A Day on Lanzarote - Visit to Timanfaya National Park
Updated: Jul 15
Yes, Fuerteventura is absolutely a great and beautiful island, but a visit to the neighbouring island of Lanzarote is also definitely highly recommended. It just makes sense, because our finca "La Estrella" is only 20 minutes by car from Corralejo and from there the ferries go to Lanzarote regularly every day. The ferry crossing takes only 30 minutes and you are already on another Canary Island.
Lanzarote covers 846 km² and is therefore a good size for a day visit. (For comparison, Fuerteventura has an area of 1660 km²).
But what is there to discover?
Three quarters of Lanzarote is covered with lava and for this reason a visit to the Timanfaya National Park (Parque Nacional de Timanfaya) is recommended. Here you can see an incredible volcanic and lava landscape and get very close to the origin of Lanzarote.
Timanfaya National Park is also called "Montañas del Fuego", which means "Mountains of Fire".
Records of the eruption movements give us the information today that after almost 6 years (from 01.09.1730 - 16.04.1736) of continuous eruptions, a lava area of 167 km² was formed, which corresponds to about 20% of the entire island. Today's Timanfaya National Park alone has taken up 6% of the island with volcanic cones and lava flows. The constant eruptions and the resulting lava sea swept away numerous villages, and it is estimated that about 420 houses were destroyed and many people lost their lives. In memory of this tragedy, a memorial plaque has been erected in the national park with the names of the villages swept away.
The underground heat is still present today. During a visit to the national park, visitors are given a demonstration of this phenomenon. We don't want to tell too much, but one demonstration is that a pipe is sunk into the ground and water is filled. Only after a few seconds, the water shoots up due to the volcanic heat.
It is also called "the fastest kettle in the world".
How is that possible? Only a few metres below ground, the temperature is still around 400 degrees. In the main crater of Montañas del Fuego, a temperature of around 700 degrees is still measured at a depth of 27 metres.
Before the tourists discovered the lava landscape, the inhabitants of Lanzarote met on Montañas del Fuego and held barbecues, grilled of course with the volcanic heat.
Today, tourists can eat a grilled chicken in the restaurant that has been built, which was grilled with the volcanic heat. Due to its size, the national park cannot be explored on foot, but only by bus tours. An entrance ticket is therefore obligatory.
The visit to the Parque Nacional de Timanfaya is only one visitor stop on the beautiful island of Lanzarote, but when you cover that Lanzarote is an island of volcanic origin, you come very close to its origin there and feel the gigantic power of nature.
We hope you enjoy discovering this fabulous natural landscape.
View from the 350 metre high Montaña Rajada.
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