Lanzarote is worlds apart from any other of the Canary Islands; in fact a lot of this little island looks more like you’d expect the surface of another planet to appear. (Mars, perhaps, thanks to the fiery red dust and the hot lava that lies beneath.) The surreal landscape feels eerie to some, but if you’re curious about how to visit Timanfaya National Park, home to the last active volcano on Lanzarote, read on, dear pals!
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Lanzarote is an astonishing island, although admittedly it’s not for everyone. Barren, desert-like, and with no significant fresh water source to be seen- there’s not even a single river or stream here- it’s a wonder that humans ever managed to survive here. The island is the eastern-most of the Canary Islands, located not far from the coast of Africa, and from time to time the air becomes thick with the Calima: Saharan sand that sits in the hot air after rumbling across the sea in a great big swathe of sandy haze.
And then of course, there are the volcanos. Every one of the Canary Islands were created by volcanic eruptions, and Lanzarote is no exception. But the big difference here is that the landscape remains fairly unchanged from the hundreds of years since the last eruption took place.
Which is the best of the Canary Islands to visit?
The last volcanic eruption in Lanzarote
During the 1700s, the population of Lanzarote mostly made a living through farming wheat and other grains and herding goats. It was a simple kind of a life. The land up until that point in time had been fertile and was by all accounts, a great spot for growing.
That was until the volcanic eruptions began in 1730. Those eruptions continued on and off for almost six years; the lava flow swallowed villages whole and rendered the land completely useless for growing anything. New volcanoes pushed their way to the surface of the earth, changing the face of the island forever, and many of its inhabitants felt they had no choice but to leave. (In fact, a big number of the original settlers of San Antonio in Texas, emigrated from Lanzarote.)
What is Timanfaya National Park?
An astonishing place, that’s what! Timanfaya National Park takes up around 25% of the island’s total surface area, although the entire island is now a UNESCO biosphere reserve thanks to its unique flora and fauna. (There is plenty to be found, if you look hard enough.)
Unlike the neighbouring islands of Tenerife and La Palma, whose mountain spires reach up above the clouds, Lanzarote’s terrain is actually very low-lying. Hence there not even really being any lofty peaks for clouds to get caught on. Timanfaya National Park is full of craters, fissures and mountain slopes, but the fact that the volcanoes don’t stretch too far into the sky means that there are views for days here; and I’m telling you now, it truly is stunning.
The land is a mixture of solidified spikes of lava and dusty grains of sand, and there’s a whole spectrum of colours to be found: earthy ochres, terracotta and russet patches, with swirls of deep purples and charcoal greys. In the cracks of this landscape, new life grows. Hardy pastel green and yellow lichens, and low-lying plants smattered with miniature flowers are appearing slowly but surely, and the animals that scurry through the rocks are mostly insects and small lizards, shrews and rabbits. It’s a completely contrast to Europe’s more famous volcanic hotspot over in Campania, Italy, (home to Mount Vesuvius and the ancient city of Pompeii), where the land is green but earthquakes and volcanic activity are the norm.
Is Timanfaya still active?
The majority of Lanzarote’s volcanos are now technically extinct, but Timanfaya is the exception. And although Timanfaya is closely monitored by experts, an eruption here is considered highly unlikey.
There’s still plenty of geothermal activity going on in the deep dark depths of the volcano, in fact if you visit Timanfaya National Park, you can watch as the heat of the volcano ignites wood at the surface, or shoot water back out of the earth. There’s even a restaurant on site where chicken is roasted over the heat of Timanfaya’s volcanic heart. But all things considered, that’s considered pretty low-level volcanic activity. For the more fiery stuff, you’ll have to head to Iceland or Italy.
How to visit Timanfaya National Park: the options
To protect the land and the ecosystem that Timanfaya holds, almost all of the park is off-limits to visits made on foot, although there are a couple of designated hiking routes that are accessible to visitors. The national park is a popular hotspot for visitors to the island, whether they’re on vacation or there as part of a cruise, and although the queues to enter the park can be extreme, I do think it’s a place worth visiting.
Most visits to Timanfaya National Park last around an hour and a half, regardless of whether you enter by car or bus. Once you drive into the main car park- which is next to the visitor’s centre and restaurant, you’ll need to get out of the vehicle and join the next available bus tour to take you around the volcanos. That’s right, pals, it’s not actually possible to drive around the park by yourself. The tour lasts around 30 minutes and includes a guide given in various languages, and there are no stops on the tour whatsoever.
This might seem like an altogether very pre-packaged experience, and although it’s not my preferred way of seeing a new place, I really appreciate the fact that it protects the environment from being swamped with people.
Visit Timanfaya National Park on your own (in a car)
If you want to visit Timanfaya National Park on your own, you’re first of all going to need a car. When we visited on our own excursion from a cruise ship, we were lucky enough to get a car on the day from the Cicar office in the sruise terminal, however you could also check Rentalcars for car hire prices and availability in Lanzarote, and book ahead.
You cannot pre-book tickets for Timanfaya National Park online, and they’re sold on a first-come-first-served basis at the entrance to the park. This means you’ll need to drive to the park, and then join the queue of cars waiting to enter. I would advise against going between 11am-2pm to try and avoid the masses.
Tickets to enter Timanfaya National Park currently cost €20 per adult, and €10 per child, and you can pay with either cash or card.
Visit Timanfaya as part of a tour
Personally, I think visiting Timanfaya as part of a tour is the best way to visit- even if booked tours aren’t your normal style. Hear me out on this one, pals.
The queue of cars waiting to enter Timanfaya can be seriously lengthy. In fact, when I visited in a hire car, we queued for almost an hour and a half before we reached the visitor’s centre. When I visited as part of a tour, however, we bypassed the queue and went straight to the front. In fact, that’s what happens to all booked excursions to Timanfaya. All I’m saying is: it’s worth it.
If you do visit Timanfaya National Park as part of a tour, it’ll likely involve several other stops as part of the trip. (Our own involved stops at a Lanzarote winery, which aside from the wine tasting benefits was intriguing because of the low-lying grape-growing techniques on the island, and at the pretty village of San Bartolomé.)
How to hike in Timanfaya National Park
I had no idea that hiking within Timanfaya National Park was possible until recently, and it’s first on my list of must-do activities for next time I return to the island. All hiking within the national park has to be undertaken with a guide, however, this is a service that Timanfaya provides for free. That’s right pals: for free! No money!
There are two hiking routes available: one leaving from the village of Yaiza and heading into the park, and the other coastal route which departs from El Golfo. Tours are given in either Spanish or English, and it is absolutely imperative that visitors understand the respective language properly! There are a maximum of eight people allowed on each tour, and the booking can be made a maximum of one month in advance.
Check the website for dates and times of guided walking tours in Timanfaya National Park.
If you don’t manage to get onto one of the park’s free guided hikes, there are paid walking tours available. This tour includes pick up as well as your guided hike through the park, or check out this one on Get Your Guide.
A note on the camels of Lanzarote
Camels were brought across to Lanzarote from Africa in the late 1400s, around the time that the island was colonised. (Yep, there were indigenous people on the island prior to that, most of whom were either killed or sold into slavery.) Like the donkeys of Santorini, camels were an integral part of life on the island, transporting goods and people across the harsh terrain for hundreds of years. These days, the camels of the island are largely used to transport tourists along volcanic dunes.
Full disclaimer: I have ridden the camels in Lanzarote, and if you book a tour, chances are that it’ll include a stop at Echadero de Camellos. Whether you ride them or not is entirely up to you. No judgement at all, pals.
These days, I’m not altogether sure on the ethics of riding an animal for fun. That being said, the camels are still considered an important symbol of Lanzarote; the 40 families who make their living from giving camel rides are given licenses by the government to care for the animals and walk them on a rotational basis between the village of Uza and the pathway in Timanfaya, and reportedly the camels carry passengers in shifts.
Eating near Timanfaya
On my second visit, we opted out of eating lunch from the volcanic barbecue within the national park, and instead drove to the little village of Yaiza which is right on the edge of the parks outer limits. Not only is Yaiza super-pretty, with traditional white architecture inlaid with volcanic black stone, but the spot we chose for lunch was downright delicious!
So I’m including it on this post, just in case it takes your fancy. The Café Antigua Escuela is in a beautiful old building in the centre of Yaiza, and there’s outdoor seating in a tranquil courtyard where you can tuck into some simple but delicious Canarian tapas. Jolly wonderful I say.
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