Barlovento has had to make a over-human effort in order to be able to cultivate the troubled terrain and irrigate the dry lands as, although the region is green and humid, the water is unable to rise naturally. The municipality’s coast is made up of banana plantations, the municipality’s principal economic activity.

In the small hamlet of Toscas you can find the largest concentration of dragon trees on the island. The dragon tree, the last mythological tree, is one of the most unique species in the Canaries. Its form is similar to that of a dragon. An interesting route leaves from the Las Toscas Viewing Point which takes us among these dragon trees and to the district of Los Gallegos.

Very close to the village, in one of the oldest volcanoes in the municipality, the island’s largest reservoir was built with the capacity for 5 million m³ of water. Next to this reservoir, a recreational zone and campsite have been built. Another leisure zone is the Zona Recreativa de la Fajana, to the north of the old Punta Cumplida Lighthouse where you can enjoy a swim in one of the natural pools.

  The Battle of LEPANTO  
Barlovento is the only municipality in the Canaries that still preserves the traditional Naval Fiesta which commemorates the Battle of Lepanto.

The continuous battles between the islanders and the pirates who arrived on the island are probably the origin of the celebrations, which were initially celebrated in Santa Cruz de La Palma and have continued in Barlovento. This is due to the patron saint of the municipality, Our Lady of the Rosary, being named Patron of the Spanish Expedition in the Battle of Lepanto, by the Pope in 1571.

For the celebrations, wooden boats are covered in coloured material, white to represent the boats of Don Juan de Austria and red and black to represent the Turks. The battle ends with the defeat of the Turks and their conversion into Catholicism before the image of the Virgin of the Rosary.