April, May and October. April and May are the driest months at every height on the route, give twelve to thirteen and a half hours of light, hold the crest at 12 to 15 C by day, and fall after the snow risk and before the fire-alert season, which is a genuinely narrow window. They also carry the flowering of Viola palmensis on the ground above 1,900 m. October repeats the crest temperatures with the summer restrictions lifted and the winter rain not yet established.
This is a mountain traverse on a subtropical island, and the two halves of that sentence pull against each other. The route starts and finishes at sea level, where a January day averages 20.6 C, but roughly 50 of its 66 km run along a crest between 1,400 and 2,400 m, where a January day is nearer 8 C and most nights are below freezing. Nothing is open between the hamlets above Tazacorte at about km 5 and Los Canarios at km 60, and the only drinking water on the way is the tap at the El Pilar recreational area at km 43. Walk it in April, May or October, treat winter as a mountain trip rather than a warm one, and keep July and August for something else. The island trail network's own recommendations split the route the same way this table does, which is worth knowing because it cuts against the northern-hemisphere default at both ends of the year: it gives the southern stage, El Pilar to Fuencaliente, as all year round except the hottest summer days, warns there of heat, lack of water and wind, and advises starting at first light to be off the open ground before the worst of the day, while its notes for the crest warn of snow on the climb to 2,426 m, of mist causing navigation problems, and record the signs on the ridge warning against the next crest section in winter and in ice. High-ground figures here come from Izaña on Tenerife at 2,369 m, because AEMET publishes no 30-year normals for La Palma's own summit station, and the 1,400 to 2,000 m stretch where most of the walking happens is several degrees milder than that column suggests.
Month-by-month guide
January
Mixed
Good walking temperatures on the high ground, around 7 to 8 C by day, set against the thinnest light of the year. Sunrise is not until about 08:00 local and you have roughly ten and a half hours, which is tight for the 26 km crest stage at 2,000 m.
20.6 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 7.5 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 15.5 (33 m) / 1.1 (2369 m)°C low · 10.6Watch for: Calima, the Saharan dust haze, is as much a winter feature as a summer one. It takes the long view away, which is most of the reason for being on the crest, and the air gets gritty at altitude.
February
Mixed
The wettest month on the high ground, 67 mm at 2,369 m, and the one most likely to put snow on the crest. Light is back to eleven hours, which helps.
20.7 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 8.0 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 15.3 (33 m) / 1.3 (2369 m)°C low · 11.2
March
Good
Twelve hours of light and the crest up to about 10 C by day, so the long high stage stops being a race against dusk. Still one of the wetter months up top, and the tail of the snow season.
21.2 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 10.2 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 15.7 (33 m) / 2.7 (2369 m)°C low · 12.0
April
Excellent
Rain drops to 18 mm at both ends of the height range, light is nearly thirteen hours, and the crest sits around 12 C by day, which is close to ideal for a long day above 2,000 m with a full pack of water.
21.6 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 11.8 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 16.2 (33 m) / 3.5 (2369 m)°C low · 12.9
May
Excellent
The driest month at both altitudes, 7 mm and barely a wet day, with thirteen and a half hours of light and the crest at 14.5 C. After the snow and before the fire-alert season, which is a narrow window on this trail.
22.6 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 14.5 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 17.4 (33 m) / 5.8 (2369 m)°C low · 13.6
June
Good
The longest light of the year at fourteen hours and effectively no rain. The low ends are what spoil it rather than the top: Tazacorte and the lighthouse sit at 24 C and the climb out of the sea has no shade.
24.1 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 18.9 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 19.2 (33 m) / 9.9 (2369 m)°C low · 14.0Watch for: Water. There is no shop or cafe for about 55 km and the only drinking water on the way is at the El Pilar recreational area.
July
Poor
The month a fire alert is most likely, and the alert rather than the thermometer is what stops the walk. The figures look manageable until you add black ash, no shade and no water over 55 km.
25.5 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 23.0 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 20.7 (33 m) / 14.0 (2369 m)°C low · 13.8Watch for: Heat and water together, plus the summer calima peak, which arrives with high temperatures rather than instead of them.
August
Poor
The second month in the fire-alert window, and the hottest at sea level. Nothing changes underfoot from July; what changes is that the south of the island is busy.
26.3 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 22.6 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 21.4 (33 m) / 13.8 (2369 m)°C low · 13.2
September
Mixed
The warmest month of the year at sea level, 26.6 C, while the crest has already dropped back to 18.6 C and the first rain since spring has arrived. The catch is that fire restrictions can run well into September, so the crest is not dependably available until they lift.
26.6 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 18.6 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 21.3 (33 m) / 10.4 (2369 m)°C low · 12.4
October
Excellent
Fire restrictions are behind you, the crest is back to 14 C by day, and the autumn rain has only just started at 41 mm. Eleven and a half hours of light is enough for the long stage if you start at first light.
25.5 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 14.3 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 20.2 (33 m) / 6.9 (2369 m)°C low · 11.5
November
Good
One of the two wettest months, 70 mm at the coast, with light down under eleven hours. Cloud rather than rain is the practical problem: the Cabildo's stage description warns that mist on the crest can make the line hard to follow.
23.5 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 11.1 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 18.3 (33 m) / 4.5 (2369 m)°C low · 10.8
December
Mixed
The wettest and shortest month, about ten hours twenty with sunrise near 08:00. At 8.8 C by day the crest is comfortable to walk in; the constraints are daylight and weather, not cold.
21.8 (La Palma Aeropuerto 33 m) / 8.8 (Izaña 2369 m, proxy)°C high · 16.7 (33 m) / 2.4 (2369 m)°C low · 10.4
Sources and research notes · 23 sources
aemet.esall sea-level climate figures: La Palma Aeropuerto, 33 m, AEMET climate normals 1981-2010 (monthly mean daily max and min, precipitation, days with precipitation >= 1 mm)Checked 30 Jul 2026
aemet.esall high-ground climate figures: Izaña, 2369 m, AEMET climate normals 1981-2010. Used as a labelled proxy for the crest because it is the nearest official high-mountain normals in the Canaries, and it sits on Tenerife rather than La PalmaChecked 30 Jul 2026
aemet.eswhy a proxy station is used at all: AEMET lists a Roque de los Muchachos station at 2223 m but publishes no normals period and no monthly table for itChecked 30 Jul 2026
api.sunrise-sunset.orgdaylight hours for every month, computed for the 15th of each month at 28.65 N, 17.90 W (10 hours 22 minutes in December to 14 hours 0 minutes in June), and the late winter sunriseChecked 30 Jul 2026
senderosdelapalma.esCabildo de La Palma, trail operator: stage 1 is 16.9 km, status open, walkable all year, 'Avoid hot days. Beware of snow in winter', lack of waterChecked 30 Jul 2026
senderosdelapalma.esstage 2 is 26.1 km, 'All year round except the hottest summer days. Beware of snow in winter', unreliable springs, mist making the crest hard to followChecked 30 Jul 2026
senderosdelapalma.esstage 3 is 23.7 km, status open, 'All year round except the hottest summer days', heat and lack of water, and the Cabildo's own note that the stage is very popularChecked 30 Jul 2026
senderosdelapalma.esthe Cabildo's live trail-status page, which is the source a walker should check before travellingChecked 30 Jul 2026
docs.google.comthe data behind that page: all three GR 131 stages listed abierto / open, last updated 12/07/2026 (stage 1) and 17/06/2026 (stages 2 and 3), with a per-trail 'Cierre por Alerta' column showing no alert closure in force. Also shows SL EP 103 closed as 'Sendero en zona de exclusion'Checked 30 Jul 2026
cabildodelapalma.esclosed season: under maximum fire-risk alert (July 2022) the Cabildo closed all recreational areas and the trail network, with only GR 131 El Time to Puerto de Tazacorte, Los Canarios to Faro de Fuencaliente and El Pico de la Cruz to Roque Palmero left openChecked 30 Jul 2026
cabildodelapalma.esthe same measures in a different summer (August 2023): 'se ha ordenado el cierre de la Red Insular de Senderos' and all recreational zones closed. Second instance establishing this as a pattern rather than a one-offChecked 30 Jul 2026
cabildodelapalma.esthird instance, July 2024: trail network closed, recreational-area fire pits closed, forest roads restrictedChecked 30 Jul 2026
cabildodelapalma.eswinter appeal: the LP-4 to Roque de los Muchachos closed from km 25 for snow (December 2024), and the Roque visitor centre closed with itChecked 30 Jul 2026
cabildodelapalma.esthe same road closed for ice in a different winter (February 2021), 'continuan formandose placas de hielo, sobre todo en la zona de Los Andenes', which makes it a winter pattern rather than one stormChecked 30 Jul 2026
gobiernodecanarias.orgbooking pressure: Refugio de la Punta de los Roques is 'entrada libre', 20 people maximum, 'no tiene ningun equipamiento a no ser literas', 'No dispone de agua potable ni de servicios higienicos'. Camping inside the national park is confined to the authorised Taburiente zoneChecked 30 Jul 2026
lapalmabiosfera.esthe refuge sits at 2,040 m, free entry, capacity 20, sleeping bag needed, no drinking water and no toiletsChecked 30 Jul 2026
senderosdelapalma.esEl Pilar recreational area has drinking water, showers, toilets and grills; tent camping up to seven days; authorisation needed for the camping zone and some cooking shelters; no public busChecked 30 Jul 2026
senderosdelapalma.esthe five authorised camping areas on La Palma, of which only Refugio El Pilar is on or near this routeChecked 30 Jul 2026
caminosnaturales.esground on the southern stage (lava and volcanic ash underfoot), and that after El Pilar the next chance to leave the route or find water is the Fuente de los Roques rest area about 14 km inChecked 30 Jul 2026
eldiario.esthe Ruta de los Volcanes, which is GR 131 stage 3, reopened in May 2022 after the eruption closure, on its normal line from the Birigoyo firebreakChecked 30 Jul 2026