Canary Islands, La Palma
Roque de los Muchachos (2426m)
Roque Palmero (2306m),
Dec 31 2014
To the main La Palma page (General
La Palma hiking information)
Roque de los Muchachos
(Click for larger image)
The island high point
This was our 3rd day on the beautiful La Palma island. The day before, we visited Pico Bejenado on the south side of the Caldera de Taburiente crater. The main goal was of course Roque de los Muchachos (2426m) - the island high point, but without a rental car, the planning stage got somewhat more complicated.
On our way to La Palma, we met another Norwegian couple (Stine & Espen) who also wanted to visit the island high point. We agreed to rent a taxi for the day and split the cost 4 ways. 25 Euro per hour was nothing to complain about...
The fact that the road runs all the way up to the high point posed the question; should we take the taxi all the way up or stop somewhere down the road just to get some kind of ascent? But as I didn't expect the other couple to have any kind of need to walk needlessly, the choice was easy and I told our taxi driver Carlos to take us all the way to the top.
Reaching Roque de los Muchachos the EASY way
(Click for larger image)
Criminals...
My first priority was to bag the high point. I was already informed about potential restricted access and sure enough - a sign with "no entry" stood between me and the highest point on the island.
I was thinking to myself; "I drove from Ålesund to Bergen, spent a really bad night at the airport hotel, got onboard the plane early morning only to find that the airport was closed due to a snow storm. When we finally took off one hour later, a young kid behind me got sick and vomited for 5 straight hours until we landed. I had the worst headache throughout the entire flight and when we landed at Tenerife we had to change airport and take another flight to La Palma - only to discover that we didn't get our rental car as promised. So here I am - not quite landed yet and kind of stressed out - and now this sign tells me that I can't walk 10 steps and touch the summit rock?".
I looked around and noticed that the Park Ranger wasn't in sight and a few seconds later the main goal for the trip was accomplished. Apologies to anyone who may be offended by this...
On top of La Palma
(Click for larger image)
Group picture on Roque de los Muchachos
(Click for larger image)
Roque Palmero (2306m)
Once up here, I wanted to do some hiking and the others already knew that I wanted to visit Roque Palmero - a 3,4km hike (one way) from the summit point. The others also decided to join in and we had a nice walk along a good trail with spectacular views...
On the way to Roque Palmero
(Click for larger image)
The lowest pass - Degollada de las Palomas - had 2207m on our maps while the Roque Palmero had 2306m. This resulted in a primary factor of "only" 99 meters - 1 meter too short for this top to be a "real peak". Although a signpost read 2310m on the summit, I decided to go for the map heights.
The return to Roque de los Muchachos felt "better" as we ascended from 2207m to 2426m. But even so, I still have a feeling that this was just a bit too easy for my taste. But no complaint, though. We've been there and that was the main goal.
Taking SELFIE to a new level
(Click for larger image)
Carlos...
...was sleeping in his taxi when we returned to Roque de Los Muchachos but was immediately ready to take us back. This must have been a good working day for him as he only gets paid when the taximeter runs. Here he got paid for waiting so he seemed to be quite happy when we returned to Los Cancajos. And he had some tip coming, too...
Our GPS tracks
(Click for larger image)
Trip Facts
The trip was 7,3km in length. Vertical gain approx. 450m and total hiking time was just under 3 hours.
Pictures
The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 60D + Canon EF-S 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 IS
