Extinct volcanoes of Lanzarote – Part 2

Introduction

 

 

I have written before about how it’s not always a great idea to return to the same place so soon after a good first visit, the second visit usually suffers in comparison. However, it is also often difficult to resist this temptation!

We had spent two weeks in December 2023 on the island of Lanzarote and not only had the weather been excellent but the walking had been excellent too. We decided to return in December 2024 to try to walk the routes and see the areas that we had missed out on the first trip.

We based ourselves in Arrecife again, mainly for the very good bus service and the relatively quiet coastal resort. It seemed more crowded this year although we were there for more or less, the same period of time but the island scenery was still pretty stunning.

 

Timanfaya lava fields + Caldera Blanca, Mancha Blanca 

 

Timanfaya lava fields          

One of the areas we had missed on our last trip and really wanted to visit this time, was the area to the west and northwest of the town of Mancha Blanca. We wanted to climb the Caldera Blanca – the widest of the calderas on Lanzarote – and visit the lava field of the Timanfaya national park at one of the few parts where unaccompanied wandering (on the pathways) was allowed.

We headed to the town on a cloudy, Sunday morning and hoped that the weather forecast of brighter weather later, was correct. The bus dropped us on the eastern side of the town but it was a short walk through it along main roads to our route.

I had planned to walk an anti-clockwise route on paths through the lava fields in a sort of lazy square shape and finish the day by climbing the Caldera Blanca itself later. We followed a quiet local road northwest with the view of Montana Tenezar – another extinct volcano – ahead of us.

The road was easy to walk on with few cars although it was cloudy with a cool breeze blowing from the sea which we knew was further west. We passed through farms given over to vineyards and a few other crops all growing in the black volcanic ash.

 

 

Just beneath Montana Tenezar, we turned left and followed the road to the sea. Where this road took a sharp right turn, we continued ahead on a rough, ash track. Now, we were deep into the middle of the broken, chaotic lava fields. Very little grows here and the surrounding ground is all twisted and charred rock, This track was designated a footpath – PR LZ19 – but as it was a track, a few cars drove slowly along it passing us. We wondered if the tourists in their hire cars realised they probably weren’t insured for off-road driving of this sort?

We started to notice the “Islotes” we had been reading about. These are literally “Islands” but not in the sea. In the year 1730, the area of Timanfaya was subjected to a series of huge volcanic eruptions. These eruptions continued for nearly 6 years spewing molten lava, rocks and ash onto the surrounding landscape. Consequently, vast areas of the west side of the island were buried under fresh volcanic debris. Any existing land that was left untouched after this, became known as an islote in the sea of lava!

Caldera Blanca is such an islote, as are several other pieces of higher ground, now we started to notice them more, especially if our path took us over an elevated ridge of ground.

 

 

We turned left again on our track – the third side of our lazy square - still on PR LZ19 - but now on a route that was forbidden to cars. We saw no one else until we reached the Caldera Blanca several hours later, save a park warden in his land rover.

We constantly paused to look around and try to imagine what it would have been like during the eruptions. We wouldn’t have been able to stand where we were of course. In the middle of streams of molted rock with choking fumes, it would have been impossible to survive but our minds wanted to try to imagine it all the same.

Just after 1.00 pm, we reached the Caldera Blanca ascent path on the northwest side of the caldera. We stopped on a rock to eat our lunch and watch other visitors climbing and descending.

We watched a couple moving slowly up the rough looking path. The skies were still grey and didn’t look like they were going to clear. I would have preferred to be there in some sunshine, to enhance the photos.

“That couple are still going up.” Marie said. She checked her watch. “It’s taken them half an hour and they’re still not at the rim.”

“Perhaps it’s harder that it looks?” I suggested.

“It’s Sunday, what time is our bus back? Marie asked.

This prompted a debate over whether we had time to finish the climb in the time available and if we wanted to return later in the week, in better weather. Eventually, we decided to do this and headed back, around the northwest part of the caldera, eastwards towards the town of Mancha Blanca.

 

 

We found the paths through the lava fields to be exceptionally rough, even though we wore walking boots. I wouldn’t want to have tried it in flip flops or sandals as some people were!

By the time we reached the bus stop for the 3.20 pm bus, it had cleared up a little but wasn’t really that sunny. We didn’t regret our decision, so it meant we would return if we could.

 

Caldera Blanca       

A few days later, we were back and in better weather although a bit later in the morning than we would have wanted at 11.45 am. We retraced our route through the town of Mancha Blanca and onto the rough lava pathways.

The designated path was punctuated with noticeboards explaining the geological phenomena we were walking through but too many to read them all.

 

 

Most visitors seem to ascend via the route on the eastern side of the caldera – the first path they come to. We returned to the northwest side and headed up the route we had spied out earlier in the trip.

It was actually quite a good path for most of the way. A lot of it passed over solid rock pavement and we made good progress. We had great views northwest, across the lava fields we had traversed a few days before and towards the sea. Our previous route showed as a thin ribbon of dirt, wending its way through the dark, broken lava. It is a credit to the island authorities that they have left such a huge area of land in its desolate, natural state.

Our path upwards deteriorated a little towards the top, the solid base turned into a mix of gravel and loose rock but this wasn’t a problem for us, we reached the rim quickly to admire the view into the caldera.

And what a view!

 

 

Even though I had read about it and seen pictures, it was still a bit of a shock to stand on the rim edge and see it!

It was huge and dramatic, rising up around us from the sea of black lava rock surrounding it. People on the opposite side of the rim looked tiny, they were so far away. And the dramatic vistas in every direction enhanced the overall feelings of wonder.

We scrambled up the northwest ridge towards the highpoint, it wasn’t difficult going but we were slowed down by me stopping to take pictures every few minutes!

 

 

In the northeast, we could see the Cliffs of Famara – they looked so high rising from the sea - and the military installation on Penas de Chache, the highest point of the island. Castillo de Santa Barbara above Teguise was visible between smaller calderas. The view to the south was dominated by the Montanas del Fuego and the black sea of lava they expelled in the 1730s, covering the land between us and them.

We reached the high point and took in the views around us. The black lava landscape showed flecks of green where some of the local flora was trying to take a hold. After nearly 300 years, it was just happening.

 

 

We descended via the southeast quadrant of the caldera rim. There is not much of a path on the hard rock but it was pretty easy going and there were no route-finding difficulties although, it was difficult not to keep stopping to admire the views. The crater itself is the exact shape that anyone would imagine for a volcano and this is all the more surprising as so many others are not.

 

 

We descended the eastern route and retraced our steps over the broken lava fields, we made it back to the bus stop by 4.00 pm, very pleased with our day. It had been a route that was much better than we had expected. It’s fair to say that it is one of the best routes on the island, with spectacular views – if the weather is good!

 

Maguez – Los Helechos  

 

 

We got the bus on a sunny day for the long journey up to the town of Maguez. We had previously visited this area when we had been walking the GR 131 long distance path and there seemed to be a lot to return to see.

Maguez is a small, quiet town in the north of Lanzarote, nestling in a valley close to the northwest coast. We left the bus and made our way up a steep road to take us out of the town and up onto the hillside above which was the flank of Los Helechos, the remains of the volcano we had come to climb.

Soon, we were above the town and walking on a twisting road through farms and open land. We could see over Maguez and further south, Haria and Penas del Chache. It was a warm, sunny day and we were serenaded by the songs of Linnets and Canaries. On a bush we saw a Great Grey Shrike, surveying its territory for food.

As we walked up the road, we saw on our right, La Pescosa, a small caldera with a collapsed opening on its southern side. We continued on our way up the road until we reached its high point near a white, meteorological building.

Here, we left the tarmac and headed up a cinder track to a trig point overlooking the caldera of La Pescosa, we passed this and descended on a rough path northwards towards Los Helechos.

We had great views of the island of La Graciosa and its attendant isles off the north coast as we traversed to Los Helechos and turned to the southeast to start our ascent towards the trig point on its summit.

 

 

From the summit we had magnificent views of the north of the island, the northwest coast and the islands just off the coast. Nearby, the cone of Monte Corona stood out as the next volcano along the ridge.

After admiring the views and taking the obligatory photos, we retraced our steps to the trig point on La Pescosa. Here, we stopped to eat our sandwiches.

It must be a common lunch stop because no sooner had we stopped than two small lizards appeared at our feet. One of them ran back and forth, grabbing the small crumbs we had dropped. I put my hand down and it scuttled over to lick my finger, then ran off into the rocks!

After lunch, we returned to the road and headed towards the cliffs on the coast. The tarmac ran out to be replaced by a dirt track and at this point there was an option to turn left and head to a viewpoint but we knew time was moving on and we couldn’t afford a diversion.

With hindsight, perhaps we should have explored this viewpoint but maybe we can in the future.

We followed our track to the right towards the Guinate valley and stopped at a viewpoint on the Famara cliffs looking back towards the area known as El Jable on the north coast of the island, near La Caletta. The cliffs drop over 400 metres here to the crashing surf below, it is pretty spectacular.

 

 

We had planned to continue along the path to the cliffs above the Guinate valley that looked out to sea and the northern islands. However, the bus timetable was calling us back to Maguez, so instead, we descended on the cinder track northeast, beneath Los Helechos and down towards the main 201 road between Maguez and the town of Ye.

From here, we crossed the road and headed straight on a farm track underneath Monte Corona and found our way to the GR 131. Back on familiar ground, we headed south on the straight track into Maguez, in time for the 4.00 pm bus in the church square.

A lovely walk of around 15 km, if I were to go back it might be good to take in more of the clifftop walks and if possible, head out towards the northern tip of the cliffs at Mirador del Rio. Maybe a good reason to return?

 

 

Teguise to Costa Teguise + Mount Tinaguache ( aka Montana Corona)

 

 

Teguise to Costa Teguise   

The town of Teguise is distinguished by many significant features. It was built up in the hills above the Lanzarote coast and was originally the capital of the island. It has a large market square and many interesting shops to explore. The Castillo de Santa Barbara dominates the hill above the town and was built in the Middle Ages as a lookout post for protection from pirates and marauders that were looking to attack the island.

We had visited it twice on our previous trip and were returning to walk a route from the town heading southeast and down towards the coast at Costa Teguise, a modern resort. On the way I had originally planned to climb Mount Tinaguache, also known as Montana Corona, which lies just above the modern resort.

Our bus was late leaving Arrecife but this was not too much of a problem. We reached Teguise at 10.45 am and set off up the track towards Castillo de Santa Barbara. It was a warm and sunny morning and it was great to be back walking on the dusty island after the cool and wet early December weather in England.

We detoured up to the summit of Guanapay, just above the castle for the views towards the coast, here, the wind was strong and cooler. After a short stop we descended to our footpath – PR LZ 04 – and started our descent towards the village of Teseguite, our next destination. We had walked this part of the route on our last trip, so it was familiar.

The land around us was essentially farmland but would not be recognized as such by most northern European farmers. The land consisted of black ash “fields”, with red and brown, hard, sandy soil in between. The soil was liberally sprinkled with pebbles and rocks of all sizes. Some parts reminded me of pictures I have seen of the surface of Mars.

There was very little evidence of water apart from runnels where it had run away and very little seemed to be growing apart from the island’s hardy, native plants. Looking northwards from our footpath, we could see the white walls of the Ermita de las Nieves standing out on its brown, dusty hilltop.

We reached Teseguite, this was not much more than a village and we didn’t anticipate any problems passing through it. However, this was where we left the marked footpath we were on in favour of one marked on our map but not deemed significant enough for its own sign posts.

We headed in the correct general direction but ended up on a farmer’s track. We retraced our steps and eventually found our way to a signposted track parallel to the one marked on our map. It crossed a protected nature reserve and led us where we wanted to go. We crossed the main LZ 1 road and headed southeast, across another dry and desolate landscape.

We looked out for the Houbara Bustard, one of the rare birds of the island but although we did see some birds running between the rocks, they were too far away for us to identify. We did have our first encounter with Berthelot’s Pipit, a bird we were to see on almost every walk. It hopped around, blending in perfectly with its environment.

 

 

All this time, we were coming closer to the volcano we were planning to climb - Mount Tinaguache according to some sources but Montana Corona on our map. We found a path leaving our track and heading towards it but time had moved on and Marie’s new boots were starting to hurt her. We decided to continue along our track and into the resort of Costa Teguise.

 

 

We did this and caught a crowded bus back to Arrecife.

 

 

 

 

Mount Tinaguache (aka Montana Corona)          

We returned to Costa Teguise a few days later to climb the volcano. It was easy to find the route again and soon we were crossing the barren cinder and rock foothills towards the volcano cone.

There are several paths around the volcano, all of them quite worn and visible from a distance. We had elected to climb up the steeper southwest ridge to the summit on the caldera edge, then traverse the rim in a clockwise direction. Only the northern rim of the caldera remains as the southern part collapsed and eroded away thousands of years ago.

We had previously got the impression that this route was an easy and popular day out for any tourists that might want to try it but we soon realised it was steeper and quite a bit rougher than we had thought. There were a few others on the route but it was very quiet compared to some areas we visited.

Our ridge was covered with loose gravel and got steeper as we ascended, definitely not a way to descend. The last part of the ascent was a scramble to the summit on very rough rock but the views were great. We could see the Castillo de Santa Barbara up at Teguise and all of our descent route from the previous week. We could see a long stretch of the east coast, from Guatiza down to Arrecife and the vast orange and brown lava plains around the volcano base.

 

 

We traversed what was left of the rim on hard, rough volcanic rock – not the worn path we had anticipated. This part didn’t take that long but we were careful not to trip and fall on the jagged rock.

Soon we started to descend the southeast ridge and the solid rock gave way to runnels filled with loose gravel. We met a couple from Wales on their way up and had a chat before descending again to the relatively flat plains.

 

 

We picked one of the many paths through the lava fields and headed back to Costa Teguise.

Another short but interesting day.

 

Guatiza – Costa Teguise – Along the southeast coast. 

 

The southeast coast from the town of Guatiza to Costa Teguise was, for the most part, a quiet and lonely stretch of rocky coast.

We caught the Orzola bus getting off in the Guatiza town square and finding our way southwards along a quiet road for 3 kms towards Los Cocoteros – the local salt pans.

A small collection of buildings and a few parked tourist cars were all that was there. We found the path along the seashore and headed southwards back towards distant Costa Teguise, around 10 km down the coast.

 

 

The coast is very rocky here, with the odd small beach or inlet. The route alternates between a rough narrow path on the clifftops and a broken dirt track a little inland.

There are no buildings or nearby roads and we only saw one cyclist all day on the established rough track further inland.

It was a sunny but windy day and the waves crashed upon the rough volcanic rock cliffs making it all seem very wild. I was surprised that we didn’t see any birdlife along the shores or on the rocks, they seem to stick to the towns where there are lots of people!

It was enjoyable to be so alone on an island that is so well known for its tourism and to be in such an untouched environment.

We stopped for lunch along the way, sitting on some rocks and out of the wind. We admired the view back up the coast and inland towards the hill of Montana Tinamala.

 

 

Continuing on, spray from the crashing waves, swept across our path. We followed the route up to Ancones, the high point along the route at 50 metres above the sea level and just after this, we started to see evidence of the influence of Costa Teguise.

First, a few people exploring the cliffs, then a few cars in a lonely car park. The hotels of the resort came into view and we found ourselves walking along a promenade in front of them and back to civilization.

 

 

Pico de la Oveja and the south coast. 

 

 

Typically, for this trip, we had a day where things went wrong.

We had planned to get a bus south to the Ajaches mountains to do a route from Femes but having missed the early bus to Femes itself, we then found the next bus didn’t stop before Playa Blanca.

Consequently, we ended up in Yaiza, a town in the south part of the island, late in the morning on a day where drizzle was predicted at lunchtime. We headed up towards Atalaya de Femes, hoping to pick up a path from there down to the town. We couldn’t find this path and had to head towards the summit, then drop to the town from near there. It began to rain along the way, so we stopped in a sheltered ash cave for lunch.

After lunch, the rain stopped as we descended to the small town of Femes and admired the view across the Rubicon plain towards Playa Blanca. We took off our waterproofs and 2 minutes later it started raining again, this was the pattern for the rest of the day.

We considered calling it a day and waiting for the bus back to Arrecife but decided against this option. Instead, we headed up the PR LZ 09-11 footpath towards the goat farm at the top of the hill and turned left to follow the path along the ridge heading northeast above the valley. This was a rough route so we stuck to the lower path rather than the crest.

We traversed the ridge over Pico de las Flores and by another circuitous route, arrived at our destination, the summit of Pico de la Oveja.

 

 

In better weather, we would have had great views but it was very mixed and looked quite dreary out of the sunshine. This was quite a rough summit with no real path just a few tracks.

At this point, the rain began again and we were treated to views of double rainbows along the south coast, something a bit unusual for such a dry, barren and dusty island.

Perhaps we should have turned back there and returned the way we had come even though we had missed the bus but instead, we continued with our plan to descend southeast on a very vague path towards the coast.

We descended the broad and stony ridge carefully so as not to create any worse problems by an injury then, we reached the PR LZ 10 path that descends to Playa del Pozo and followed this.

“You realise it’s already 4.15 pm? Marie pointed out, sensing an “epic”.

I did and I also knew it would be dark by 6.00 pm and we still had a long way to go.

 

 

We persevered with our plan, passing Playa del Pozo and meeting late afternoon horse riders on the way to Playa Quemada. The cliff path was quite loose here but we arrived at the small coastal town where, the bus service must have been discontinued years ago.

Onwards we went in occasional showers, along the coast on rough winding clifftop paths.

Eventually we reached Puerto Calero at 6.00 pm in darkness and just as it started to pour with rain!

It took us 30 minutes to negotiate a route through the labyrinth of roads around the tourist villas and hotels to reach the bus stop on the edge of town at 6.30 pm.

The bus stop timetable said the next bus was at 6.51 pm. When it didn’t arrive, Marie checked her timetable app – it said the next one was 7.25 pm!

For once, we were lucky, a bus arrived at 7.05 pm and we made it back to our hotel by 8.00pm.

A long and wet day with good views in the hills of the Los Ajaches mountains but the coast between Playas Quemada and Calero was a disappointment.

 

Montana Tinasoria  

 

 

This small hill lies just south of the GR 131 footpath at La Geria, the main wine producing area of the island. On our last trip, we included Montana di Guardilama – a higher volcanic relic – on our route but missed nearby Montana Tinasoria. This was a chance to explore it on a different route.

We got the bus to the town of Uga and set out on the GR 131, heading eastwards through the vineyards. Once again, I was captivated by the sight of the island’s horticultural methods. The black ash “soil”, if it can be called that, seems incongruous as a growing medium but it seems to be perfect for the vines. The hills are regularly scoured by strong cool winds and literally thousands of semi-circular dry-stone walls – known as zocos - have been built around each vine to protect them.

The low sun throws shadows across the landscape creating a vista that could have been seen on an alien world.

We climbed the path quite quickly and reached the high point of the path where we were to turn right and up to Montana Tinasoria.

On the ridge here, overlooking the south of the island is the remains of an old ruin. It isn’t historically significant but it can be seen on the hillside from miles around. This area is also used by paragliders as a launch site. There were none when we were there as it was far too windy.

We followed the stony path up the ridge to the large cairn on the top. It’s not a great summit but the views all around are pretty special. It’s possible to see the southern coastline from Playa Quemada up to Arrecife and all the land in between. The view northwards over to Montana di Guardilama is dominated by the serried ranks of zocos lining the hillside. There is a view southwest towards the Ajaches mountains and the island of Fuerteventura in the distance.

The strength of the winds forced us off the summit ridge and we descended northeast on the PR LZ 06 back through the vineyard to the GR 131.

 

 

From here, we took a route that I can’t really recommend. We headed south through the villages towards the coast, aiming for Puerto del Carmen but ended up wandering on tracks through farmland – not to be repeated!

Having said that, Montana Tinasoria is well worth visiting just for the views alone but maybe as part of a different overall route.

 

Afterword

 

I’m sure we will return to Lanzarote in the future but not this year. During the north European winter, it is a warm and sunny place to visit. The walking possibilities are numerous – I’m sure there are new routes for us to try – and as I sit writing this in cold, damp January weather, the lure of the dry, dusty sunshine is very appealing. The island has its own character that is an attractive antidote to the vagaries of the weather and the landscape and vistas are so memorable.

 

 

Images

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