Hiking in the Caldera de Taburiente – LP13

After tackling the GR131 on La Palma, where I followed the crater rim, I had one day left on this beautiful island. And I’ve been up the crater, but really wanted to see what it was like at the bottom. Turned out to be a great decision, as the hike in the crater was amazing. Highly recommended, so don’t miss out! Check out the conditions first on the website first, the hike is impossible if there is too much water in the river or certain paths might be closed due to maintenance.

I choose to do the LP13, which officially starts in Los Llanos. So I took bus 300 from Santa Cruz at 8.10 am and arrived around 9 am in Los Llanos. Here I took a taxi (15 euros) to the carpark at the start of the caldera. There were no taxis around the bus station, so I walked to the centre (Av Dr Flemimg). Most people drive to the carpark themselves, and then take a taxi to the viewpoint of Los Brecitos. That trip costs 50 euros, and you can wait for other people to share the costs. Taxis are there only in the morning, so be aware of that. A taxi just left when I arrived, and I didn’t want to wait, so I decided to walk up to the viewpoint. It’s about 7.5 km and 800 high meters, starting off quite steep but it mellows along the way. It took me 2.5 hours to reach Los Brecitos, through farm lands where it smelled like orange blossom.

From Los Brecitos you gradually walk down to the campsite at the bottom, through pine forests, where you can see the devestating effect of fire. Several streams are crossed, and all but one were empty. It’s hard to get lost here, the path is well marked and every so often there are signs that tell you how far you’re come and how far it is to the next way point. At the campsite there are picnic benches, and toilets. You can camp here for up to 6 nights, although you need to have a permit. This can be organized through the website of the Spanish National Park Association. Please be aware that no form of fire (also no camping gas cookers!) are allowed.

From the campsite you turn back towards the entrance and you follow the signs for Dos Aguas. At first you follow narrow paths down into the gorge and you’ll feel as if you ended up in Jurassic Park. Later on you will follow the river bed and you’ll feel like Indiana Jones. Here you’ll have to pay attention, sometimes the path veers off from the river bed and I missed some signs. The water was low, so the walking was not too difficult. After a total of 21.5 km and almost 7 hours I made it back to the car park. I hitched a ride back to Los Llanos, as there are no taxis there at this hour. You can walk back, adding another 400 high meters and 5 more kilometers. There are also some phone numbers posted of taxi companies, just in case.