Garafía is one of the most extensive and sparsely populated municipalities in La Palma. The towns of this municipality are separated by deep gorges, which makes communication difficult. This contributed to the willingness of the population to emigrate. Garafía offers fertile soil for agriculture. It has also been used for animal husbandry (cattle and goats) and cheese making, for which the area is famous.
Garafia- The center for gofio and Livestock
There are still many windmills in the Garafía region that were used to grind gofio. Well preserved windmills can be found for example in El Calvario, Las Tricias, Llano Negro and Santo Domingo. The wind, which has been driving the wooden blades for centuries, today moves the metal blades of the modern windmill generators in the windmill park "Juan Adalid".
The Fiesta "San Antonio del Monte" is famous in June, where one of the most important livestock fairs of the Canary Islands takes place. On the fairground, you can admire Palmeric cattle, goats and sheep as well as the "Garafiano", a Palmeric shepherd dog breed. In the municipality of Garafia, some varieties of quality Palmer cheese are produced and sold.
From the Guanches to the Future - the Observatory
The municipality includes the highest elevation of the island, the Roque de Los Muchachos, including the observatory (with the most important telescopes in the northern hemisphere) and the Caldera de Taburiente National Park. Garafía has the largest collection of Guanchen rock paintings on La Palma, the best of which are in the parks of La Zarza and La Zarzita. From the village of El Tablado, the view of cliffs and sea is breathtaking.
