Timanfaya

Timanfaya National Park is a Spanish national park in the southwestern part of the island of Lanzarote, Canary Islands. It covers parts of the municipalities Tinajo and Yaiza. The area is 51.07 square kilometres (19.72 sq mi).

The Montañas del Fuego (Fire Mountains) were created between 1730 and 1736 when more than 100 volcanoes rose up and devastated this part of the island (including several villages). The last eruptions were in 1824, however due to the low rainfall (and therefore lack of erosion) this area appears much the same as it did just after the eruptions.

In 1968 the area was declared a national park, Parque Nacional de Timanfaya. In 1993, UNESCO designated a Biosphere reserve covering the whole of Lanzarote. The national park is one of the core areas of the biosphere reserve and the statue “El Diablo” by César Manrique is its symbol.

The absence of a mantle of vegetation, the extreme roughness of the forms and the variety of colours that exist (red, brown, beige, black and orange) next to the silhouette of the volcanoes and the abrupt coast, give the park an extraordinary beauty.

This part of the island is a must for any visitor to the island because of its unique ‘Martian’ landscape and rare plant species.

After you arrive at the visitors Car Park you will witness several demonstrations of ‘how hot’ the area is (temperatures just a few metres below the surface reach between 400°C and 600°C).
Dry brush thrown into a hole in the ground catches fire immediately, while water poured into a bore hole erupts seconds later in the form of steam – like a mini-geyser.

The ‘El Diablo’ restaurant provides an impressive backdrop to all of this and serves Canarian food which is cooked using geothermal heat (A cast-iron grill placed over a large hole in the ground). It is advised to arrive here early if you would like to sample the food, since the Kitchen closes at 3.00pm.

Access to the park by the public is strictly regulated to protect the delicate flora and fauna. There are one or two footpaths, and a popular short route where one can visit by camel. There is a public car park from which one can tour the volcanic landscape by coach using a road that is otherwise closed to the public.

If the mainstream tourist tours are not for you then Lanzarote Retreats can offer you a truly unique experience of this region. We have partnered with the best guides on the island and we can arrange private groups to walk with one of the only private guides who is licensed to conduct walks within this protected region.

Contact us for more information and to arrange a booking. For other wonderful Lanzarote Retreats services, experiences & activities, effortlessly arranged by us for you, take a look HERE