The Volcano Route of La Palma

Route of the Volcanoes in La Palma

The volcanoes trail of La Palma crosses the main volcanoes area of the canary island, from El Refugio del Pilar to Fuencaliente. This route can be done backwards, from Fuencaliente to EL Pilar but it’s normally hiked on the other way due to the elevation gained is way less.

During the trail, the volcano landscape shows plenty of colour contrasts, from the green of the Canarian pines, the black lava trails and yellow-reds and brown oxidation tones of volcanic terrains.

The Route of La Palma follows the volcanic ridge that divides the south of the island into two sides, east and west. Walking through the volcanoes ridge trail allows hiking above the clouds of the east side, to contemplate the incredible views of the west side of the islands and other islands as Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro.

El Pilar – La Deseada volcano along Cumbre Vieja

Walking this route from El Pilar to Fuencaliente is a bit easier than backwards so if you’re not considering doing the GR131 from Fuencaliente to Tazacorte.

Behind the picnic area of El Pilar begins the volcanoes route of La Palma. It starts going up through a pine forest to the south-west. It quickly gains elevation and as the trail goes higher the vegetation is poorer and at 1800m there are only a few pine trees challenging the heavy winds that are often present up there. The path goes around Birigoyo volcano following the gr131 and slowly goes up until it reaches La Deseada, where the trail follows the ups and downs of the orography originated by the volcanoes chain through which this trail pass by.

From La Deseada to Volcan Martín, volcanoes landscapes of La Palma

The most beautiful part of the path is probably the part from La Deseada to Volcan Martín. The landscape and amazing mountain relief make this part of the hike one of the most unique places of the Canary Islands. Heavy winds during the route can be presents but especially in this exposed area. This area is very exposed to the sun as well so be sure of bringing enough water during summer.