As well as boasting great beaches and picturesque white washed villages Lanzarote is also an island of outstanding natural beauty.
Lanzarote is like an unframed, unmounted work of art — and I hung it and held it up for all to see. — César Manrique
This is what fuelled the work of Cesar Manrique, who fused art with his intense love of nature to create Lanzarote’s unique cultural attractions.
The island born artist and architect famously helped to shape relatively restrained development on Lanzarote during the 1970’s and 80’s, whilst other parts of Spain ran headlong into the arms of high-rise, mass-market tourism.
As a result the vast majority of Lanzarote has been left untouched and can today still be enjoyed in it’s raw, natural state.
El Golfo
El Golfo is the little coastal village that is home to one of Lanzarote’s best known natural wonders, known colloquially as El Lago Verde, or the green lagoon.
This little lake of emerald green water, which is actually called El Charco de los Clicos, sits in the center of a volcano that has been partially eroded by the Atlantic. It’s colour has been created by the accumulation of algae.
As a result there is a fantastic palette at work as the reds, browns and russets of the volcano’s interior walls interplay with the green water in the lagoon and the black sand of the adjacent beach.
Once you have feasted your eyes it is well worth heading into the village to enjoy some of the very best seafood on the island. There is a host of restaurants to choose from here, with most offering great views of the big breakers that crash in dramatically on this side of the islands coastline.
Los Hervidores
Los Hervidores lie just down the coast from El Golfo and are another result of the explosive interaction that arose from the meeting of molten lava with the Atlantic ocean.
Here, erosion of the black lava by the sea has created caves and spit holes. When the waves come crashing in the water appears to hiss and steam — which is why Los Hervidores are also known locally as the boiling pots.
Orzola — Caleton Blanco
Take the road from Jameos del Agua to Orzola and you’ll soon come across a succession of beautiful white sand beaches, known collectively as Caleton Blanco.
The contrast of colours here is fantastic as the white sand is dramatically juxtaposed with black volcanic rock and turquoise waters.
At the last beach before reaching the town of Orzola there’s a natural lagoon created by volcanic outcrops and here you can enjoy year round bathing in bath water temperatures — a rarity on an island lapped by the often chilly Atlantic.
Famara
Famara is the most dramatically striking beach on the island and arguably one of the most beautiful anywhere in the world. It’s impact upon Cesar Manrique, for example, was enormous;
My greatest happiness is to recall a happy childhood, five month summer vacations in the Caleta and at Famara beach, with it’s eight kilometers of clean and fine sand framed by cliffs of more than four hundred meters high that reflected on the beach like in a mirror. That image has been engraved in my soul as something of extraordinary beauty that I will never forget in all of my life.
Famara is a great place to visit all year round, but it is well worth noting that during the winter months of November - February it is often better suited for walking than sunbathing.
Island Interior
One of the best ways to enjoy Lanzarote, is simply to hire a car and absorb the stunning scenery.
The volcanic interior of the island, from Masdache through into the wine region and onto the volcano park offers raw, stunning landscapes that are entirely unique to this island.