The Caldera, and why distance misleads
The Caldera de Taburiente is an enormous erosion basin in the centre of La Palma, and it is a National Park. The mistake that causes most rescues in places like this is not getting lost: it is planning the route by kilometres. Here what counts is vertical gain, and going down is the easy half.
Why it is so steep
La Palma is the youngest and steepest island in the archipelago after El Hierro: it reaches 2,426 metres over some 45 kilometres of length. That average gradient is why almost all its trails genuinely climb or descend, and the Caldera is the extreme case: you enter from the rim and drop to the floor.
The calculation to make
An 8-kilometre trail with 1,000 metres of vertical gain is not an 8-kilometre walk. As a rule, every 100 metres of climbing costs considerably more effort than a kilometre on the flat, and descending punishes your knees rather than resting them.
And the Caldera has a specific trap: you descend first. You start fresh going down and finish climbing tired, which is exactly the worst order. Anyone reasoning «I came down in two hours, so I will go up in two» is wrong.
What to bring
- Plenty of water. More than you think; the floor can be hot and there is nowhere to buy any.
- Mountain footwear, not street trainers: there is loose stone and stretches of ravine cobble.
- Clothing for two climates. The rim and the floor are not the same temperature.
- A head torch if there is any chance of finishing in low light. In a ravine it gets dark earlier than on the coast.
What decides the day
Water in the ravine and recent rain. The watercourses of a basin like this activate with rain, and a ford that is normally trivial may become impassable. It is the one variable you cannot see from the rim.
How to do it without exposing yourself
With a guide, if you lack mountain experience: not for comfort, but because someone who knows the place knows which stretch is in condition that day. And if you go alone, tell someone your route and when you expect to be out.
Frequently asked questions
›Why is planning by kilometres no use?
Because what tires you is the vertical gain. Every 100 metres of climbing costs considerably more effort than a kilometre on the flat, and in the Caldera you descend first and climb at the end, already tired: the worst possible order.
›What must I bring?
Plenty of water, because there is nowhere to buy any and the floor can be hot; mountain footwear, because of loose stone; clothing for two temperatures, because the rim and the floor differ; and a head torch if you might finish in low light.
›What could stop the route?
Recent rain. The ravine watercourses activate with water and a ford that is normally trivial can become impassable. It is the variable you cannot judge from the rim and the one to check on the day.