A torn curtain flaps in the wind from an abandoned bungalow, volcanic lava spilling from its gutted interior. Close by, all that remains of a street of houses is their red tiled roofs, peeping above a sea of black rock.
The aftermath of the most powerful volcanic eruption ever recorded in La Palma is now attracting tourists, more than two years after the Tajogaite volcano fell silent following 85 days of spectacular activity which left this least-known of the Canary Islands changed forever.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano formally received its name in Guanche — an extinct language spoken by the ethnic group who lived on the islands until 300 years ago — just as the process began of declaring the land around the still-smouldering and off-bounds volcanic cone a protected natural area.
Two lava deltas, formed by the liquid rock petrifying upon contact with the thundering Atlantic waves, have also been given protected status.
The cost of the eruption, which began in September 2021, still weighs heavily upon La Palma. Some 1,345 houses, 16 schools and more than 100 small businesses were destroyed, along with nearly 75 kilometres of roads and 370 hectares of banana plantations and vineyards.
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About 200 million cubic metres of lava flowed during the eruption, reshaping the landscape with breathtaking results. Collapsed homes sit alongside houses that escaped the lava flows. A cemetery is half buried under metres of lava that would otherwise have destroyed buildings close by.
Tourism comes a long way behind agriculture in La Palma’s economy, but last year the number of foreign visitors fell by a third, a slump partly caused by the disruption to communications and accommodation.
The Hacienda de Abajo hotel, an elegant 17th-century former sugar cane estate, lies just four miles from the eruption. Enrique Luis Larroque del Castillo-Olivares, a member of the family that owns the hotel, said that tourists were returning.
“La Palma is the least known of the Canary Islands but also the most diverse in its geography and nature — it truly has more to offer,” he said. “And because the volcano was worldwide news, La Palma finally has a greater recognition.”
He added: “The eruption was the greatest disaster in the island’s history. It will take many years and a great deal of effort to recover. But Palmeros are very hard working and entrepreneurial, with a strong bond to their island and deep reserves of solidarity. La Palma will recover.”
