Breña Alta
Located in the eastern area of La Palma, Breña Alta is a traditional and agricultural municipality in which its visitors can, among other things, learn about the artisan elaboration of puro palmeros cigars, carefully made by hand, and admire its views. Also, soak up its mystical legends and get to know its traditional festivities, such as the feast of Cruces y los Mayos.
Tradition and Legend
Palmerian cigars have had a great reputation for many years. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the tradition of its craftsmanship has been introduced in La Palma. Municipalities such as Breña Alta have plantations and harvests aimed at the purest creation of Palmerian cigars.
Such is the tradition of cigars in Breña Alta, that their elaboration and everything that surrounds it has been one of the main economic engines of the municipality. Proof of this is reflected in the Museum of Palmerian Cigars, inside which we can find, among much other information, the process and production cycle of this product. This begins with the preparation of the seedbed to continue with the plantations themselves and conclude with the fermentation of the leaf piles.
In addition, to immerse yourself in the history of the place, you can get to know the wonderful Palmerian legend of the Los Dragos Gemelos up close. This is located within Breña Alta, in the neighborhood of San Isidro, and revolves around a love story of a woman and two twin brothers.
The legend goes on to tell of the dispute between the two brothers over the woman, which ended in tragedy with the death of both twins. At the end, the woman, saddened by what happened, set out to walk the slopes of the highlands of the municipality, in search of two drago segments to plant them and memorialize the brothers. Currently, the drago that gave rise to the legend, linked together, can be visited.
Connection with Nature
One of the strengths of Breña Alta is its viewpoints and views. The one that stands out the most, among all, is the Concepción Viewpoint. From this viewpoint, located at the top of a crater declared a Natural Monument, you can see the entire city of Santa Cruz de La Palma. At the same time, located toward the southeast, the viewpoint offers beautiful views of La Palma airport. It's also a special place for observing the sky and the stars in one of the most magical enclaves in the world, the island of La Palma.
Also the Astronomical Viewpoint of Llano de la Venta,located at 1,320m, allows you to enjoy a magnificent panoramic view of the east coast of La Palma. This viewpoint has an indicator pole that points to the North Star, a planisphere to help locate the main circumpolar constellations, as well as various information panels.
Another unique view offered by Breña Alta is the one that occurs when contemplating the sunrise from the beach of Bajamar.This beach, one of the most visited by the local population throughout the year, comprised of black sand and measures approximately 700m long, in which to enjoy a swim.
Festivities and Gastronomy
For visitors who want to discover a locally famous festival, the one of the Cruces y Mayos stands out, which fills the streets and the place with magic with its traditional ornaments. Specifically, the crosses are adorned with jewelry, flowers or fine fabrics from each house. Next to the crosses, and guarding them, there are the mayos, rag dolls that usually represent images of daily life and even people from the municipality or politicians.
We highlight that Breña Alta celebrates the day of its patron saint, San Pedro, with original fruit bouquets hung from arches in the municipality, especially in the urban area. Another original number within the festivities of the municipality, in this case in honor of San Miguel at the end of September, is the appearance of his original Diablo, preceded by the parade of the Masks and their Fanfare and the corridors of fire, culminating with the appearance of this character, the fight between good and evil staged through fire.
Also, and at the gastronomic level, there is a farmers' market, where you can become familiar to the Palmerian essence and tradition, and get to know the zero-kilometer products up close. Every Saturday, there are several stalls that display, promote and sell fruits, vegetables, potatoes and all kinds of local products as well as handicrafts.
