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Lanzarote’s Natural Wonders: A Pocket Guide to Timanfaya National Park

February 5, 2019

Lanzarote’s geology and volcanic origins make it a unique place to spend a sunshine break amongst a landscape hewn by tremendous underground forces. The Timanfaya National Park is the perfect place to experience the island’s landscape up close, and in this post, we’ll provide a guide to the park’s unique features that make it one of the most unmissable things to do in Lanzarote.

Getting there

The park is situated on the western edge of the island, an easy 20 minute drive from Playa Blanca. Bus tours are available from various operators – but be mindful that you can’t actually access the best bits of this unspoiled park by vehicle.

To truly get amongst the landscape, you’ll need some help from a very special native of the park, a camel. Camel rides through the Timanfaya volcanic moonscape are an absolute essential, and come in at a very reasonable price of €12 per camel. Camels are available from the Echadero de los Camellos just outside the pretty village of Yaiza.

The Timanfaya National Park entrance fee is only €9, and offers you full access to the whole park up until it closes at 6pm.

Unmissable cuisine

After a ride through the hills on the back of a camel, thoughts might turn to lunch. Luckily for hungry volcanic voyagers, Timanfaya offers a unique food experience that draws upon the titanic forces that shaped the park itself.

El Diablo restaurant is tucked amongst craters that are still active under the surface, pumping out heat from the Earth’s core. This heat is harnessed by the restaurant – meaning the chefs cook your food on a giant grill heated solely by the volcano itself, which has been burbling away since its last eruption in 1824.

Feel the heat

If the El Diablo restaurant isn’t enough to show you the sheer power lurking beneath the island, then a Lanzarote volcano tour that includes volcanologist demonstrations just might. The staff at Timanfaya regularly hold demonstrations of the intense heat that a residual magma chamber harbours near to the visitors centre at Islote de Hilario.

This involves handling the incredibly warm picon soil, and a demonstration of the sheer heat that involves putting shrubbery into the chamber, only to watch it immediately catch fire. There’s a reason why this area is also known as Los Montañas Del Fuego…

Timanfaya demonstration

…And then cool off

After a day sampling the furious heat of Timanfaya, you’ll need to cool off – and a private villa is the best way to do this. Many of our private pools have panoramic views of the surrounding landscape – so you’ll still be able to sample the views from the blissful cool of the pool…

So, what are you waiting for? Browse our wide range of Lanzarote villas today and get set to experience one of the most alien landscapes on planet Earth – all while sampling the comfort only a villa holiday can provide.

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