Is the La Palma Volcano Active?
What the authorities publish about La Palma's Tajogaite volcano: the 2021 eruption's dates and figures (IGN), the yellow volcanic traffic light and its reasons, and the October 2026 exclusion-zone decree.
The eruption on La Palma ended on 13 December 2021, after 85 days and 8 hours (IGN, Spain’s national geographic institute). Since then the Gobierno de Canarias has kept the island’s volcanic traffic light at yellow, “alert”, because of carbon dioxide emissions, unstable ground on the lava flows and high ground temperatures (Infovolcán La Palma, read 8 November 2026). No authority we read forecasts another eruption, and we do not make one.
The 2021 eruption in figures
| Start | 14:10 UTC on 19 September 2021, at Cabeza de Vaca, El Paso (IGN) |
| End | 22:21 UTC on 13 December 2021 (IGN) |
| Length | 85 days and 8 hours |
| Declared over | 25 December 2021, by the Gobierno de Canarias |
| Lava flows | 1,219 hectares |
| The new cone | top 1,131 m above sea level, about 200 m above the ground it grew on |
| Size | VEI 3 on the volcanic explosivity index |
| Name | “Volcán de Tajogaite”, made official by the Cabildo de La Palma on 9 February 2024 |
Sources: IGN’s page on the 2021 eruption and the Gobierno de Canarias release of 25 December 2021; the Cabildo’s plenary of 9 February 2024 for the name.
The Cabildo’s own emergency plan of 2023 prints slightly different start and end times. We use IGN’s.
Why the traffic light is still yellow
La Palma’s volcanic traffic light was moved from red to yellow by an order of 31 January 2022 (IGN). The Gobierno de Canarias page gives the reason it stays there: once the eruption was over, risks to the population remained, from carbon dioxide emissions, the instability of some ground on the lava flows and the high temperatures left in it, all part of the volcano’s post-eruption behaviour. In this plan yellow means alert. The page says nothing about the guided walks to the cone.
The page is undated, so check the Gobierno de Canarias traffic-light page yourself before you travel.
What is still closed
On 30 October 2026 the Cabildo de La Palma redrew the exclusion zone around the eruption by decree 2026/11663, with the polygons published on its open-data portal. The press (AtlánticoHoy, 7 November 2026) reported that it was published in the provincial bulletin on 6 November, that parts of El Paso, Los Llanos de Aridane and Tazacorte reopen with regulated access, and that a wide strip around the lava flows stays closed.
A protected area, proposed
On 11 March 2026 the Gobierno de Canarias put out for public comment a draft law to add the Tajogaite cone, the fissures around it and the 2021 lava field to the Cumbre Vieja Natural Park, and to protect the two new lava deltas at the coast as nature reserves: 309.5 hectares in all. As of that release it was a proposal, not law.
What we do not print
We do not forecast whether or when the volcano will erupt again, or what would follow if it did. None of the pages we read from IGN, the Gobierno de Canarias or the Cabildo makes such a forecast, and we will not stand in for them. For the current position, three pages are the ones to check:
- Gobierno de Canarias, Infovolcán La Palma: the traffic light and its reasons.
- IGN, Spain’s national geographic institute: its record of the 2021 eruption.
- Cabildo de La Palma, open-data portal: the exclusion-zone decrees and their maps.
Visiting the cone
The new volcano can only be visited on a guided walk with an authorised company, by the Cabildo’s rule. Can you visit the Tajogaite volcano? explains the rule and the walks, and the route comparison sets out where each one goes.
More on La Palma
Tours on La Palma with Open Dates
Volcano walks, caves and boat trips on La Palma with live availability. What is included and the cancellation terms show before you book.
Walk Around the New Volcano
La Palma Outdoor's 8 km loop around the back edge of the Tajogaite cone with a guide, and a van to the start and back. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Check dates