Timanfaya: An Impressive Tour Between Volcanoes
The Timanfaya National Park is located in the region of the Fire Mountains, to the west of the island of Lanzarote, and occupies an area composed of volcanic remains of approximately 200 km².
This place has an impressive volcanic environment, an unforgettable place for its visitors due to its originality and beauty. These desolate landscapes, however, are home to plant and animal species that have adapted to this environment.
The eruptions in Timanfaya
Between the years 1730 and 1736 there were spectacular eruptions that are part of the history of world volcanism, both for the amount of lava spilled and for its duration.
The last volcanic eruption dates back to 1824. Currently, this entire area is immersed in a deep and impressive silence.
What to know in the Timanfaya National Park
In view of the importance of its conservation, only some areas can be accessed, however, there are many activities that can be enjoyed with the family.
The children will feel the heat that emanates in the middle of the rocks of the sleeping volcano. The most daring will climb on the back of a dromedary and visit multicolored volcanic landscapes. And those who like science will be able to learn more at the Mancha Blanca interpretation center.
Route of the Volcanoes and trails
The Timanfaya National Park has a route for visitors to learn about the beauty of the Fire Mountains. Accessing the islet of Hilario, and after paying the corresponding fee, you get on the bus of the route, which leaves from the islet itself.
The guides explain the history of the park by walking through the most emblematic sites, such as almost unaltered volcanic cones and tubes, capricious lava flows that are beginning to be colonized by lichens and fields of reddish pyroclasts. It is a walk of about 40 minutes of travel through a lunar landscape.
For those who prefer hiking, you can do the Litoral and Termesana routes, with their corresponding short versions, all of which are free. This gives the opportunity to walk through this almost unaltered landscape since its creation.
Hilario Islet
It is the tourist heart of the Timanfaya National Park, this promontory is an important point of heat emission from the dormant volcanoes of the island of Lanzarote, reaching a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius in some parts. Park staff demonstrate this geothermal anomaly using man-made geysers and natural furnaces.
Camel excursion
In addition to the alternatives of touring the Timanfaya National Park on foot or by bus, there is the possibility of touring it on the back of a camel. Nothing more exotic than knowing the spectacular mountain of Timanfaya in a caravan of dromedaries loaded with two tourists in 20-minute tours. To learn more about the dromedaries and the excursion, it is recommended to visit the small museum in the Echadero.
El Diablo Restaurant
El Diablo restaurant, located on the islet of Hilario, is built around an oven-grill powered by the heat emitted by a dormant volcano. The oven is an open pit in the rock on which meats, fish and other products of the island are roasted.
Another great attraction of the restaurant is its design, signed by the Lanzarote artist and great defender of nature César Manrique. The restaurant’s bay windows offer stunning views of the Fire Mountains and the geyser demonstrations on Hilario Islet.
Mancha Blanca visitor and interpretation center
It is a recommended stop for the visitor due to the interesting combination of methods to present the values of the Timanfaya National Park. One part of the exhibition, known as “La Cueva”, tries to reproduce in the visitor the sensation of experiencing a live eruption in Timanfaya.
The Timanfaya National Park offers one of the most impressive landscapes imaginable, a landscape that does not seem out of this world. The volcanoes and lava fields constitute one of the most picturesque visual spectacles of the Canary Islands, where the hand of man, the vegetation and the climate have not altered the pure beauty of this red and jet land.
