly named 'Fuente del Diablo' the Spring of the Devil.
Honestly - it's scary stuff!

Back at the Mirador de los Andenes where the GR131 touches the main road for just five metres, we were just in time to see walkers coming through Roberto's Wall. What a legend and what a wall - you can read about the legend here.

 

Yes, just another amazing day on La Palma.

The GR131 La Palma - A day in the alps

We've been out walking the GR131 today starting from just below Roque de Muchachos along the trail to the Mirador de los Andenes and then back again.

 Brilliant stuff with quite a bit of snow still up there. 

The views along the way were completely amazing as it was so clear.  We could see right down into the Caldera, over to the Cumbrecita and Pico Bejanado, right down the volcano route and the whole of Tenerife and snowy Mount Teide in the distance along with the islands of El Hierro and La Gomera. I can honestly say we have never seen such wonderful views and we just ran out of words to describe it.  

Give me a couple of days and I'll write about it properly!