Roque Los Muchachos Observatory

This is one of the places that needs very little introduction, as it's very well known.

Interestingly enough, I never decided to make this trip up to this spot during my previous trips to the island.

However, I decided to finally do it my last trip, and it was about time. It's a tough trip up the curvy road by car (it took more than an hour to go up, and another to come down). At the top, it can get pretty cold (don't forget a jacket. We're talking about below-0 C (32 F) temperatures at the peak).

We got there just at the brightest part of day, as we had planned, just before dawn. The views from atop, and the complex itself, are quite a spectacle. Whether you're interested in astrophysics or not, the views are so amazing that anyone would visit just to see the sunset.

The Roque de los Muchachos was opened thirty years ago, and forms a part of the Northern Europe Observatory. Inside, there's a large number of telescopes, including the GRANTECAN, one of the largest in the world.

Unfortunately, the visitor's center isn't open during the day to show exactly what it is they do up there (truly a shame), but it's open for visitors several days during the summer.

To find out the exact dates they admit visitors, you must pay careful attention to the Astrophysics Institute of the Canary Islands' website (iac.es). There' only three or four days a year, and usually fall on Sundays. I've gone up five times in my life and it's ALWAYS worth it.

The Astronomic Center of the island of La Palma is located on the edge of the Caldera de Taburiente National Park, with almost 2,400 m in altitude. Besides the scientific work done there, the Institute of Astrophysics of Canary Islands organizes activities for all types of people. There is the opportunity to visit the observatory at certain times of the year, but you must book ahead. The website is iac.es, it is worth it.

There is an easy access from the LP4 road north of Santa Cruz de la Palma; the journey is an hour more or less. The highest point of the island of La Palma is Roque de los Muchachos. It is more than 2400 meters above sea level and from there you can see other nearby islands, such as Tenerife, Hierro and La Gomera.

I will show you a place of unique beauty, a place where there is no pollution and where you will enjoy the silence and majesty of nature. I am talking about the sea of clouds that you can see when you go up the Roque de los Muchachos en La Palma. Due to its geographical location, the predominant winds in the Canary Islands are the trade winds. They come from the northeast and reach the Canary Islands after a long journey through the sea and loaded with humidity.

What is spectacular about these landscapes are that clouds don’t cover the mountainous peaks of La Palma (the highest ones).