Getting to the start
Almost everyone flies in to La Palma airport (SPC) at Villa de Mazo on the east coast, then crosses the island to the west, because the km 0 trailhead is the harbour at Puerto de Tazacorte. There is no useful direct bus over the ridge: TILP do run line 301 (Santa Cruz, airport, Los Llanos) but their own line sheet shows only a couple of journeys a day on it, so do not build an arrival around it. The reliable public route is three buses. Line 500 from the airport to Santa Cruz de La Palma, which is the frequent one, then line 300 from Santa Cruz through the Cumbre tunnel to Los Llanos de Aridane, then line 27 (or 110) down to Puerto de Tazacorte, about 15 minutes. Allow most of a morning for the chain. The alternative is a taxi across: Radio-Taxi Valle de Aridane in Los Llanos (922 403 540) cover the west side with 5 to 9 seat cars and do airport runs. By sea, Fred. Olsen Express sail Tenerife and Gran Canaria into Santa Cruz de La Palma, and Armas Trasmediterránea (trading as Baleària Canarias, +34 922 412 121) list La Palma to both Tenerife ports, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Cádiz. One thing to know about the first hour, because it changes where you get off the bus. The Cabildo's live status table lists GR 131 stage 1 as abierto, last updated 12 July 2026, while the Spanish ministry's Caminos Naturales page still carries a closure notice for a landslide between Puerto de Tazacorte and El Time. The trail manager's table is the one to trust and the one to check again before travelling. If the lower path is barred when you arrive, line 110 shadows exactly that stretch on the LP-1 and stops at Mirador de El Time and La Punta, so the fix is a bus rather than a taxi.
Leaving the finish
The finish is the Faro de Fuencaliente, the two lighthouses and salt pans at the southern tip, and it has its own bus, which is unusual for a trail end. TILP line 23 runs Los Canarios (Fuencaliente village) to the Hotel Princess and on to El Faro, roughly five journeys each way per day on the operator's line sheet, seven days a week including Sundays and holidays, about half an hour end to end. A local visitor guide describes it as stopping in front of the salinas every one or two hours depending on the day, which matches. The catch is that the last run back up to the village is an afternoon one rather than an evening one, so a slow final day can leave you walking: it is about 6 km back up to Los Canarios and our own profile drops 564 m into the lighthouse, so that is a real climb in reverse. From Los Canarios, lines 200 and 201 run to Santa Cruz de La Palma roughly every two hours seven days a week (200 by Mazo, 201 by El Hoyo), and line 210 crosses to Los Llanos de Aridane if the car or the bed is on the west side. For the airport, change in Santa Cruz onto line 500. There is no taxi rank at the lighthouse: Taxi La Palma is based in Fuencaliente (+34 639 357 989, +34 685 791 647) and the town hall publishes the mobile numbers of six local drivers, which is the practical answer when the first one is busy. There is a restaurant at the lighthouse, so waiting is no hardship.
The one-way journey
This trail is not usually walked with a car left at one end, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of taste. The two ends are on opposite sides of the island, and the two intermediate stage breaks that matter, Roque de los Muchachos at km 17 and the Refugio de El Pilar at km 43, are both reachable by road but have no scheduled bus at all: the national park states plainly that there is no regular transport service on the road to Roque de los Muchachos, and TILP's line list has nothing on the LP-301 that serves El Pilar. The Cabildo says the same thing on all three of its GR 131 stage pages, that a support vehicle is required or else a taxi must be ordered. So the common shape here is one base and a taxi out to each day's start. Natour Travel, who are based in Santa Cruz de La Palma, sell the walk exactly that way: every night in the same hotel in Santa Cruz with private taxi or public bus transfers to and from each stage, 4 nights for the three-stage version and 5 for the four-stage version. If you would rather move along the route, Canary-Hiking sell an 8 day self-guided version with the bags moved between accommodations and taxis to the trailheads, walked south to north from Los Canarios to Tazacorte. A hire car fits the first model and not the second: park it at the hotel and let the taxi do the trailheads. One caveat that applies to the whole arrangement in winter: the LP-4 up to Roque de los Muchachos is closed by the Cabildo for snow or ice often enough to count on it happening, and when it goes the vehicle access that the standard three-stage split depends on goes with it, so a winter trip wants a fallback for the high stages rather than a booking.
If you need to leave the trail early
The escape options are wildly uneven along this route, so it is worth knowing which day is the committing one. The first few kilometres above Puerto de Tazacorte are shadowed by the LP-1 and line 110, which stops at Mirador de El Time, La Punta and Tijarafe roughly hourly on weekdays, so the climb out of the harbour has road contact for its first hour or two. After that the trail is on high ground with nothing until the LP-4 near the top. The crest from Roque de los Muchachos to the Refugio de El Pilar, km 17 to km 43, is the committing part: no settlement, no service and no bus. La Palma Transfer advertise drop-offs and pick-ups at Pico de la Nieve on the LP-4 side of the ridge, which is the nearest vehicle access to that middle stretch, so it is worth having their number before you start. El Pilar itself is on a road with a car park, an information point open daily 9 to 17, drinking water and toilets, which makes it the natural place to stop or quit. Isla Bonita Tours, who run transfers up there, state on their own booking page that there is no mobile phone coverage at Refugio de El Pilar, which is exactly the sort of thing to know before planning to ring a taxi from the refuge. The last stretch above Los Canarios passes the San Antonio volcano visitor centre, which is a line 23 stop, so the final day has an exit that most of the route does not.
Useful access hubs
AirportLa Palma Airport
The way in for nearly everyone, on the east coast at Villa de Mazo about 8 km south of Santa Cruz de La Palma, and the wrong side of the island for both ends of this trail. Line 500 runs airport to Santa Cruz frequently through the day; from Santa Cruz, line 300 crosses to Los Llanos de Aridane for the start and lines 200 and 201 run south to Fuencaliente for the finish. Line 301 does run airport to Los Llanos directly but only a couple of times a day on TILP's line sheet, so treat it as luck rather than a plan. Taxi rank and car hire at the terminal, and Aena's own gated car park is the one place on the island to leave a car for a week (rates are not published on their page, book at parking.aena.es). No left luggage listed. Assistance for reduced mobility is booked through the airline and Aena's Barrier Free service.
Year-round. TILP's line sheet shows both a Monday to Friday and a Saturday, Sunday and holiday pattern for line 500, with fewer journeys at weekends. This is an island network serving residents, not a tourist-season service, which is why a winter walk here is not a transport problem.PortSanta Cruz de La Palma (port and bus interchange)
The hinge of the whole island network and of this trail. Lines 500 (airport), 300 and 301 (Los Llanos, for the start), 200 and 201 (Fuencaliente, for the finish) and 100 (the north) all work from here, so almost every journey a walker makes passes through it. TILP's office is at Avda. Los Indianos 14. The ferry quay is in the same town: Fred. Olsen Express sail to Tenerife (about 2 hours 30) and Gran Canaria, and Armas Trasmediterránea list Tenerife (both ports), La Gomera, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Cádiz. Most walkers who use a local operator are based in this town, because the transfers are built around it.
Year-round for the buses. Neither ferry operator publishes months of operation on their route pages, and neither publishes frequency, so check sailings on the operator's own site before building a day around a crossing.CoachLos Llanos de Aridane bus station
The west-side interchange, and the one to know. Line 27 runs down to Puerto de Tazacorte (the km 0 trailhead) in about 15 minutes and roughly hourly; line 110 does the same trip and carries on up the LP-1 past Mirador de El Time, La Punta and Tijarafe, which is the corridor beside the first 8 km of the route. Line 300 comes over from Santa Cruz, and line 210 crosses south to Fuencaliente, which is the direct link between the two ends of the trail without going back through the capital. TILP have a second office here on Calle Ramón Pol, and Radio-Taxi Valle de Aridane is based in the town (922 403 540).
Year-round, with weekday and weekend timetables published for all four lines. Line 210 thins sharply at weekends, which is the one to watch when planning the return leg.CoachPuerto de Tazacorte (Bda. del Puerto stop)
The trailhead itself, at the harbour. Lines 27 and 29 terminate here from Los Llanos and line 110 passes through on its way north, so on TILP's line sheet there is something roughly hourly through the day, seven days a week, with journeys into the evening. That makes the start the best-connected point on the whole route, which is worth knowing if you would rather sleep in Los Llanos than at the harbour.
Year-round. Both a Monday to Friday and a Saturday, Sunday and holiday timetable are published for lines 27 and 110. One weekday journey on line 27 is marked as running in school term only.CoachMirador de El Time / La Punta (LP-1 roadside stops)
Two line 110 stops on the LP-1 above the Barranco de las Angustias, roughly 25 minutes out of Los Llanos, sitting beside the route where it climbs away from Puerto de Tazacorte. They matter for one reason: this is the stretch that the Caminos Naturales notice says is closed for a landslide. If the lower path is out when you arrive, line 110 puts you back on the route at El Time or La Punta without a taxi. Line 110 also serves Tijarafe a little further on, which is the village nearest the km 8 accommodation.
Year-round, roughly hourly on weekdays and about every two hours on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays on TILP's line sheet.CoachFaro de Fuencaliente (El Faro terminus)
The end of the walk, and the terminus of line 23 from Los Canarios by way of the San Antonio volcano visitor centre and the Hotel Princess. About five journeys each way per day, seven days a week, roughly two-hourly, with the last one back up to the village in the afternoon rather than the evening. A local guide reports the stop being right in front of the salinas. Interpretation centre, gift shop and a restaurant at the lighthouse, and a car park beside it. From Los Canarios you pick up lines 200, 201 and 210 for the capital or the west side. No taxi rank: ring Taxi La Palma in Fuencaliente (+34 639 357 989).
Year-round, and line 23 keeps a Saturday, Sunday and holiday timetable as well as a weekday one, which is better than most trail ends manage. The afternoon last departure is the constraint, not the season. Sources and research notes · 36 sources
- tilp.esThe operator's current list of every line and its endpoints, which is the evidence that lines 23, 27, 29, 110, 200, 201, 210, 300, 301 and 500 exist today and that nothing is listed on the LP-301 to El Pilar. Also the two office addresses.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- tilp.esTILP contact details used throughout: telephone 922 411 924 and 922 460 241, [email protected], Avda. Los Indianos 14 in Santa Cruz and Calle Ramón Pol in Los Llanos.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- tilp.espasses: the residents-only unlimited card at 25 euros, the reloadable wallet card at 1 euro, and single fares banded by distance from 1.50 to 2.60 euros.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- tilp.esThe operator's own all-lines sheet: stop lists and day-of-week patterns for lines 23, 27, 29, 110, 200, 201, 210, 300, 301 and 500, used for the season and frequency note fields and for establishing that line 110 stops at Mirador de El Time, La Punta and Tijarafe and that line 23 terminates at El Faro. Every line carries both a LUNES A VIERNES and a SABADOS, DOMINGOS Y FESTIVOS timetable. An older upload, so the day patterns are the durable layer and live times must be checked with the operator.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- tilp.esaccessibility: TILP's list of PMR-adapted lines, which includes 12, 24, 27, 33, 35, 100, 110, 200, 210, 300 and 500, and their note that the company reserves the right to change the times.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- tilp.esThat line 23 is current on the operator's own site, and the contact numbers on it. The timetable itself is published only as an image, which is why no times are recorded here.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- tilp.esThat line 27 to Puerto de Tazacorte is current on the operator's own site. Timetable again image-only.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- tilp.esLine 300 as a current cross-island service, used as the contact link for that record.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- tilp.esLine 201 as a current Fuencaliente service, used as the contact link for the 200 and 201 record.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- senderosdelapalma.esThe Cabildo's stage 1 page: status shown as open, Puerto de Tazacorte to Roque de los Muchachos, 16.9 km, and the statement that a support vehicle or a booked taxi is needed. Contradicts the Caminos Naturales closure notice, which is recorded rather than resolved.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- senderosdelapalma.esStage 2 status open, Roque de los Muchachos to Refugio de El Pilar, 26.1 km, support vehicle or taxi needed, springs may be dry. The page says nothing about the Refugio Punta de los Roques or any escape route off the ridge.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- senderosdelapalma.esStage 3 status open, Refugio de El Pilar to Fuencaliente, 23.7 km, support vehicle or taxi needed. This is the section crossing Cumbre Vieja and is the primary evidence that the 2021 eruption has not left the crest route closed.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- senderosdelapalma.esThe Cabildo's live footpath status page, which is where a walker checks closures, plus the environment service contact used for the El Pilar parking question: [email protected] and +34 922 423 100.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- senderosdelapalma.esRefugio de El Pilar: reached by the LP-301 from San Isidro (Breña Alta) or from El Paso, has a parking area, open daily 9 to 17, free, with drinking water, showers, toilets, cooking facilities and huts.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- caminosnaturales.esThe Spanish national Caminos Naturales notice that the trail is temporarily closed for a landslide at the beginning of stage 1 between Puerto de Tazacorte and El Time, with no reopening date. Recorded because it is what an English-language search finds first, and it is contradicted by the trail manager's own live status table. Also the three-stage structure of the route, and Fred. Olsen, Naviera Armas and Trasmediterránea named as the ferry operators serving the island.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- miteco.gob.esThe national park's access page: that there is no regular transport service on the road to Roque de los Muchachos, that the El Paso visitor centre is reachable on the Santa Cruz to Los Llanos bus route, that vehicle access to La Cumbrecita is regulated, and the LP-4 and LP-403 approach.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- lapalmabiosfera.esRoque de los Muchachos parking: access via LP-4 then LP-403, car access restricted by the opening hours of the approach and by the number of vehicles, a small paved bay plus a dirt area holding two coaches, and a recommendation to book online in advance.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- lapalmabiosfera.esEl Pilar access by the LP-301 or the LP-3, the facilities on site, and that prior authorisation is needed for the camping area and some of the cooking huts. Routed to the accommodation layer as a handoff.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- rtvc.esThat the LP-301 access road to the Refugio de El Pilar had been closed since the 2021 eruption and reopened to traffic, reported 11 May 2022. Used for the El Pilar parking note.Checked 30 Jul 2026
- elapuron.comThat bus line 210 between Fuencaliente and Los Llanos was restored by the Cabildo after the eruption, routed by La Laguna and the LP-2, about 26 km, with eight journeys on weekdays and six at weekends as announced on 1 September 2022. Recorded alongside TILP's own lower figures rather than averaged.Checked 30 Jul 2026