La Palma is a very young volcanic island. So young, that whales and dolphins were already around to bear witness of her birth, and the dinosaurs had disappeared long before. So young, that she’s still alive and growing, from her broad North to the southern point.
The North is the oldest region, with huge and breathtaking cliffs on the coast and luscious laurasic forests inland, where heathers grow as trees. In the middle, and way up from Tazacorte, our harbor, the Barranco de las Angustias opens wide, being the Taburiente riverbed, and taking us to the open circus of La Caldera, the island’s National Park. And from there to the South, still building itself, Cumbre Vieja ridge shows up, with the Aridane valley and the banana plantations to the west, and going all the way down through lavas and pine forests to the farthest point, where Fuencaliente lighthouse and its marine salinas.
This is a place where the four elements merge: fire, earth, water, and air; a place that sprinkles them with local wines and great goat cheeses. A place to know on foot and by the sea. A Biosphere Reserve in its entirety. A welcoming and hosting place. Like a heart.