Island of La Palma has 90 000 inhabitants. La Palma is the most western island in the Canary Islands. La Palma is a small island, but in all other respects, it deserves only superlatives.

National Park

In the central part is placed the national park, dominated by gigantic volcanic Caldera de Taburiente throat. Northern periphery of the crater rises up to 2433m and it is the highest point of the island. There is an astrophysical observatory which is not open for the public.

National Park was formed in a giant explosion 400 000 years ago. The volume of volcanic throat is 28 km, the maximum diameter is more than 9 km. Ecstatic fans believe that the size of the area from which the volcano rises is the highest peak in the world. The area is extremely attractive to botanists, geologists, zoologists and ordinary tourists as well.

Landscape

In the east, west and north of the country, gorges descend toward the sea, while in the south there are smaller reefs. Another striking feature of La Palma is its dominant green face. Dell, which falls steeply to the sea, is covered by dense forests of pine, myrtle and laurel. There are luxurious banana plantations but people also grow avocados and tobacco.

Coastline

The coast is rough with rocky walls and abrupt fall towards the sea and small beaches which are covered with fine black volcanic sand. However, because of the configuration of the ground there are no large tourist facilities.

Tourist Attractions

The island has quite a few things worth seeing. However, you can visit the Ayuntamiento, in Santa Cruz. This is the former palace of cardinals from the mid 16th century. Today, it is the town hall. Furthermore, it is one of historic buildings in the triangle formed by the Plaza de España and Calle O'Daly. At the market on the edge of the Plaza de la Almeda is placed the ship. It is a concrete replica of the Columbus ship, the “Santa Maríaâ€