Having thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the islands of Tenerife and La Gomera in winter 2023, we decided to repeat the experience on the island of La Palma, still in the Canary Islands archipelago, in winter 2024. We were not disappointed. The island is even more beautiful and varied than the island of La Gomera, and you need a whole week to get around it and appreciate the different landscapes, from the salt flats by the ocean to the pine forests and the volcanoes at altitude.

The State Party, Spain, withdrew the nomination of the island's capital, Santa Cruz de La Palma, from the tentative list in 2025. Why? It would appear that there is no official explanation. Could this be to highlight a new proposal concerning the rock engravings on the island proposed in the same year, or because the entire island has already been listed as a biosphere reserve since 1983? We'll probably never know, but it didn't detract from our enjoyment of visiting the city. A day is enough to see the city, dance with the Palmeros, and climb up to the sanctuary. In winter, it's not very crowded.

And what would have been the site selection criteria?

We joyfully and tangibly experienced criterion ii concerning the exchange of influences between European and American cultures when we happened to find ourselves at a Cuban music concert where Palmeras were dancing in front of a replica of Christopher Columbus's caravel, the Santa Maria! That said, it is accepted that Christopher Columbus never landed there! (The photo).

Criterion iv could have been highlighted: the city, modest though it may be, but beautiful, mixes colonial styles with Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, Modern, and even a touch of Islamic influence (The photo, the ceiling of the El Salvador church) so much so that it seems to me to be a perfectly homogeneous and authentic example of a colonial city, the last Western stop before the transatlantic crossing, like La Laguna (Registered WHS) on the island of Tenerife, but cuter.

And regarding criterion vi, it's clear that humankind, as builders, embraced the constraints of the landscape. The wooden balconies of the houses facing the beach and the ocean perfectly illustrate this. A walk from Santa Cruz, climbing steadily along the Barranco de la Nieves (a steep river) to the Real Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Nieves sanctuary, is highly recommended!

So in conclusion, I don't understand this removal from the indicative list... what a shame.

But finally, I would like to emphasize the contrasting landscapes of the island, which fully deserve its designation as a biosphere reserve. The marked hiking trail that circles the Caldera de Taburiente and the drive to its summit are truly worthwhile. And because the air there is very pure, the Roque de los Muchachos astrophysics observatory is recognized, in association with UNESCO, as a Starlight Reserve for stargazing. Unfortunately, along the marked hiking trail in the caldera, we did not see the rock engravings, but there is a very well-equipped visitor center on the edge of the Caldera de Taburiente National Park with some general explanatory panels.