Walking in El Hierro
£10.00
Landscapes of LA PALMA and EL HIERRO: walks and car tours
by Noel Rochford
An excellent book… The size, the balance between text and images and facts and maps … makes it perfect for getting out and about. (GCH, Amazon)
Good guide for walkers. We were able to follow the walks on El Hierro and adapt them to our needs. (Shiela, Amazon)
The book proved a really useful (no, essential) addition to our holiday and made a good holiday really special. (HOH, Shrewsbury)
Click below to read walker’s reviews and use the ‘Look Inside’ feature on Amazon.co.uk (RRP £12.99)
Or, purchase the complete book as a downloadable PDF using the Add to Basket button below (£10).
El Hierro, the least-visited of all the Canaries, at first appears to be a dried-up, sprawling mountain of rock, rising straight from the sea, treeless and barren. But Noel reveals the island’s hidden charms — as remarkable as any in the archipelago.
In natural beauty, La Palma rivals all the other Canary Islands put together. Its immense, abyss-like crater, the Caldera de Taburiente, is considered to be the largest of its kind in the world. Outside the crater, high on the cloud-catching hillsides, 20 million-year-old laurel forests grow as dense as a jungle. In the southern half of the island, hills pitted with volcanic craters and mini-deserts of black lapilli speak of the island’s volcanic past.
Whether you tour El Hierro or La Palma by car or discover them on foot, Noel introduces you to the islands’ best beauty spots.
Area covered: walks and tours throughout both islands
The best months for walking on El Hierro and La Palma are October to June.
On El Hierro, which only has one bus each day, you’ll need a hire car and here the author recommends staying in Tigaday. On La Palma the author recommends Santa Cruz or Los Llanos for atmosphere and easy access to walks by public transport. But if you have a car, you can take your choice of the island’s resorts.
for El Hierro 1 car tour, 12 long and short walks, 8 picnic suggestions; for La Palma 3 car tours, 38 long and short walks, 22 picnic suggestions
136 pages + 2 touring maps (La Palma and El Hierro); plan of Santa Cruz de La Palma
6th ed, 2010; ISBN 978-1-85691-389-8; UK retail price £12.99 / USA retail price $17.99
Table of contents:
Preface 5
Acknowledgements; Useful books 6
Picnic suggestions on La Palma 7
Picnic suggestions on El Hierro 9
TOURING
LA PALMA’S VERDANT NORTH AND THE ISLAND’ SUMMITS (TOUR 1) 12
Santa Cruz · Los Sauces · Barlovento · Garafía · Roque de los Muchachos · Santa Cruz
VOLCANIC SPLENDOURS IN THE SOUTH OF LA PALMA (TOUR 2) 20
Santa Cruz · Los Canarios (Fuencaliente) · El Paso · El Pilar · Santuario de las Nieves · Santa Cruz
CALDERA DE TABURIENTE (TOUR 3) 26
Los Llanos · Caldera de Taburiente · Barranco de las Angustias · Los Brecitos · Tazacorte · Mirador El Time · (Puntagorda) · Los Llanos
EL HIERRO – THE ISLAND’S HIGHLIGHTS (TOUR 4) 28
Tigaday · Sabinosa · La Dehesa · (Faro de Orchilla) · Cruz de los Reyes · Hoya del Morcillo · El Pinar · Cala de Tacorón · Mirador de las Playas · Mirador de Jinama · Mirador de la Peña · Mocanal · Pozo de las Calcosas · Valverde · San Andrés · Tigaday
WALKING
Guides, waymarking, maps 36
Where to stay 36
Transport 37
What to take 37
Weather 38
Dogs – and other nuisances 38
Country code for walkers and motorists 38
Spanish for walkers 39
Organisation of the walks 40
WALKS ON LA PALMA
1 From the Mirador La Tosca to Gallegos 42
2 Los Sauces · Mirador de las Barandas · Barlovento 45
3 Los Tilos turn-off · Barranco del Agua · Los Tilos · Los Sauces 49
4 Los Tilos turn-off · Los Tilos · Nacientes de Cordero · Nacientes de Marcos · Las Lomadas 52
5 Barranco de la Galga 58
6 LP1032 (Pico de la Nieve turn-off) · Pico de la Nieve · Punta de los Roques · Ermita de la Virgen del Pino · National Park Visitor Centre 61
7 Lomo de los Mestres · La Pared Vieja · Refugio El Pilar · National Park Visitor Centre 66
8 Los Canarios (Fuencaliente) · Volcán de San Antonio · Volcán de Teneguía · Faro de Fuencaliente 73
9 Ruta de los Volcanes 78
10 Pico Bejenado 84
11 Caldera de Taburiente 86
12 From the Mirador El Time to Puerto de Tazacorte 93
13 Tijarafe · Poris de Candelaria · Tijarafe 96
14 From Tijarafe to Tinizara 99
15 El Fayal · Las Tricias · Cuevas de Buracas · Las Tricias 103
16 Garafía · El Palmar · Juan Adalid · El Palmar · Garafía 107
WALKS ON EL HIERRO
17 Pista al Derrabado · Sabinosa · Ermita de la Virgen de los Reyes · Sabinosa 111
18 Frontera · Mirador de Jinama · Ermita Virgen de la Peña · Las Puntas 115
19 HI1 · Mirador del Golfo · Hoyo de Fileba · Fuente del Lomo · Bailadero de las Brujas · HI1 121
20 HI1 · Mirador de las Playas · La Torre · San Andrés · Arbol Santo · Tiñor 124
Bus timetables, flights and ferries 131
Index 135
Fold-out touring maps inside back cover
(with plans of Santa Cruz de La Palma and Valverde)
LA PALMA (for El Hierro, see below)
Barlovento 12, 15, 42, 44, 45, 48, TT Línea 11
Laguna de – 8, 12, 16, 44, 47, 48
Barranco (ravine, river)
de las Angustias 8, 9, 26-7, 86, 88-9, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95
del Agua 14, 45, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52-3
de Ribanseras del Castro 87, 90, 92
Caldera de Taburiente 8, 26, 86
Casa del Monte 52-3, 56, 57
Cascada Colorada 86, 88-9, 90, 92
Cuesta de Reventón 88-9, 91
Cuevas de Buracas 103, 105, 106
Cráter del Duraznero 79, 80
Cruce del Refugio 61, 63, 64, 68-9
Cumbre Nueva 63, 65, 66, 68-9, 71
Cumbre Vieja 68-9
Degollada (pass)
del Barranco de la Madera 62, 63
del Río 62, 63
Dos Aguas 9, 88-9, 92
El Barrial 63, 84
El Fayal 8, 26, 27, 103, 106
El Palmar 107, 108, 110
El Paso 24, 86, TT Línea 1
Ermita de la Virgen del Pino 8, 61, 63, 65, 68-9
Fuencaliente see Los Canarios
Faro de – 22, 73, 76, 77, 80
Franceses 17
Fuente (spring)
de Olen 8, 12, 19
Gallegos 16, 42, 44
Garafía 12, 18, 107, 110, TT Líneas 5, 11
Hoyo de Mazo, El 20
Hoyo Negro 68-9, 78, 80
Juan Adalid 107, 110
Jedey 23
La Cumbrecita 24, 84
La Galga 13, 52-3, 58, 59, 60, TT Línea 11
Barranco de la Galga 14, 58-9, 60, 60
Cubo de la Galga 59, 60
La Palmita 43, 44
La Pared Vieja 8, 20, 25, 66, 68-9, 70
La Rosa 68-9
La Tosca 7, 42, 43, 44, 48
Las Indias 22, 79
Las Lomadas 14, 48, 52-3, 57
Las Manchas 23
Las Toscas 20
Las Tricias 2, 19, 103, 104, 106, TT Línea 5
Llano del Jable 8, 24, 67, 68-9, 71, 78, 79
Lomo de los Mestres 66-7, 68-9, 70
Los Brecitos 26-7, 86, 88-9
Los Canarios 20-1, 73, 74-5, 76, 80, 83, TT Línea 3
Los Llanos 26-7, 88-9, 92-3, 94, TT Líneas 1-5
Los Sauces 12, 14, 45, 48, 49, 51, 52-3, TT Líneas 11, 12
Los Tilos 7, 12, 14, 48, 49, 50, 52-3, 54
Mazo 20, 66, 68-9, TT Línea 3
Mirador (viewpoint)
de la Concepción 24, 25
de las Barandas 34, 35, 36, 46, 51
de las Indias 23
de San Bartolomé 13
del Lomo de Tagasaste 88-9
El Rodeo 6, 84, 85, 88-9
El Time 26-7, 93
Espigón Atravesado 48, 52-3, 54
La Tosca 7, 16, 42, 43, 44, 48
Los Andenes 19
Punta de los Roques 24
Taburiente 19
Morro de la Era 88-9, 91, 92
Nacientes de Cordero y Marcos 52-3, 55
Observatorio Astrofísico 12, 18, 19
Parque Cultural La Zarza 12. 18
Paso, El 20, 24, 88-9
Pico (mountain peak)
Bejenado 6, 84, 85, 88-9
Corralejo 63, 64
de la Nieve 61-2, 63
Ovejas 63, 64
Piscinas de la Fajana 15
Playa (beach)
Chica 22
de Zamora 22
de los Cancajos 20
de Taburiente 86, 88-9
Poris de Candelaria 96, 97, 98
Puerto de Tazacorte 27, 93, 94, 95, TT Línea 2
Puerto Espíndola 15
Punta Complida, Faro de 14
Punta de los Roques 61, 63, 64
Punta Talavera 15
Puntagorda 26-7, 103, 106, TT Línea 5
Puntallana 12-3
Refugio El Pilar 8, 20, 24, 61, 66, 68-9, 71, 78, 79
Reventón Pass 61, 63, 65, 68-9
Río (river)
Almedro Amargo 86
Taburiente 88-9, 90
Roque (rock)
de los Muchachos 12, 16-7, 18, 19
del Faro 18
Idafe 88-9, 90
Teneguía 21, 73-4, 75, 76
Ruta de los Volcanes 68-9, 78, 79, 80
San Andrés 14, 52-3, TT Línea 12
San Antonio 20
San Isidro 25, 68-9
San Nicolás 23
San Pedro (Breña Alta) 25, 68-9
Santa Cruz 4,12, 20, 24, TT Líneas 1, 3, 8, 11
town plan with touring map
Santuario de Las Nieves 20, 25
Somada del Palo 88-9, 90
Tajuya 24
Tazacorte 26-7, 93, TT Línea 2
Tigalate 21
Tijarafe 27, 96, 98, 99, TT Línea 5
Tinizara 27, 98, 99, 100, 102
Volcán
de San Antonio 21, 73, 75, 76, 77
de Teneguía 21, 22-3, 73-4, 76
Deseada 78, 80, 81
Martín 80, 81, 82-3, cover
EL HIERRO
Arbol Santo (El Garoë) 124, 128-9
Bailadero de las Brujas 121, 128
Cala de Tacorón 28, 32, 33
Cruz de los Reyes 28, 32
Echedo 35
El Golfo 28-9, 112, 122-3
El Pinar 28, 33-4, 125, 128-9, TT EH5
El Sabinar 30, 112-3
Erese 34
Ermita (chapel)
de la Caridad 116-7, 118
de la Virgen de los Reyes 30, 111, 112-3, 114
Virgen de la Peña 10, 115, 116-7, 128-9
Faro de Orchilla 28, 30
Frontera 28-9, 115, 116-7, 128-9, TT EH1-2
Fuente del Lomo 121, 122
Guarazoca 34, 116-7, TT EH3
Hoya del Morcillo 10, 28, 33, 128-9
Hoyo de Fileba 121, 122, 128-9
Isora 128-9, TT EH4
La Calheta TT EH6
La Dehesa 28
La Restinga 33, TT EH5
La Torre 124, 128-9
Laja de Orchilla 28, 30
Las Casas (El Pinar) 33, 128-9
Las Playas, Las 10
Las Puntas 115, 116-7, 120, TT EH2
Mirador (viewpoint)
de Isora 35, 124, 128-9
de Jinama 9, 28, 34, 115, 116-7, 118, 119
de la Peña 10, 28, 34, 115, 116-7, 120, TT EH3
de las Pernandas 35
de las Playas 10, 28, 34, 121, 124, 126, 128-9
del Golfo 33, 121
Tanajara 33
Mocanal 28, 34
Montaña Bermeja 127, 128-9
Pista al Derrabado 111, 112-3, 114
Playa del Verodal 28, 30
Pozo de la Salud 31, 112-3
Pozo de las Calcosas 28, 35
Puerto de la Estaca 35
Roques de Salmor 120
Sabinosa 28, 111, 112-3, 114, TT EH1
San Andrés 28, 35, 115, 116-7, 124, 127, 128-9
Taibique (El Pinar) 33, TT EH5
Tamaduste 35
Tigaday 28-9, 31, 116-7, TT EH1-2
Timijiraque 10
Tiñor 124, 128-9, 130, TT EH4
Valverde 28, 35, TT EH1-7, 136
town plan with touring map
LA PALMA AND EL HIERRO: WALKS AND CAR TOURS, 7th edition (2015), updated
Updates for walks and car tours (drives) given below supplement those provided in the guidebook. It is vital that this Update is read in conjunction with the text of the book, but note that the Update applies only to the edition stated and not to any earlier editions. (If you have an older edition of this book you can “upgrade” to the latest edition at half price.)
Information has been forwarded to us by users of the book, and Sunflower Books offers the data in good faith but cannot be held responsible for any misleading or inaccurate content in the Update. Unless indicated otherwise, what appears here has not been verified by the author or publisher, so please allow due caution when new or amended routes are suggested. Each piece of information is dated; bear in mind that some of the older observations may have since been overtaken by events or further changes. If, during your holiday, you are using the current edition of the guide and are able to provide any additional updating to add to this page, we will be pleased to hear from you. Please send information, preferably by e-mail, to info@sunflowerbooks.co.uk.
As of December 1, 2015 there are no updates for El Hierro
