Timanfaya National Park, Lanzarote, Spain

Timanfaya National Park is the most extraordinary sight on the Canary island of Lanzarote — a vast, otherworldly landscape of craters, cinder cones and frozen lava flows that looks more like the surface of Mars than anywhere on Earth. It was created by a series of violent volcanic eruptions between 1730 and 1736, which buried a quarter of the island under lava and ash, and by a further eruption in 1824. Nearly three centuries later the ground here is still hot: the volcanoes are dormant rather than dead, and the residual heat close to the surface is put on dramatic display for visitors. Protected as a national park since 1974, the “Fire Mountains” (Montañas del Fuego) are among the most popular attractions in the Canary Islands.

What to See

The centre of the visit is the Islote de Hilario, a rise at the heart of the park where guides stage striking demonstrations of the underground heat: dry brushwood thrust into a shallow pit bursts into flame within seconds, and water poured down a borehole erupts back out moments later as a roaring geyser of steam. Here too is the El Diablo restaurant, designed by the Lanzarote artist César Manrique, where food is grilled over a huge pit using the natural volcanic heat rising from below. Because the terrain is so fragile you cannot wander freely; instead, the price of admission includes the Ruta de los Volcanes, a roughly 40-minute coach tour that winds along a narrow road through the most spectacular craters and lava fields, with recorded commentary. Just outside the park, at the Echadero de los Camellos, you can also take a short, memorable camel ride across the volcanic slopes.

How to Get There and Practical Information

Timanfaya lies in the south-west of Lanzarote, within the municipalities of Yaiza and Tinajo, and is reached by car in around 20 to 30 minutes from the island’s main resorts. There is no public bus to the park entrance, so most independent visitors drive; organised coach excursions from the resorts are the main alternative. On arrival you queue at the entrance and join the coach tour of the volcanoes, so it is worth coming early, as the car park and the tours can fill up and waits build in peak season. Admission is charged per adult and includes the coach route, while the camel rides and the restaurant are separate. Allow a couple of hours for the visit, bring sun protection and water, and note that, to protect the landscape, walking routes within the park are limited and must be arranged in advance with the park service.