The island of La Palma offers us a wide variety of landscapes, whose contrast does not leave the visitor indifferent. The steep terrain of La Caldera, the laurisilva forest of Los Tilos, the lava streams and volcanoes of Fuencaliente and the abundance of water that runs freely by impressive waterfalls and ravines, grant the island a special scenic value.

The terrain of La Caldera

The Caldera de Taburiente, which constitutes a huge depression in the shape of a horseshoe in the central area of the island, is the result of a combination of a series of submarine volcanic eruptions and a long erosional process. Its walls are covered by enormous vertical lines of greyish colour, the result of the slow cooling of the magma in elongated cracks. These formations are known as dykes. The interior of La Caldera is furrowed by a large number of ravines (some of them maintain a permanent watercourse throughout the year), which have allowed to shape the terrain through erosion. The different lava flows that have occurred over the years are clearly visible in the highest parts of La Caldera. The visitor may enjoy some isolated roques or peaks that protrude from the surrounding material, either due to large landslides or as a result of differential erosion, since it is a harder material than the one that surrounds it. It should be noted that the Roque de Los Muchachos, with 2,426 m, is the highest point of the park and of the island, although the Pico de Bejenado, the Roque Idafe or the Pico de La Nieve emerge just as impressive. The orographic show that La Caldera offers is of extraordinary beauty and uniqueness.

The pine forest

The vegetal landscape of La Caldera is created by a mantle of pine forest of great resistance, with a high capacity to settle the lava flows with efficiency and speed and adapted to large climate fluctuations. Forming a pyramidal structure in the early stages of its development, it takes a parasol form once it reaches a high altitude. Although apparently it has a uniform appearance, the pine forest of Caldera de Taburiente is a pine forest with understorey, accompanied by various species depending on the altitude and the environmental conditions. The its interior it houses codesos, cedros, brezos, fayas, escobones, tagasastes and a variety of smaller species, such as amagantes, corazoncillos or gacias. The rocky escarpments are covered with species capable of rooting in the cracks of the rocks. Bejeques, cerrajones, coles de risco, pimpinelas and cabezotes, combined with lichens and bryophytes, create a greenish tapestry that, in rainy seasons, covers the entire vertical surface.

The water  

Water is the most important element of La Caldera de Taburiente. It flows in a natural way through fountains, springs and breathtaking waterfalls such as La Fondada, which runs along 100 m as it falls, or La Cascada de Colores in the Barranco de Rivanceras, of an intense orange colour due to the richness in iron salts. The surface of the park is covered by galleries perforated in the twentieth century, which led to a reduction in the flow and the number of natural springs. Nowadays, the use of this fluid is regulated by the Haciendas de Argual y Tazacorte, thus preventing the opening of new galleries and the misuse of water.

Stellar Observation

In the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, on the edge of the Caldera de Taburiente National Park, at 2,396 meters of altitude, it is located a battery of telescopes, which make the observatory one of the best in the world. The good weather conditions, the high summits and the absence of population in the surrounding area, which prevents the light pollution covered by the Sky Law, favours the observation of the stars. This heaven, of exceptional quality and covered with bright stars at night, is one of the major attractions of the island of La Palma.