Hotels in Tazacorte

Tazacorte

Tazacorte is a small town and municipality on the west coast of La Palma, two kilometres south-west of Los Llanos de Aridane, at the mouth of the Barranco de las Angustias, the gorge that drains the Caldera de Taburiente. It was here, on 29 September 1492, that Alonso Fernández de Lugo landed to begin the conquest of La Palma, and the church of San Miguel Arcángel, considered the first on the island, recalls those beginnings. In the 16th century the estate of Tazacorte became the island's richest sugar plantation, and its port was for centuries the second most important on La Palma after the capital's. Today about 4,500 people live here, and banana plantations cover most of the municipality, a story told in its Banana Museum, unique in Europe. The old El Charco quarter keeps houses from the 16th and 17th centuries, and the Plaza de España is shaded by a pergola decorated with mosaics brought from Seville. Below the town lies Puerto de Tazacorte, with the island's largest marina, fish restaurants and a beach of black sand and pebbles protected by breakwaters. From the harbour boats set out for diving, fishing and sea trips along the cliffs of the west coast, and in the evening the sun sets straight over the Atlantic. A trail of about three kilometres climbs from the port to the viewpoint above, with views over the Aridane Valley, and Tazacorte claims to be the sunniest municipality in Spain. It suits travellers who want a quiet seaside town with history, banana groves and some of the island's finest sunsets.