1

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/canary-islands/gran-canaria/las-palmas-de-gran-canaria/things-to-do?ticket=ST-261549-zfcybod6rE4FAPgB0LjW-secure.prod.lpo

2

There are many good hiking trails in La Palma Island. Have a look at
http://www.islabonita.es/in/in_actividades/in_actividades_results.php?Tipo=Todos
http://www.senderosdelapalma.com/
http://www.microlapalma.com/senderos/
http://casita.lapalma-rural.com/senderismo-en-la-palma.html

3

@regards (#1): The OP is going to La Palma, not to Las Palmas. Therefore, you should have linked this LP web instead the web you linked.

You could also take a look at this web, this other web and the web of the National Park of the Caldera de Taburiente to get more ideas.

4

I fyoou like trekking and rugged landscapes the La Palma island is you place,you can spent several days hiking, for examole starting in Fuencaliente and hike N followinf the dorsal or volcano summit line that ends at the S Cruz_Aridame road. That can take 2 days.
I also reccommend going t the NP Taburiente, and visitinf the San Andres y Los Tilos Biosphere Reserve in the NW.
You could also try some of the wild beaches near Fuencaliente, to have a quick swim, enjot the landscape and have some fresh fish grilledwith small potatoes and "mojo" sauce.
Apart from that, if you are interested in popular culture and handcraft you can visit the Silk Museum, the old tobacco factories, the Mlamsey wine cellars and the old towns of Santa Cruz and Aridane (Los Lanos)a re very interesting if you like colonial architecture and baroque religious art.
There are also some archeological rests at the Belmaco cave,, near Mazo
12 days may seem enough to see everything with enough time.I would make some arrangement with the place you are staying so you can spend some nights out without charge, i.e. when you do the Volcanoes route or entering the NP or the NW. That way you will have more time and will nott need to return to Fuencaliente in the evening.

5

I am considering going to La Palma (and possibly La Gomera too) for a few weeks this winter.

Is it possible to do multi-day hikes on these islands? (Txemi, you mention a two-day hike in your reply.)

Been checking the links provided by neckervd too, thanks for those.

What are the options then for accommodation? Apparently there are two GR routes, but there is hardly any accommodation around.

Is it worth bringing a tent? I read somewhere that wild camping is forbidden. Are there many campsites around?

Edited by: nilo

6

To camp in la Palma you have to get a permit from the Cabildo de la Palma.

Apparently there are two GR routes, but there is hardly any accommodation around.

You'll find accomodations in many places. For example, I'm seeing accomodations at the end of each stage of the GR 130 as quoted in the link provided by neckervd. You would need to make some research previously though as in some places there are few accomodations and it could be a good idea to book in advance.

7

Yes there is one 2-day route called route of the Volcanoes, it starts near the road S Cruz-Los Llanos and goes N-S following the ridge summit line all the way to the Teneguia volcano. I am not sure but I think there is a refuge somewhere on the route. Nevertheless you can also do it in one day if you start early.The problem is the return, but taxis are cheap there.
There is another one inside the Taburiente crater. It starts in Los Brezos and goes along the northern wall of the caldera till the bottom of the valley. After a night in the camping you can then hike downriver to the mouth of the caldera along the Barranco de las Angustias. The best thing is to leave the car in Tazacorte and tkae a 4x4 taxi to Los Brezos. In that one you really need 2 days, I have never met anybody capable of doing it in only one.

8

Thanks guys.
Will get a map and start figuring out stuff.

Apparently there are some refugios too - http://www.senderosdelapalma.com/refugios/refugios.php
Could be nice to plan a route around some of those.

Is hitchhiking easy/common around the islands?

9

Hitchhiking is more or less OK in the smaller areas, but I will really consider taking a taxi, they are REALLY cheap

10

The problem of hitchhiking is that if you want to take daytrips you can loose a lot of time waiting for a car to stop and you may end up without time to do the excursions, which will be a pity