Have you ever felt you are on a different planet in any place or have you seen tons of lava on the ground?If the answer is no,then you should surely visit Lanzarote.
Where is Lanzarote and How to reach there?
Lanzarote is one of the island in seven canary islands ,that belong to spain. Canary Islands are known as the best winter escape in Europe as the temperature here ranges from 16 -20 degrees in january. These islands are very near to sahara desert,so you can get a plenty of sun year around.
You can reach lanzarote's capital city Arrecife by air from any european city.
What to see in Lanzarote?
Lanzarote is a typical island with lot of volcanic mountains and cactus trees.There is not much greenery in this island but what makes this unique is its white sand and pebble beaches and lava spread everywhere on the ground throughout the island roads.
You can take a car for rent and roam as much as you can or can go for guided tours to cover the important places in lanzarote. Many of the tourist attractions are created beautifully by the architect Cesar Manrique.
It is also famous for seaside resorts.The three major sea side resort towns are Playa Blanca,Costa teguise and Puerto del carmen. The island is famous for water sports like snorkeling,scuba diving ,surfing and paragliding.
Some of the important places to visit are
1. Timanfaya National Park:
This national park is famous for the erupted volcanoes dating back to 18th century .There is a small entrance fee to the park as they would take you in a bus to roam around the volcanoes.You can also do a walking tour of volcanoes or go for a camel ride if you wish .The sight of volcanoes and lava will give a feel as you are in some other planet .The employees of the park will also give a demonstration of the Geothermal energy which will give you goosebumps after knowing the heat present beneath the earth as the water which they pour into a tube, will evaporate with a loud sound into air and the grass they kept in a hole , will produce a wildfire.
2. La Geria Vineyard
The island has nothing but lava everywhere so it is big challenge for locals to make it a valuable resource.They cultivate grapes in this lands and prepare white and red wine and cosmetic products out of them.The cultivation is a challenging task as they have to protect them from heavy winds for which they build small stone walls around them.
There are many vineyards in the island in which you can get to taste wine and understand the process of grape cultivation.You have guided tours available for this as well.
3. Mirador Del Rio
The most beautiful and breathtaking place in the island is Mirador Del Rio.This is a viewpoint from which you can see another small island called La Graciosa. It will be amazing to experience it directly.It is one of the creations of famous architect Cesar Manrique. There is a restaurant and shop available inside the viewpoint.For adventure lovers,there is a paragliding facility available here.
4. Jameos Del Agua
This is another master piece from Cesar manirque. These are the caves formed from lava.The cave have a small pool which contain the rare species of small White crabs.There is a restaurant, a mini theater and a swimming pool.The swimming pool is main attraction,which has water from lava customized into a pool.It is said that only cesar manirque can bathe in it:). The live music is played in the restaurant and mini theater at evenings or on some specific days.
5.El Golfo
El Golfo ,the place north of island is a pebble beach surrounded by the red soil mountains making it the best place to visit during sunset.The speciality of el golfo is it consists of a small green water lagoon formed from the high tide waves years ago.The green water lagoon and the sea are differentiated by the soil making it a peculiar landscape.It is the best place to have a sunset photoshoot as we had one:).
6. Jardin De Cactus
Another creation of cesar manirque is Jardin De cactus(Cactus Garden).The only plant which grows enormously in the island is Cactus.So ,we can get many products made from cactus here like jams,shampoos etc.The cactus garden consists of huge cactus plants grown in different varieties and shapes.The entry fee will be around 5-6 euros.It also has a old windmill at the top of the garden.There is a small restaurant and shop present in the garden.
8.Los Hervideros and Salinas de janubio
Near by El golfo,there is another beautiful view point called Los hervideros. It consists of the caves formed from the tides just above the sea.If we look below from the caves we see huge amount of water gushing and hitting the rocks making loud sounds.The caves are not safe to go for children and people with disabilities as they are not properly maintained .
Salinas de janubio are the salt fields which are used for the salt production.We get to see huge white salt fields and can know the process of how the salt is extracted from the sea water.We can taste and buy the sea salt and variety of products made from the sea salt.
9.Arrecife:
The capital city of lanzarote have the castle, beach and Charco de San gines which you can visit u have more time.The charco de san gines is a beautiful place which consists of a lagoon from sea water and the boats floating on the lagoon makes the place more scenic.
If you have more time,you can also visit the places like Papagayo beaches and Famara beach.The islands of La graciosa and Fuerteventura are easily accesible from ferry from lanzarote.
Note:The cost and days of trip mentioned are with respect to Paris,France.It may differ from other locations.