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La Palma’s calendar mixes Catholic tradition, carnival and agricultural festivals tied to the island’s seasons. The two events worth planning a whole trip around are Los Indianos at Carnival and the Bajada de la Virgen de las Nieves, which happens only once every five years. Most other events are small, free and easy to stumble into. Use this events guide with the best time to visit La Palma guide to pick your dates, and keep our complete La Palma guide bookmarked as your trip-planning hub.
La Palma Events and Festivals: Carnival and Los Indianos
Carnival runs in Santa Cruz de La Palma for about two weeks each February, and its standout is Los Indianos, held on Carnival Monday (Lunes de Indianos). Locals dress entirely in white, many as 19th-century Cuban emigrants returning home, and stage a mock arrival at the port before a city-wide talcum-powder fight on the Avenida MarÃtima. It starts around midday and runs into the night, and it is the single busiest day of the year on the island. Book accommodation in Santa Cruz months ahead, or stay in Los Cancajos and take the bus in. Check the where to stay in La Palma guide for hotel options near the action.
La Palma Events and Festivals: Bajada de la Virgen de las Nieves
The Bajada de la Virgen de las Nieves is La Palma’s biggest festival, held every five years in Santa Cruz in years ending in 0 and 5, next in 2030. The centrepiece is the Danza de los Enanos (Dance of the Dwarfs), a 19th-century tradition in which performers in oversized papier-mache heads dance through a specially built arch in the main square. The Virgin of the Snows is carried down from her hilltop sanctuary to the capital and back over several weeks, and the whole island turns out. The 2025 edition drew tens of thousands of visitors, so book rooms and flights a year ahead for 2030.
La Palma Events and Festivals: Corpus Christi and the Flower Carpets
Every June, on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, the town of El Paso covers its streets in carpets made from flower petals, coloured salt and volcanic sand, some stretching for hundreds of metres. The carpets are built overnight and walked over by the Corpus Christi procession the next morning, then swept away. It is free to watch, and the best time to see the carpets before the procession is early morning. El Paso also opens its silk museum, Seda Las Hilanderas, for the occasion. Combine it with a visit to the nearby La Palma neighborhoods of Los Llanos.
La Palma Events and Festivals: Almond Blossom Festival
The Fiesta del Almendro en Flor (Almond Blossom Festival) takes over Puntagorda, in the northwest, on the last weekend of January and first weekend of February, when the island’s almond trees flower pink and white. Expect a local produce market, folk music, wine tasting and traditional food stalls, all set among the blossom. It is a laid-back, family event rather than a party, and it pairs well with a drive up the northwest coast. Bring a jacket, as Puntagorda sits at 700 m and can be cool and cloudy even when the coast is warm.
La Palma Events and Festivals: Wine, Salt and Music Festivals
Fuencaliente, at the island’s southern tip, hosts its Fiesta de San Antonio Abad in mid-January with bonfires and local wine, plus the Vendimia (grape harvest) celebrations in late August and September at Bodegas TeneguÃa, the island’s main winery. Los Llanos holds its patron fiesta of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios in July, with concerts, a cattle fair and fireworks. The Isla Bonita Love Festival, a music festival, and the Transvulcania ultramarathon, which crosses the island’s volcanic ridge each May, round out the year. For a full list of what to see between events, see the things to do in La Palma guide.
La Palma Events and Festivals: Monthly Calendar
- January: Fiesta de San Antonio Abad in Fuencaliente (mid-month), almond blossom from late January.
- February or March: Carnival and Los Indianos in Santa Cruz (Carnival Monday).
- May: Transvulcania ultramarathon across the Cumbre Vieja ridge.
- June: Corpus Christi flower carpets in El Paso (Thursday after Trinity Sunday).
- July: Fiesta de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios in Los Llanos.
- Late August to September: grape harvest and Vendimia at Bodegas TeneguÃa, Fuencaliente.
- Every five years (next 2030): Bajada de la Virgen de las Nieves in Santa Cruz.
Whichever event you choose, the island’s mild climate means almost none of them are weather-dependent. Check the La Palma weather by month guide for what to expect in the season you are travelling, and read the La Palma travel tips article for how to get around once you arrive.
