The national park de la Caldera de Taburiente is the largest national park of La Palma, Spain. The diameter of the Caldera de Taburiente is 10 kilometers and the highest point is Roque de Muchachos (2426 m). In 1954 the Caldera de Taburiente was declared as a national park of Spain.
The national park is of volcanic origin and was formed by multiple eruptions.
Because of the different eruptions, different lava flows we created. During several hikes you can see pillow lava, pyroclastic mantels, round volcanic bombs and basalt. Roque Idafe for example is a rock created by a volcanic eruption from which the surrounding material has eroded away. In this way several examples of volcanic geology can be found in the Caldera de Taburiente.
Large sections of the Caldera de Taburiente are covered in Canary Pines. Pines can find grip with their roots in the rocks and get their moisture from the clouds blown in to the Caldera from the sea. During fires the needles burns so fast on the ground that the trees are barely affected. The charred outer bast of the trees can be clearly seen during a hike through the Caldera de Taburiente.
There are several maintained hiking trails in the national park. The hiking trails are well maintained and are clearly indicated for the most part. There is no oppurtunity to get water or food in the Caldera de Taburiente, so if you want to hike there you have to bring your own food and water.
The information centre is close to El Paso. At the moment there is some reconstruction of the Centro de Visitantes, making the available information limited. You can get leaflets with information about the national park, the hiking trails, parking areas and viewpoints.
At nearly all viewpoints a hjiking trail starts (or ends). One of the longer trails is from Los Brecitos to the Barranco de las Angustias, which we hiked during this vacation. At the parking area in the Barranco de las Angustias is a taxi service that takes you up.
For the viewpoint of La Cumbrecita you need to register at the information centre to drive to the top. Actualy there are enough signs besides the road to remind you of this.
Across the rim of the Caldera is the hiking trail EL GR 13. This long distance hike goes from Puerto de Tazacorte Hasta to Faro de Fuencaliente. With good weather you'll have a magnificent view of the Caldera de Taburiente and the steep coasts of La Palma.
We enjoyed the Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente very much. Despite some bad weather now and again we have had a good look at the Caldera and experience the size of the area. It makes you wonder you immensely huge the volcano must have been before the eruption.
Photo gallery Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente - La Palma
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