La Palma 2004

Before we started, we did some preparation. I bought a guide handbook and also a map (Kompass, 1:50.000) which is special made for hikers and includes all trails on the island. We also planned which trails to go and I created digital routes for use with our GPS devices with help of a Software called Fugawi.

On the island we had good weather most of the time. We only lost two days at the beginning because it was very windy and heavy raining. The rest of the time it was around 20-24C degrees which is normal for February / March because this is winter time there :)

We planned to go the Ruta de los Volcanes first but the National Park was closed because of the bad weather. Some paths had to be maintained and therefore the controllers decided to lock the trails and doesnt gave us permits. We switched to plan B and started our tour in the north-west of the island at Puntagorda.

We did first ask in Puntagorda for a room in one of the inns, but there was no space left for us anymore (maybe because we wanted that room only for one night which seems to be not very favored). So we walked some more kilometers to the camping place which we found out was very nice. We were the only people at this place and there were showers and toilets and a wodden hut with tables and benches. We took a shower (brrrr - somewhat cold!) and then did some cooking in the hut - pasta as most of the following days ;) No one came around to collect money from us for staying on the campground so we started the next day on the trail to Garafia o Santo Domingo.

According to our map, there should be a campground in Garafia - but there was no such place and no one of the locals had ever heard of a camping place in this village. There also was no hotel or someone who could give us a room for the night - argh! What should we do? We decided to walk around and find a nice place apart the way. We found the perfect place not very far away from the village inside the beginning of a Baranco and slept very well.

The next morning we went back to Garafia to have some breakfast (I love the 'bocadillo con queso fresco' - the fresh, local cheese is awesome!) and very tasty coffee and we also visited the local supermarket (Spar) to refresh our inventories. Then we walked from Garafia to El Tablado (which was a bit uncomfortable because it was raining most of the time) and sleeped there in a small house which was rent to us from an old lady called Maria (which also owns the only shop in the village). Thanks to Clemens knowlegde of the Spanish language we could negotiate with Maria as she only spoke Spanish and no word of English. That reminds me to learn a bit more Spanish the next time ;) It rains the whole evening and night but we were in luck. The next morning the sun was shining again. Only a few clouds were hanging around in the mountains :)

From El Tablado we went to Laguna de Barlovento which is a campground near Barlovento. This was one of the hardest leg and we needed more than 8 hours and had to ascent 1500 meters and descent more than 1100 meters. The campground at Barlovento was perfectly equipped. There were several places to cook and wash our clothes and everything looked new and clean (except the toilets, which looked like a piggery). We stayed one more day to have a rest at this wonderful place.

Our plan was to split the very long tour to Los Sauces into two days because we wanted to walk over Casa Demetrio to Fuente Caldera de Marcos and then via Casa del Monte to Los Sauces. On the trail we found out that we could not go the way we planned because the trail was completely washed away from fallen stones and the rain - there was no path anymore! If we had ropes with us we maybe could have pass this place, but we decided not to risk our lifes for implicitly go this way. So we took another, shorter route directly to Los Sauces. From Los Sauces we took the bus to Los Lianos - our starting place for our walk in the Caldera de Taburiente National Park.

Campingplace Caldera	Caldera Pinewood	Caldera De Taburiente
Westcoast View	Westcoast	Refugio El Pilar

A permit is needed for camping at the campground inside the Caldera. We got ours from the National-Park-Visitor-Center near El Paso without any problems and without paying any fees. We also got the permit for camping at the Refugio El Pilar (Ruta de los Volcanes) there.

We started our Caldera tour quite early in the morning and the way began with a exhausting uphill walk. More and more cars and busses containg daypack tourists overtook us on our way to the starting point. It feeled a bit like walking beside a highway - not very nice. As we arrived at the beginning of the river bed someone told us that he wanted us to inform about the taxi and bus services for bringing us back to Los Lianos after we had finished. Taxi? Bus? We dont want that - we are here for using our feet. A pizza delivery service to the campground would have been better ;)

Walking inside the river bed was amazing. The river was so small that there were enough space on the left and right sides to walk without getting wet feet. We often had to cross the river and to climb on big stones. Some stones were so big that we had to help each other to get on top of them. After walking for some hours we leaved the river bed and the trail were leading is uphill through a nice pinewood. We reached the campground inside the national park and found a nice place for our tents surrounded by big stones (see photo). There were (clean) toilets and something like a information center a few hundret meters from our rest area, but no shop or restaurant. In the evening we filtered some water from the near river using a ceramic water filter that we took with us to purify water. I always took this filter with me after I experienced huge water problems on my Crete E4 tour in 2001. At Crete I didnt had a mechanical water filter (only Certisil purifier which needs clear water) and on some tours we had to take 10-12 Liter water with us which was a pain! The filter gives me the capability of filtering every stinking puddle and get fresh water out of it if needed ;)

After we finished the Caldera round, we had one day rest in Fuencaliente. The first night we slept in a inn located at the main street which was terribly loud. So we decided the next morning to move to another hotel and choosed the "Pension Central" which was quite comfortable and convenient. In the evening we ate some fish in one of the local restaurants.

We started very early in the morning to make several kilometers before the sun starts frying our heads :) The way was mostly very steep uphill and walking costs a lot of power. At around 1900 meters altitude we passed a small path where the wind was blowing so hard that we had problems not to be blown away. It was hard to breath and we had to use our walking sticks to keep in balance. We were above the clouds and the view was terrific! We could see the 3000 meter altitude mountain peak 'Teide' at Tenerife shining through the carpet of clouds. Later on the trail we walked through a lot of clouds and it was very foggy and cold and wet. I was happy that we had our GoreTex rain clothes with us and also windstopper fleece jackets. Our feet were burning as we reached the Fefugio El Pilar which was surrounded by clouds. There were only a few people there doing some barbecue in one of the huts. As they saw us (wet and stinking) they invited us to a bottle of red wine (Cheers!) and some fresh goat cheese and bred. That was exactly that what we needed after this strenuous walk. The camping area was in the near of the huts inside the wood and we were the only ones.

Our last leg was a short one. We went downhill all the time through a beautiful landscape and had a great view directly to the highest point of the island.

This trekking-tour made a lot of fun and I will definitively come back to La Palma one day to walk the big volcano round. It's the best to walk the volcano round at summer time because in winter there is often a lot of snow and ice there.

Caldera river bed	Laguna de Barlovento	Ruta de los Volcanes
Double Rainbow	Small Village	View to Teide mountain peak (Tenerife)

Here are some tips for travelers:

Get Campingaz plunge cartridges (you need an adapter if you have a cooker with screw thread) for your Gas Cooker in Santa Cruz in one of the hardware stores. There is one near the big wodden Napoleon ship in downtown. Ask in the tourist information for details.

Get a list of all hotels on the island with prices at the tourist information center in Santa Cruz.

You need a permit to camp inside the Caldera and at the Refugio El Pilar (Ruta de los Volcanes). You will get this without problems and without fee at the National Park Visitor-Center near El Paso.

There is NO campground in Garafia o Santo Domingo opposite to our map which shows a campground icon there. As far as I understood the locals there is also no hotel or pension in the near.

Here is a list of all legs we went:

Date Start Destination Kilometer Ascent Meter Descent Meter Time needed   22.Feb Puntagorda Garafia 15.3km 524m 986m 5:45 23.Feb Garafia El Tablado 13.3km 1039m 979m 6:55 24.Feb El Tablado Barlovento 21.2km 1511m 1103m 8:18 25.Feb Pause at Laguna de Barlovento (Camping) 26.Feb Laguna de Barlovento Los Sauces 18km 832m 1289m 7:04 27.Feb Pause at Los Lianos (Pension Central) 28.Feb Los Lianos Caldera Camp 11.3km 795m 373m 4:42 29.Feb Caldera Camp Los Lianos via Mirador de los Brecitos 16.4km 653m 1066m 5:40 27.Feb Pause at Fuencaliente 02.Mar Fuencaliente Refugio El Pilar 17.2km 1600m 800m 7:35 03.Mar Refugio El Pilar El Paso 9.2km 19m 782m 2:23   Total 135.4km 6973 Meter 7378 Meter 48:36 download the GPS tracks in Fugawi and Kompass compatible format.

Here is a list of all the equipment that I took with me:

Misc Items Weight in gram   Tent Hilleberg Akto 1630 Lowe Alpin Rucksack 35L 1600 Camping Mat 451 Sleeping Bag WM Apache -5/-7C 1050 Walking Stick 266 Wallet, Money, EC, VISA, Passport 50 Signaling Whistle 67 Rangefinder 37 Map, Guidebook 270 Pocket Pharmacy 382 Tobaco, Papers, Filter 50 Book 325 Packsack 71   Clothes Flip-Flops 358 Hagloefs Softshell Jacket 686 TNF Rainjacket 520 1 x Sockets, 1 x Underpants 162 1 x Shirt 300 Short Pants 215 Peaked Cap with Neck Sun-Protection 62 Sunglasses 31 Glasses 59   Kitchen Hardware Gas Cooker MSR Pocket Rocket + Adapter 262 Campingaz Butan (bought in Santa Cruz) 250 Spoon/Fork, Alu-Pot, Alu-Handle, Mug 264 Camelbag 3L 394 Food (2 x Powerbar, 2 x Powergel, 2 x Pasta) 720 Cereals 500g 520 Victorinox Outrider Knife 130 Mikropur forte 50 Tbl. (water purifier) 22 Coffee with dried Milk 140   Bath Washsalon including toothbrush, comb, etc 416 Pocket Towel 44   Technology Equipment Casio Exilim DigiCam 98 Replacement Accu for DigiCam 15 Garmin eTrex GPS, Batteries und Palm Data-Cable   187 6 x AA, 3 x AAA Batteries 182 LED Headlight Petzl Tikka Plus + Batteries   79 Palm PDA, Charger 240 Mobilephone Siemens ME45 99 Charger ME45 56 Suunto HR Monitor 55 CR2032 Battery 5 Abus Mini Combination Lock 35 PMR Walkie-Talkie Alan421 incl Batteries 121   Total: 13.126 Kilogram (463 ounces)

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