Spain
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
708km²
Area
192km
Coastline
2,426m
Highest point
Roque de los Muchachos
86,194
People
24°C
Warmest sea
September
405km
To the mainland
When to go to La Palma
Best for the beach from July to October.
The sea is warmest in September (24 °C) and coolest in March (19 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to December.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
One of the main islands of the Canary archipelago, Spain
La Palma is an volcanic island in Spain. It belongs to Canary Islands. It covers 708 km², with 192 km of coastline. Its highest point, Roque de los Muchachos, rises to 2,426 m. About 86,194 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 405 km away.
Getting there
- La Palma Airport (SPC)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at SPC airport (Sta Cruz de la Palma, La Palma Island)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesSanta Cruz de La Palma - San Sebastián de la Gomera, La Palma (Santa Cruz de La Palma) - Tenerife (Los Cristianos), Santa Cruz de La Palma (La Palma) - Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife)
- 405 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on La Palma.
- 54beachesPorís de Puntagorda, Playa de la Hilerita, Playa Echentive and 51 more
- 254viewpointsMirador del Lomo de Tagasaste, Somada del Palo, Las Lajatas el Viento and 251 more
- 7lighthousesViejo Faro de Fuencaliente, Nuevo Faro de Fuencaliente, Faro Punta de la Lava and 4 more
- 5ferry terminalsEstación Marítima, Muelle de Santa Cruz de La Palma and 3 more
- 4marinasRCN Santa Cruz de la Palma, Puerto de Tazacorte, Puerto Espindola and 1 more
- 152named peaksRoque de los Muchachos, Fuente Nueva, Pico de La Cruz and 149 more
- 45volcanoesVolcán de la Deseada, Deseada, Montaña de los Charcos and 42 more
- 21waterfallsCascada de los Tilos, En Barranco del Agua, Salto de la Estrechura and 18 more
- 3castles and fortsCastillo de Santa Catalina, Castillo de la Virgen
- 47ruins and archaeological sitesPetroglifos, Roque Teneguía, La Zarzita and 44 more
- 7dive centresBuceo Sub, Dive Community, Tauchpartner La Palma sl. and 4 more
- 93waymarked walking routesBarranco de la Madera, Santa Cruz de La Palma-Puerto de Tazacorte, El Bastón and 90 more
- 12campsitesEmbalse de la Laguna, Centro de la Naturaleza La Rosa, Nice place for pitch the tent and 9 more
- 200hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 390restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
La Palma in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside La Palma, each with its own numbers.
14beaches and covesCoastya
1waterfallCascadyas
Beach with the warmest sea
24.1°C
Playa Puerto Espindola
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
14 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Playa del Hoyo24.1°C
- Playa de Bajamar24.1°C
- Puerto Naos beach24.1°C
- Piedra Nueva24.1°C
- Playa Delphin24.1°C
- Playa Verde24.1°C
- Playa del Camariño24.1°C
- Playa de Nogales24.0°C
6 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
1 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Cascada de los Tilos
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 842 m above the sea. 10 % of it is below 200 m.
- 3 %0–50 m
- 7 %50–200 m
- 21 %200–500 m
- 33 %500–1,000 m
- 33 %1,000–2,000 m
- 3 %> 2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Los Llanos de Aridane20,171 people
- Santa Cruz de la Palma15,674 people
- El Paso7,543 people
- Breña Alta7,092 people
- Garachico6,000 people
- Tazacorte5,670 people
- Mazo4,805 people
- Breña Baja4,245 people
- Tijarafe2,648 people
- Puntallana2,394 people
- Barlovento2,334 people
- Garafía1,929 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 20 |
| Night low (°C) | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 19 |
| Sea (°C) | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 21 |
| Rain (mm) | 24 | 32 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 30 | 47 | 43 |
| Wet days | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Sun h/day | 7.3 | 8.1 | 9.3 | 10.1 | 10.7 | 11.0 | 10.8 | 10.4 | 9.7 | 8.4 | 7.1 | 6.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 19 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 22 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 19 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.9 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +1.3 | +0.6 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.1 | +0.5 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.1 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +1.3 |
| 2023 | +1.5 | +0.9 | +1.7 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +1.8 | +1.7 | +1.6 | +1.6 | +1.7 | +1.7 | +1.7 |
| 2024 | +1.7 | +2.0 | +1.5 | +1.7 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.3 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.9 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q201689) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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