You are at the La Tosca viewpoint.

At La Tosca, Situated at 700 metres above sea level, you can see the most imposing cliffs on the north coast of the island, from Punta de Topaciegas and Porís de Gallegos, the old port in the north of the island, to the Almacigo and Hiedra ravines.

The greatest concentration of dragon trees in the Canary Islands can be found here, in the small hamlets of La Tosca, atop a narrow hill. The dragon tree, or Dracanea Draco, is a slow-growing tree native to Macaronesia that can reach a height of 25 metres. The locals used to extract the fibres of the leaves to make dyes and ropes, especially for the shipbuilding industry, which was important in La Palma until the middle of the 20th century; its green crown was used as cattle feed and for craft tools and its sap, the so-called “sangre de dragón” (dragon’s blood), was coveted for its therapeutic properties.

Caressing the viewpoint and near the settlements of Topaciegas, La Palmita and Gallegos is the laurel forest, a type of subtropical “evergreen” forest, dominated by the fayal-brezal, which has grown here since the Tertiary period. The shiny and coriaceous leaves of its vegetation favour the condensation of humidity through the process of horizontal rainfall.

Feel the natural beauty from this classroom open to Nature.

This project has been designed in an inclusive and accessible way, adapting the facilities and information for people with reduced mobility, or less hearing or vision capacity so that everyone can make use of this space on equal terms.

Barlovento

The municipality of Barlovento, Tagaragre for the Benoharitas, the first inhabitants of La Palma, was the first nucleus inhabited by the Castilian settlers who settled on La Palma. It is said that the town arose around a crossroads; At this meeting point the peasants who took their products to the most populated settlements rested, talked and reached commercial agreements practicing the barter (exchange) of merchandise.

Through the Port of Talavera, Barlovento joined the triangular trade characteristic of the islands after colonization. The end of the sugar cycle, at the end of the 16th and 17th centuries, marks the beginning of the substitution of sugar cane fields for vineyards, making wine the main product of the export economy.

You can obtain more information about the municipality at the following link: https://barlovento.es/conoce-barlovento