Hiking the GR131 on La Palma

It’s March 2024, and slowly I am getting fed up with the dreary weather in Switzerland. So, why not fly to an island in the Atlantic ocean and hike and camp under the stars? As I am a sucker for vulcanic landscapes, mixed with lush forests and some elevation differences, I choose La Palma. The greenest of the Canary Islands has 2 long distance hiking paths. The GR130, which runs around the island and the GR131, nicknamed “El Baston”, which runs along a massive vulcanic crater and ridge across the island. It was the latter that I set out to do, and here you will find all the information you’d need to tackle this truly stunning hike.

General info about the GR131

The GR131 is 65 km long, and officially is devided into 3 stages, according to the environmental departments of La Palma (see their website). They describe them as 3 day hikes, and you’d probably could do it in 3 days with a push. I took 4 days, stopping each day late afternoon, so I had plenty of time to savour the views. I did the hike early March and the temperatures were perfect for hiking, around 20°C, although it got chilly during the night at high alititude. As it gets hot during summer, I would recommend this hike in spring or autumn, in the winter there might be snow up there. The crater rim is located above 2000 meter above sea level, so plan your pack list accordingly. This also means that there is quite some climbing involved. You can start the hike either at the west side of the island at Tazacorte, or at the most southern tip at the lighthouse of Fuencaliente. I choose to start at Tazacorte, as it was easy to get there by public transport. And I like a bit of a challenge, as it is a steep climb!

Getting around

Getting around the island by bus is the way to go. The bus network connects all major towns, they are punctual and cheap. You’d probably arrive at either the airport or the ferry port at Santa Cruz de la Palma. To get to Tazacorte, you take bus 300 to Los Llanos and transfer there to bus 110 and get off at bus stop Casa del Mar (total journey 1 hour 20 min). From here it’s a 5 minute walk to the actual start of the GR131. If you want to save some 500 high meters on this 1st day, you can continue on bus 110 to bus stop El Time. Here the main road crossed the hiking path, so you could also start there. If you start at Fuencaliente, take bus 200 or 201 to Los Canarios and then a taxi to the lighthouse. You will find all the departure times here. Tickets are between 1.50 and 2.60 euros.

Camping along the way

La Palma is part of Spain and officially wildcamping is not allowed. There is no accomodation (like hotels or commercial campsites) along the way. However, you can ask for a permit to wildcamp. This permit is also required to stay at the campsite of El Pinar. What you have to do is send an email to medio.ambiente@cablapalma.es, with your planned itinerary and dates. They send you a form to fill out, which you send back with a copy of your pasport. It’s important to check the box “En Traversia”, which means you let them know you’ll be hiking. I did this one week before I started, and had the permit within a day after sending all the documents back. With this, you are allowed to camp anywhere (except in the Caldera, which is a National Park!). See my post on hiking in the National Park for more information.

On the GR131 there is one shelter (Rifugio Punta de los Roques), an unmanned hut with bunk beds, solar power and water (rain water, needs to be treated). Here I slept on the second night. There is also a major recreational area where you can camp; El Pilar, where there is a bus connection, water, bbq spots and toilets.

Food, water and cooking

Concerning food; that’s simple…you have to pack everything for the entire hike. Between Tazacorte and Los Canarios there are no shops or restaurants. Take enough for at least 5 days, and plenty of snacks. I don’t know about you, but I need to get some sugar every 2 hours, especially when climbing, or else I get hangry. Water is also an issue. I took 3 liters, adding a lot of weight to my pack, but there are only a limited taps along the way; on the way up from Tazacorte, when crossing the road there is a water tap (km 5.5). The next one is at the observatory, which I reached on the morning of day 2. Then the refugio and campsite El Pilar. In all cases there were notes saying that the water was not treated, so to be on the safe side I filtered all water with my Sawyer squeeze water filter.
Camp fires are absolutely forbidden. I cooked on my Trianga ethanol cooker, with 96% ethanol I got at the pharmacy in Santa Cruz. Gas canisters I’ve seen at the HiperDino supermarkets in Santa Cruz, at least at the locations next to the bus station and the larger HiperDino at Av. el Puente. They only had the punch-through ones, so be aware. Gas canisters can probably also be found at one of the many hardware shops (ferreterias), however, they close at 2pm on Saturday and are not open on Sundays.

Another tip; check with your hotel if you can leave your lugagge. My hotel didn’t offer this, which meant I had to rethink my packing and travelled in my hiking clothes. There are no luggage lockers at the airport or at the bus station. There is one location in the centre of Santa Cruz where you can leave lugagge while hiking (see for instance the app Nannybag), but this location was closed on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, which means it wasn’t an option for me.

Day 1 – 14 km and 2200 meter up…

I took bus 300 from Santa Cruz on Sunday morning at 7.10 am, arrived in Los Llanos at 8.00 am, and transferred to bus 110 to Tazacorte at 8.15 am. Getting off at the bus stop Casa del Mar, and my GR131 hike started at 08.30. This first day is brutal and you’ll be climbing ALL day. As said before, you can shorten the climb by taking bus 110 to El Time, saving 500 meters. During the climb you can peek into the crater, and the views on the coast are amazing, only a bit spoiled by the white plastic coverings of the many banana plantations. Slowly you’ll make your way up, and with a heavy pack it was truly slow. At the El Time tower I stopped for lunch and met the first raven. They are cheeky bastards, and know that tourists have food. The hike to this spot is a popular day hike, but from the tower to my camping spot for the day I was blisfully alone. After 7 hours, just before Roque Palmero, I called it a day and found a flat-ish and sorta sheltered spot for my tent. The wind was strong, but the views on the cloud-filled caldera were stunning. After enjoying a spectacular sunset, I slept like a baby.

Day 2 – 18 km – Along the crater rim

Even though it was a chilly night, my sleeping bag kept me warm and I crawled out of my tent just before sunrise. After packing up, it was only 4 km and 200 more meters up to the highest point of the hike at Roque de los Muchachos, where the many telescopes are located. The night sky is very clear and there is hardly any light pollution, making this the perfect spot for star gazing. At the tourist information booth I filled up my water, had a quick break with my new friends the ravens and continued along the crater rim. The path is easy going and it’s hard to get lost. It goes up and down all day, but compared to the previous day it is not as strenuous. There is no shadow for most of the day, and the sun was beating down on me. Definitly pack a hat and sunscreen! After 7.5 hours (including many breaks to take in the views) I reached the Rifugio Punta de los Roques. What a luxury; bunk beds, sheltered from the wind and a filled water tanks. Happy as could be I cooked up some dinner and tea. Another couple joined and we all admired the clouds filling up the caldera again before turning in for the night, watching the stars through the litte windows.

Day 3 – 20 km – Pine forest and vulcanoes

Sleeping at the refugio also means that your morning routine is quick; no tent to pack. After coffee and oatmeal, I was quickly on my way. From the hut you’ll walk through pine forests, gradually going down. After 13 km and 2.5 hour I ended up at the camp site El Pinar. Perfect spot for lunch. This place gets really crowded in the high season, and has many picnic benches and barbecue spots. As it next to the road, lots of people start their day hikes here. For me it was too early to think about camping yet, the weather was gorgeous (although windy), so I continued. From El Pilar it goes up and the landscape changes dramatically. From pine forest to volcanoes. Black sand, gravel and rocks make the climbing difficult but beautiful. I got blasted by the wind and had trouble staying upright at times. After 7 more kilometers I found a nice and sheltered spot on the left side of the path to pitch my tent. Out of the wind and in the sun I enjoyed dinner and a book, before going to bed at sunset.

Day 3 – 10 km – Misty forests

During the night the weather turned and I woke up in the mist and rain. My camping spot was sheltered, but I could hear the wind howling in the tree tops. After waiting for an hour to see if it would lighten up, I accepted my faith; it was gonna be a wet day. I packed up my wet tent, and started off. It wasn’t cold, and my rain jacket held up. Unfortunately, the visibility was limited and I hiked down through the misty forest. After 10 km I ended up in Los Canarios. I debated to continue to the end of the hike, 6 more kilometers downhill, but decided against it. I couldn’t see much, and there is no public transport at the light house. Meaning I would try to hitchhike or walk back. So my GR131 journey stopped prematurely. I warmed up with several coffees and some sandwiches at a bar, before taking the bus back to Santa Cruz.