Orientation
La Palma is the third smallest Canary Island, measuring 45 kilometres from north to south and a maximum of 27 kilometres from west to east. Located in the north-west of the archipelago, the island is also known as "La Isla Verde" (the green island) or "La Isla Bonita" (the beautiful island). Like all the islands of the Canary Islands, La Palma is of volcanic origin. In its centre, the remains of a collapsed volcano tower 2,428 metres above the sea at Roque de los Muchachos. From up there, you can look down into the Caldera de Taburiente, which is up to 1,800 metres deep and has a diameter of nine kilometres. Around 87,000 Palmeros live on the island, whose capital is Santa Cruz. The secret capital, however, is Los Llanos in the so-called sun triangle in the west. La Palma, a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 2002, has so far been largely spared from the tourist resorts.
Tour character
It is impossible to find flat routes on La Palma. Even if you don't climb up to the Roque de los Muchachos (the road ends at 2,421 metres above sea level), a one-hundred-kilometre tour involves at least 2,000 metres of climbing. Without a compact crank, triple chainring or lifebuoy, only professionals and proven climbing specialists will be able to cope. However, most of the climbs can be ridden rhythmically and there are not too many really mean ramps on our four routes. Unfortunately, the road surface is not the best, and as the EU funding for the expansion of the Canary Islands' road network is slowly drying up, nothing will change in the near future. However, really bad bumpy tracks are the exception, and the numerous small grooves in the surface hardly detract from the enjoyment, especially if you have 25 tyres. There is a little more traffic around Los Llanos and Santa Cruz, otherwise you can count the number of cars you encounter on a tour on one hand.
Tip Those who cycle our four tours in the direction described have the worst routes uphill, which is much less annoying than on the descents.
You can find the complete travel report with these tours and the GPS data as downloads below:
- Tour 1: All banana? (82 km, 1,940 m elevation gain, max. 14 per cent gradient)
- Tour 2: To the Roque (119 km, 3,400 m elevation gain, max. 13 per cent gradient)
- Tour 3: From the beach to the crater (66 km, 1,650 m elevation gain, max. 17 per cent gradient)
- Tour 4: Volcano circuit (108 km, 2,420 m elevation gain, max. 12 per cent gradient)
