Volcano Route, Canary Islands, Spain

5kitsune87 5:00 PM Feb 11, 2016

MUST DO!!!
This route is a must do in La Palma! You can take your car to el refugio de El Pinar (road LP-301) to start at 9AM. This is at 1400m. There are toilets and a fountain there if you need it. There is not much mobile reception at the beginning or the end of the journey so book your taxi in advance to pick you up to return to the start! It is cheaper (fixed price) and you guarantee there is a car waiting for you. I didn't do this and it cost me 50€ instead of 38€ and I had to wait 45min! A bit hefty for a solo traveller but that's the way it is I guess. In terms of the trek, after an hour of going uphill among tress, you arrive to the first crater, Brigoyo, which is breathtaking. After that, be a bit careful with your steps, it is like constantly going up and down a dune but it is not like sand if you fall! The highest point is a bit ahead at Las Deseadas, almost 2000m. Once you get to volcan Martin, make sure you do a slight detour to look inside the volcano with the island Tenerife in the background. After that, the route gets a bit boring until you get to Los Canarios, the main town in the south of the island. If you had started at 9AM, you should get to Los Canarios around 2-2.30PM. You can have lunch there. I went to La Casa del Volcan, next to the volcano San Antonio, which offers decent food and a great wine menu. Then you can visit the volcano (you have to pay for this one) and continue to the lighthouse (Faro De Fuencaliente). You will pass through the solidified lava of the stunning volcano Teneguía, which erupted in 1971, and if you do a slight detour you can also look into the volcano. I arrived to the lighthouse before 6PM. There is a nice inexpensive bar by the lighthouse where you can enjoy the sunset. It closes at 7PM though. All in all, a must do in La Palma but make sure you book your return taxi in advance!

5Leo1401 5:00 PM May 12, 2017

Best trek of the island, amazing changing scenery throughout.
We did 4 treks overall in La Palma and they all covered different terrain but this was the best! You can easily get a taxi to El Pilar from los Llanos or Santa cruz (we picked one up from the taxi rank behind plaza de la Almeda, the ship museum, €30 ~1hr, and you can park all day for free between calle carias and the start of LP101 near Almeda, just park in a white bay not a blue one). We walked to Fuentecaliente and took a bus back to Santa cruz (~1hr, they leave every 2hrs, €2.50 ish) but theres stuff to do in Fuentecaliente if you are early, like the bodegas/artisanal shop). It took us 5hrs, starting in the windswept and wet/windy moon scape at the top near El pilar, down through the forested area and on to the sunny green slopes above fuentecaliente. The views are amazing throughout. We went a few days before the transvulcania run but still only met 4 ppl going either way all day. Really easy to follow the signs. On the main street in Fuentecaliente there is a good tourist office if you want to confirm when the bus is etc. Take water / food, there are no villages or shops on the way.