One of the most visited parts of all La Palma in Canarias, the salt fields of Fuencaliente are a hugely valuable human landscape where the white salt, the blue sea and the black volcanic earth paint a picture of immense beauty. Nature’s colour palette also renders the salt fields in a spectacular manner.
The salt pans of Fuencaliente are situated in the south of the island of La Palma and have been declared a Biosphere Reserve. In 1967, Don Fernando Hernandez, a visionary, started the difficult enterprise according to the model of the salt pans in Lanzarote, with the help of an expert in sea salt extraction. The craft work in the salt pans is passed on from generation to generation, always maintaining the same name of Teneguía Sea Salt, as homage to the last eruption on the island. Volcano Teneguía spattered this spot with its ashes in 1971 when it erupted and interrupted the construction of the salt pans for a full year.
The sea water here in Fuencaliente is trapped between stone and mud which forms a labyrinth where the sun evaporates off the liquid, leaving behind the salt. This produces incredible colour effects from yellow to blue, passing through hues of pink. The small, sparkly crystals are collected by hand and formed into small pyramids, which are dried by the air. In the Jardín de la Sal – the themed restaurant of Fuencaliente, you can also learn about the production process as well as purchase high-quality products such as the Flor de Sal, or Salt Flower, the purest form of salt.
The Jardín de la Sal thematic restaurant that opened in 2013 here and where young head chef Juan Carlos Rodríguez Curpa infuses the flavours with the cultural legacy that ties the salt pans to the Hernández family.
More details on www.salinasdefuencaliente.es