Lanzarote
Walks
For
the walks, scroll
down to the bottom of the page or click Lanzarote
walks. Note the start point of each Lanzarote walk can be seen via a Google
Map.
If you
have arrived at this page from the My Walks page, you are probably wondering
what on earth the Canary Island of Lanzarote is doing amongst all the
other walks which are in the UK. Indeed, promoting Lanzarote as a walking
destination would be a hard sell, especially as most peoples’ perception
as they leave the airport on the first occasion is that they have arrived at
a disused quarry! However, for those who do not just want to lie by a pool
all day, Lanzarote benefits from exploration and the more often I visit, the
more I like the island. I have therefore decided to share some of the walks
I have done there.
To
begin with, thanks to the efforts of the artist/designer/architect César
Manrique who lived on the island there is very little in the way of high
rise hotel/apartment development. He recognised the potential of tourism but
did not want Lanzarote to go the way of so many other Spanish holiday areas.
Consequently, buildings are generally limited to two storeys, are painted
white and colours of woodwork are limited.
As one tours the island, one is struck by how well kept
everywhere is. The islanders clearly take a pride in the place. Even some
roundabouts are like gardens. I find it better kept than the other Canary
Islands.
The roads are good quality in the main and traffic is
mostly very light and of moderate speed (in contrast to the relative manic
motoring on Tenerife – or the UK!). For anyone nervous about driving on
the “wrong side”, Lanzarote would be a great place to start.
As a general
tourist guide, I used to recommend the Lanzarote and Fuerteventura (AA Essential
Spiral Guides Series), because it would lay flat but I think this might now
be out of print. Marco Polo produce a spiral bound which may be similar. Also popular with visitors to this site is the
normal format Marco Polo guide and there is much on line. The best
map I have located for Lanzarote by far is the Lanzarote Tour and Trail
Map 1:40,000 scale produced by Discovery Walking Guides Ltd. This shows sights,
walking routes and is an excellent road map. The super durable edition is
virtually indestructible. It
gets 5 stars from around 75% of purchasers on Amazon. Links to obtain all these publications are below.
There
are 1:50000 and indeed 1:25000 maps produced by the
I have put
together a few of my own thoughts, about some of the interesting tourist
type places to visit and you can see these on my Lanzarote
Tourist Information page. There is a wide range of Lanzarote
guide books.
Turning to
Lanzarote's walking potential, this is all about seeing the unique
landscape. Much of it has been tortured by mother nature’s volcanic
artistry into arid, inhospitable zones of solidified lava. The most dramatic
has to be the Montañas
del Fuego (Fire Mountains). This is the main stop on every first time
tourist’s itinerary and fantastic as it is, the area can only be seen from
an organised tour bus as the authorities want to keep the area pristine.
There are also organised walks with a guide but numbers are small and the
tours are evidently difficult to access.
However,
there is plenty of independent walking to be had and the most dramatic and
the “must do” for an independent walker is the Caldera Blanca in the
north west - see link in table below.
A word
of warning. Lanzarote is only about 100 miles from the Western Sahara.
Consequently the sun is fierce. The island has virtually no trees so there
is usually no shade to be had on walks. Adequate sun protection (sunscreen,
hats and sunglasses) should always be available and take plenty of water.
Wayfinding
is easy because the footpaths across the inhospitable landscape are obvious.
My directions therefore only need to be minimal. Please do not try and leave
the paths across the lava fields. You would probably break a leg and there
are bubbles in the lava, some many feet deep and across. They may be covered
by a safe thickness of crust. On the other hand………!
I have compiled 13
walks from happyhiker.co.uk into one digital book for portable devices, to
make it easy to carry all the information with you. The walks include grid
references for the start points based on the Lanzarote
Tour and Trail Map 1:40,000 scale produced by Discovery Walking Guides
Ltd. Also included are my thoughts on some of
the general places of interest you might wish to visit, when taking a break
from walking. Click "My
Lanzarote" for more information.
Lanzarote
Reading List
Scroll
down to see Lanzarote walks.
If
you need to buy any hiking equipment/clothing before your trip see the Hiking
Store
All information on this
site is given in good faith and no liability is accepted in respect of any
damage, loss or injury which might result from acting on it.
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