The best hikes in La Palma

La Palma is the greenest of the Canary Islands, meaning the hikes here have a little more variation than places like Lanzarote which are largely volcanic. The reason it’s so green, we found, is because a large cloud often hangs over the mountains in the centre of the island, keeping the vegetation well supplied with rain water. But what we quickly found was that, if you just keep driving up, you’ll eventually come out above the clouds which makes for a pretty spectacular hiking view in itself. And if you’re lucky to get cloudless weather then the views across the many calderas are some of the best in the world. 

The best hikes in La Palma

These were some of our favourite hikes in La Palma.

Roque de los Muchachos to Roque Palmero

There are various hikes you can do around Roque de los Muchachos, following the crater’s edge in either direction. But we were just above (and sometimes in) the clouds the day of our visit, meaning the views down to Cumbrecits and Caldera de Taburiente were non-existent. So we chose the relatively short out-and-back hike from Muchachos to Roque Palmero.

It’s an easy route to follow until you get to the turn-off to the rock itself at which point you’re going up harder-to-see paths of gravel and shale. The clouds eventually thinned making the views even more amazing, and the top of the rock is a great place to stop for lunch. 

This walk took us about 2 hours 40 minutes to cover above 7.5km including photo and food stops, and a wander around Roque de los Muchachos near the car park before we set off. 

Cubo de la Galga

This forest walk has a wild, jungle feel to it. There are various routes you can take depending on how long you have. We did the route out and back to Cubo de la Galga, which took just under 1.5 hours covering 5.4km. 

Longer, circular hikes can take closer to 4 hours and include a steep walk up to a mirador. It’s muddy and slippery in places so you’ll need to wear trainers at least, if not boots. 

At the parking area there’s a small hut where you can get more information about the various routes, and when we visited a guide was there to advise on which route we should take based on how much time we had. 

Ruta de los Volcanes

One of the most famous hikes is Ruta de los Volcanes. This 17km one-way trail takes you along volcanoes, through forests and lava fields and back out into the town of Los Canarios. 

The best option for starting this hike is to park in Los Canarios and get a taxi to the start point of the hike. We parked at El Pinalejo where our pre-booked taxi met us to drive us up to El Pilar. This costs about €45 and takes about 45 minutes. 

The start of our hike was cloudy and wet and pretty cold but the skies eventually cleared and the scenery was beautiful. 

The first volcano is Hoyo Negro followed by Cumbre Vieja which erupted in 2021. Then you’ll pass El Duraznero, Las Deseadas, Volcán Martin and Montaña del Fuego. Despite being long this trail is never boring and in better weather the views would be even more incredible. 

The 17km route took us 4 hours 40 minutes including stops. In hotter weather this would probably take a bit longer as you’d need to stop more and probably walk slower. Many of the reviews say 5-6 hours and some even took 7-8 so plan for somewhere around that… It's essentially a full-day hike. 

Bring layers, water, and food with you and wear sturdy boots or trainers. If you use hiking poles then you’ll want them on this route as there are some steep down- and uphill areas. 

Find out more in our list of what to pack for a holiday in La Palma.

Molinos de Bellido (PR-LP 2.2)

I actually ran a short stretch of this route above Santa Cruz de la Palma but the sendero goes on for much longer and offers amazing views over the city and out to sea. 

Other hikes

Some of the hikes we would have done if we’d had more time include:

• La Zarza 

• Puertito de Santo Domingo

• Playa de la Veta

• Las Tricias – Buracas 

• Cumbre Vieja: Pico Nambroque (very close to the Ruta de los Volcanes route)

• Cascada De Los Tilos (closed at the time of our trip)

• Pico Bejenado and Cascada de los Colores

• Volcán de Tajogaite o Cabezavaca (guide only) 

• Taburiente: Mirador de Los Brecitos to Barranco de las Angustias (closer to Roques de los Muchachos)

• Volcán de San Antonio (close to Cumbre Vieja)

• Roque/Volcán Teneguía (close to Cumbre Vieja)

• Fuente Melchora

• Camino de las Fuentes 

• Camino Natural de La Palma (circuit of the island)

Want to explore more of La Palma? Check out our list of the best things to do in La Palma.