Lanzarote is well-known as one of the many party destinations of the Canary Islands but should be better known as many of its residents and visitors see it: as an island of immense natural beauty. Several eruptions in the 18th century left the island looking as it does today; a unique and distinctly alien-looking landscape of dormant volcanoes, green valleys and astonishing coloured rocks. Affordable Lanzarote holidays from the likes of Thomson have the potential to be unpredictable and exciting, away from the crowded shores.
Nowhere is the island’s unusual past more evident than at Timanfaya National Park in the north-west. If casting your eye over the vast sweeps of charcoal-coloured rock, towering peaks and huge craters isn’t enough, you can actually feel the heat simmer below the surface of the earth at the visitor centre. The aptly-named Fire Mountains are definitely a must-see, although at present you will need to book before taking a guided walk, coach trip or camel ride around this unfamiliar land. Further down the coast, sea and volcano meet at the crater El Golfo, half-eroded into the salt-water. This coastal landscape produces some exhilarating natural phenomena, such as the Green Lagoon or Laguna de los Ciclos where local algae is at its most concentrated and Los Hervideros, where the waves shoot up with blowhole-force through the gaps in the rock.
You can also journey beneath the surface among solidified lava streams and water-logged tunnels to find another layer to Lanzarote. The Cave of Los Verdes is more than 7km long, stretching out under both land and sea and is one of the longest volcanic tunnels on Earth. Jameosdel Agua, part of the same formation in the north of the island, has the added interest of the gardens, sculpted pools, bars and restaurant designed by Lanzarote’s most famous artist César Manrique. There are numerous walks and bike trails which showcase the true diversity of Lanzarote’s landscape. Gentle coastal strolls run from Puerto del Carmen harbour, or you can scale the dizzy heights of El Mirador cliffs for spectacular views over the salt flats and the tiny island of La Graciosa. Further inland, the countryside is surprisingly floral in places like the Malpaso Way in northern Haria and the verdant vine fields from Ye to Monte Corona.
It’s easy to think of the valleys of France or the Italian Alps for outdoor holidays, but the scale, drama and colour of this Canary Island well deserves a second look. There are few places where you can hike across black lava fields in the morning and relax on the beach at dusk; the sheer scope of Lanzarote is hard to conceive without witnessing it first-hand.
Lanzarote photos: Bapi Mz, Daniel Wissel
