# La Palma in New Year 2010



## Zagremel (Apr 14, 2009)

Hello!

I'm from Moscow  I already was in Alps, Crymea, Kaukases and now plane to go to spanish iceland - La Palma. 

What do you think about it? We (5 persons) just plane this trip but have only a very small piece of information about riding here.

Have you ever were here?

Where we should stay? Where the best trails? What's temerature in mountains?

We found several gps tracks for walking on foot. They look great but i don't know how they are good for biking.

We will stay on Tenerife 1 jan till 4 than going to La Palma Come back 16 jan! We can ride together! 

:thumbsup:


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## cxfahrer (Jun 20, 2008)

If you need perfect bikes and freeride guiding, the http://www.bike-station.de/ is located at the beach in Puerto Naos. A friend of mine is working there in December as a guide for www.atlantic-cycling.de/, look at her fotos-

Bike and Fun are more CC but also have good bikes, They are in Los LLanos de Aridane, the main town in the west of the island, about 20min away from the beach.
www.bikeenfun.de/

A good map to start with is Freytag&Berndt. For gps planning Kompass has a digital map, but Kompass lacks a lot of the trails. On gps-tour.info you can find a lot of tracks too.

Best ist though to rent an apartment near Los Llanos de Aridane or lower at the sea (or check in to that big hotel in Puerto Naos) and hook up with one of the bike stations. 
The western half of the island is best to start with, the eastern part has more rain and cloudy weather and in the northern part you are far away of the good trails and the bigger towns.
Climate is always around 20°C also on the Cumbre mountain but on the Roque (2480m afaik) it can then be freezing. Most time its dry, but if it starts raining it wont stop for three day  pouring cats and dogs.

It is absolutely great there for cc-freeride, it is steep, rocky and challenging. The scenery is awesome.
But you either need a gps or a guide.

At least, you can start from Los Llanos the small road up to El Paso and then to the lava field, from there the fireroad around the cumbre and back to El Pilar, which will give you a first impression. About 45km 1500hm. 
You can find a lot of small steep trails leading up and down from this fireroad , but the top of the Cumbre is NP and riding there is not allowed! 
From El Pilar there is fireroad leading to the El Reventon, from there is a steep cobblestone footpath leading down to El Virgen del Pino. There are many of these footpaths, the most famous is the one leading down from El Time to Tazacorte.

I hope to be there again in January.


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## Uzzi (Oct 28, 2003)

cxfahrer basically says it all. just would like to ad that if you can take your own bike I would as I found the rental bikes not that impressive. when my wife and I where there some three years ago we rented Scott bikes. Mine was okay-ish but my wives bike was a piece of lead...oh and make sure you get some proper tires and not some flimsy XC ones as the terrain can be quite hard on those.


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## Zagremel (Apr 14, 2009)

Great thanx for important information! I will check it! 

cxfahrer, do you have contacts of that girl-guide? 

We travel with our own bikes. We have 140-160m suspension bikes and ready to ride up and down. Maybe we can take a buss to clumb a little  

About tires...

I think much, cause conditions on La Palma can be different than in Alps for example. I want to take specialized enduro 2.3 front, and nobby nick 2.2 snake skin for rear wheel. What tires you can advice?


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## cxfahrer (Jun 20, 2008)

Zagremel said:


> ...
> 
> cxfahrer, do you have contacts of that girl-guide?
> 
> ...


You can find Yvi when you ride the freeride-tours with www.atlantic-cycling.de in December. In January she is back here  .

Atlantic cycling has the newest and best Liteville 901 or 301. Not quite cheap to rent, but a great opportunity to ride a 5000 € + bike on real trails. 
All bike stations will guide you with your own bike, if there is no one else renting their bikes... 
Remember, you will NOT find the real good trails without a guide when you are there for the first time and you will surely want a shuttle when you are looking up from LosLlanos that ultrasteep road to El Paso and Pilar...and LosLlanos is at 600meters above sea level!

Dont use those skinny Nobbynics or Specialized. I ruined a pair of Fatal Berts- The rocks cut through such tires like nothing. 
Take some BIG tires with real sidewall protection. At least the new Fat Alberts. Better Minion or some other real DH tire. 
You will definitely need knee and elbow guards BTW!

PS that footpath down to Tazacorte (pic: Yvi)


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## Uzzi (Oct 28, 2003)

Great pic and I think I know that trail. Liteville's are pretty good...would love to ride a 901 for a day...

Maybe I should go there again anytime soon


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## Zagremel (Apr 14, 2009)

We returned to Moscow! It's was fantastic!

Living in Los Llianos ... and every day clumbing to EL PASSO )) I hate this way!  ha ha










crazy uphills!










MK 2.2 and spec enduro 2.3 was good for this trip we have lot's of clumbings.. But some times use shatle to Roque de los Muchachous, and one time took freeride tour with bikefun.de (Tobi and Daniel)..
Good! Good grip but after 15 days riding rear tire looks like road bike tire 

Here some shots from Palma. Before it we have 4 days on Tenerife.

Our first day trip to classical trail from El Pilar... was in a cloud!




























Bike'n'fun shop:





































On roque de Los Muchachous














































We made Los Muchachous two times on different trails - like it!










And the most lovely place to ride :



















We end by the same track as we start.. but in clear weather!










all phots here

Great trip it was.  In all ways! Now i making a movie. Too lot of HD footage.

trailer: https://www.pinkbike.com/v/120204

Can you advice where to go next time? Portugal? Spain? Maybe Slowenia???


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## cxfahrer (Jun 20, 2008)

Great pictures! 
I returned yesterday from La Palma, we did the following:
- LP14 from Pilar
- Volcano route from Pilar Pista Cosmo up and then down to Los Canarios
- that little canyon in Las Manchas down to Puerto Naos (barranco de los hombres)
- Pico de la Nieve to Reventon (too many uphills, but a great scenery)
- Roque down to Puerto Tazacorte ("the edge")
- Poris de Candelaria
- Lomada Grande from Las Tricias caves
- LP 17 from Pilar
- LP 3 from Pico de la Nieve parking lot, one of the most fantastic trails
- SLEP105 through the lava bed of St Martin, then down the LP14.1

Of 8 riders 3 went to hospital (broken fingers etc., nothing worse) and some rear deralleurs and hangers and a FSA crank died on the trail. 
Conti Kaiser and Rain King became semi-slick tires after a week! I was very happy with my Nevegal Stick-E DH and 180mm F/R suspension....



















8 bikes and riders + driver of the car!


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## Zagremel (Apr 14, 2009)

Yaah, we made most of this. I don't remember some names  But i can't recognize your first photo.. where is it?

See new little trailer from Palma in HD quality ... It's my first experience.





 !


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## cxfahrer (Jun 20, 2008)

Zagremel said:


> Yaah, we made most of this. I don't remember some names  But i can't recognize your first photo.. where is it?


Poris de Candelaria

Some more photos see here and in my album!


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## Zagremel (Apr 14, 2009)

Nice! I saw photos of Caldera de taburente - we walk here on foot too. 

Do you record any GPS tracks?


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## cxfahrer (Jun 20, 2008)

Zagremel said:


> Nice! I saw photos of Caldera de taburente - we walk here on foot too.
> 
> Do you record any GPS tracks?


No GPS. 
All trails I mentioned can easily be found on GE, Freytag&berndt map and on the La Palma offficial walking website.

Sometimes on the trail it might be a little confusing, but the trails are marked at least with little piles of stones - if not, it is not a trail (e.g. from the las tricias caves to the lomada grande)..
Keep also in mind, that every possible path will take the easiest way for the pathbuilder through a barranco (canyon) - so if the path is near the coastline, it will go down very steep and up again, but if the trail is situated farther off it will probably lead you away from the coast to the end of a barranco and then turn back. 
Knowing this, you can find your way without GPS.

BTW renting the minibus and hiring a local driver was quite a challenge. It only worked with the help of Sigi, who runs the El Porvenir Hostel in Los Llanos.

Some more photos, Lomada Grande and Santo Domingo https://www.mtb-news.de/forum/showpost.php?p=6796706&postcount=34:

and Poris de Candelaria: (I am the one wearing the green jersey)









this is the beach on the other side of Poris de Candelaria:


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## Zagremel (Apr 14, 2009)

Nice shots! Good trail! Thanx for homepage.. It's good! a lot of information!

This trail you reach the beach... Then you should go up? to car? Clumbing?


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## cxfahrer (Jun 20, 2008)

Zagremel said:


> Nice shots! Good trail! Thanx for homepage.. It's good! a lot of information!
> 
> This trail you reach the beach... Then you should go up? to car? Clumbing?


There is a parking lot at the bottom of this trail (first picture), then you walk up to the next parking lot five minutes, then you can go down again to the Playa del Jurado (next picture) and then you carry your bike up on the other side (the trail in the picture), there goes a little road 5 kilometers or so to the beginning of the zigzag-trail to Puerto Tazacorte.

In googleearth: 28° 42' 3.65" N 17° 58' 14.26" W

The Lomada Grande trail has also a parking lot at the beach, but this is a bad gravel road;



Better is to go up with the bike, then cycle on the road to the beginning of the trail to Punto Sto. Domingo:



and get your lift there, because there is a new road and a parking lot which a taxidriver will likely use.

From Las Tricias cavas de burracas you go left at this point:
28°47'42.62"N 17°58'29.12"W
and then an the pile of stones here:
28°47'46.68"N 17°58'19.86"W
at the little hut you go down here
28°48'9.95"N 17°58'27.44"W
until you reach this parking lot:
28°48'37.10"N 17°58'35.08"W
the trail to Punto Sto. Domingo starts here:
28°48'55.31"N 17°57'40.74"W
and ends here
28°49'34.56"N 17°57'59.26"W

Edit: found a picture of the Barranco de los Hombres, me not riding  :


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## PaulGPC (Oct 30, 2005)

Very nice thread guys.:thumbsup: La Palma is great but if you have 3 weeks, my suggestion would be to include La Gomera next time as well. Touring Tenerife-Gomera-Palma (the 3 Island hop) is my favourite because they are so different and I like the ferrycrossings, but I know not everybody wants to ride with a (small) backpack... 

Dmitry, I'm thinking about a 3 week mountainbiketour in the Kaukasus for several years now. If you have any info about routes, places to sleep (huts/lodges/...), transportation, 'do's and don'ts', websites : a PM would be much appreciated!

Paul


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## Zagremel (Apr 14, 2009)

Sorry for late answer, Paul! I' was in Andorra with ski this 2 weeks.

Unfourtuntaly there so small number of single tracks in kaukases. There are wild mountains. You have long difficult trails without any civilizations. You can see radio4.ru - some track for riding. But you should know that most of them more than 1 day. You should take tent and sleep bag and... freeride bike to do this trails. It's crazy. But you can't find any europiean style trails here. It's hard to travel with bike here. Very hard to find information about if it rideble on bike or not 
It's better to go in Franch Aples for example 

Last summer i do only 1 day trip in Russia from Lago-Naki to Dagomis, it's 91km long trails from plato Lago-Naki to the coast of black sea - it's good. for 10-12h riding  But all another my hollidays i spend in France and in Crimea. Russians like to go to crimea with bikes more than in Kaukases

Video - 



Story - http://forum.velomania.ru/showthread.php?t=56093&page=8

If you can't find any tracks or can't understand information (it's all on russian) - we can talk by e-mail.

Next NY i will back to Palma.. maybe to 3weeks to! And maybe on Gomera and Tenerife - I want to find wright trail from Teide to Los Cristioanos. This time we took wrong way and mostly our downhill was by aphalt road


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## PaulGPC (Oct 30, 2005)

Thanks for the info. Travelling with tent and sleeping bag or biking from one hut/lodge/... to another one is just what I want ! :thumbsup:


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## Zagremel (Apr 14, 2009)

Let's repeat La Palmas adventure!

This NY 2010, We again on iceland! Looking for another place to live and to ride. Last year it was in Los Llanos.


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## ^Marciano (Oct 1, 2009)

LOL

I from La Palma  and live in Breña Baja 

You enjoy any days... and me ENJOY EVERY DAY


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## Zagremel (Apr 14, 2009)

Haha You are lucky! And tell little more about it. Where you like to ride? Where you live? 
Very intresting! La Palma is a bike paradise! and not only bike! it's paradise in all!

We did it again!

https://zagremel.livejournal.com/60660.html - some photos and words in russian


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## ARS82 (Jan 27, 2011)

Awesome pics. 

Congrats for your adventure¡


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## ^Marciano (Oct 1, 2009)

Zagre I from breña baja and I love ride for all island 

you´re return?

I know all trails in my island


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## ^Marciano (Oct 1, 2009)

http://www.foromtb.com/showthread.p...as-Cabras...-Aventuras-En-La-Isla-de-La-Palma.

If yoy send me the e-mail... I send the track GPS to google earthe


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## Zagremel (Apr 14, 2009)

Yes i hope, i can return! Next year NY 

*watch the video! *


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