Wild Garafía Hike La Palma10 km Guided Walk, November to April

A guided hike through wild Garafía

Ten kilometres and about five and a half hours on the paths of Garafía, in the north-west of La Palma. It is one of the most remote corners of the island, little walked and still run by nature, and this guided hike reads it as a story: who lived here, what they lived from, and why they left.

A walk into the past

Garafía was one of the first parts of La Palma to take off. It had fertile land, its springs, and the sea for sailing ships to come and go. Then the water was taken down to the valley, galleries were dug to carry it to the parts of the island with a better climate, and the people followed it. The area emptied slowly and has been left to wildlife and silence since.

The guide tells that story as you walk, in Spanish and English: how the area was settled, how people lived from its springs and the sea, and what it took to make a living on this land.

How the day runs

The group meets at 9:45 on a Thursday in the square of Santo Domingo de Garafía. There is no pickup, so you make your own way there. The route climbs 500 m and comes down 500 m, and it ends back in the same square. Five and a half hours is the usual time, and it can vary a little with the pace of the group.

Worth knowing

It is graded medium to hard, so wear mountain boots. Bring a jacket and a rain jacket, sun protection and a cap, and water and food for the day. Children can come from the age of 8, and from 8 to 12 they pay the same as adults. Four people is the minimum: below that, or in bad weather, a departure can be cancelled. It runs from November to April; from June to October the Thursday walk is the Marcos y Cordero hike, through thirteen tunnels in the north-east of the island.