With only the big blue sea to separate it from Brazil, La Palma undoubtedly deserves its nickname, La Isla Bonita.

Due to its unique terrain and the effects of the generous trade winds, La Palma offers its visitors beautiful scenery and numerous protected areas in the form of parks, landscapes and reserves.
Moreover, La Palma differs from its neighbouring islands inasmuch as it is, together with La Gomera, the only one in the Canaries with streams and rivulets. The main ones are to be found in La Caldera de Taburiente, Marcos and Corderos, in the Los Sauces area, and those of the Barranco del Río, in Santa Cruz. Thanks to these waterways and the so-called “horizontal rain” effect caused by the clouds that form when the trade winds encounter the island, the northeast of La Palma is characterised by lush green forests.

But there is no doubt that the island’s crowning glory is the Caldera de Taburiente, declared a National Park in 1954. It is said that here, in this difficult-to-access area, are the everlasting footprints of Tanausú, the last chief of the aborigine people, the Benahoaries.
This rugged area, covering just over 4,600 hectares, is in a fact a crater with an eight-kilometre diameter and drops of up to 2,000 metres. Imposing rock walls tower more than a kilometre over the pine forests that cover the gentler slopes. Ridges separate deep ravines with their crystal-clear waterfalls. Volcanic rock appears in the form of grey lava flows, or as the remains of yellow, violet or reddish pyroclastic cones.

There are information kiosks at all the main access routes and viewpoints. There is also a Visitors’ Centre which houses exhibitions and multilingual explanations of the Park’s resources and which areas of it are open to visitors.