One of the most important places to visit on this island of 800sq.km. is the National Park of Timanfaya. This is the approx, 52sq.km. area of the Fire Mountains. Las Montañas del Fuego (the Fire Mountains), declared as a place of outstanding natural beauty, was the centre of a volcanic catastrophe which occurred little more than 250 years ago.

The mountains erupted for six years, between 1730 and 1736. Glowing molten lava poured from the depths of the earth, tuming whole villages into desert and swallowing up the farmers fertile land.

Photograph: View to the central restaurant and tourist centre designed by Cesar Manrique - the restaurant/café "El Diabolo". From here you may start your sightseeing tour by bus (included in the entrance you pay at the tollhouse) - a must, when you are here - the busses have air condition and all information in English.
You will enjoy the breath taking views into the craters and the lava valleys...


Those who take the road by car, from Yaiza to the Timanfaya National Park, feel how strange the lava landseape is, and yet how fascinating with the rust-red mountains in the background. Past the ear-park, where one can take a camel ride through the lava, one continues up to the main car-park of the National Park. (Entrance charges: car with 2 persons, about 2,000 pesetas, includes the bus ride round the craters).

From the central parking area sightseeing tour busses leave every 10 minutes and take you to see the volcanoes and gigantic rocks from the eruptions, The busses go along narrow paths for about 10km. through the national park, and it is quite an experience to look through the windows down into huge craters and lava caves, and see the gigantic rock formations made by once molten lava.

lt is as if the boiling hot lava were just hissing into the sea and, extinguishing its fire, turning back into cold black rock. One experiences here how insignificant one is, compared to the great strength of nature. Indeed, one has the feeling that the volcano could erupt again at any moment.

Back in the bus park one may still get a glimpse of the crater depths, and see how a small dry bush, thrust into a hole, will immediately catch fire, also see how a bucket of water, tipped into another hole, will send up a great plume of steam into the air (see illustration, left).

Six metres down under the surface the temperature is already several hundred degrees centigrade. You may feel that with your own hands if you touch the volcano rocks or the stones (picón) behind the restaurant or the fire place. It is amazing - here on the hill top is one of the "hotest" places of lanzarotre!

Because of the lack of rain on the southem side of the island, very little vegetation has been able to grow, and so, this area is the same as it has been for many years, looking as though the glowing cinders had only just cooled down.

In the winter time if it does rain a bit more one sees how quickly a green "film" begins to cover the rocky hillsides and one appreciates the great strength which lies in nature, despite the dryness and almost constant sunshine.

Then the island of Lanzarote started to become greener and greener and for some weeks it looks very strange for those who know Lanzrote from their summer hoiidays. Straight away lichens begin to grow, grass appears and even white, yellow, blue and red flowers spring out of the brown rocky ground....

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