The Beautiful Island — steep green mountains, world-class stargazing, and a volcano that erupted in 2021
La Palma is the steepest island on Earth relative to its base — rising to 2,426m from the ocean floor — and one of the greenest, with the ancient Garajonay-connected laurisilva cloud forests of the Caldera de Taburiente national park at its centre. The Roque de los Muchachos observatory at the summit is home to the world's largest optical telescope (the Gran Telescopio Canarias), and the island's strict light pollution ordinance makes its night skies among the darkest in Europe — the island was the world's first 'Starlight Reserve'. The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted in September 2021, destroyi…
La Palma was settled by the Awara, the local Guanche population, before Spanish conquest in 1493. The island became wealthy from silk production and sugar cane in the 16th century, then from wine and tobacco. The volcanic Cumbre Vieja ridge on the southern half of the island has been highly active — major eruptions in 1949, 1971, and most recently 2021. The 2021 eruption (the Tajogaite eruption) lasted 85 days, was the longest eruption on the island in recorded history, and created a new lava delta extending 74 hectares into the sea. The island has developed a model of 'lava tourism' that cha…