Sightseeing (main) / introductory tour of Lanzarote, Canary Islands!

Civilization did not destroy Lanzarote, it tried to make friends with him. There are no banners on Lanzarote, locals build houses in the traditional style, as their grandfathers and great-grandfathers once built, and hotels are located only in three places in the eastern part of the island. Lanzarote is a biosphere reserve protected by UNESCO!

Lanzarote is the northernmost and easternmost of the major islands of the Canary archipelago. It was discovered in 1312 by a navigator from Genoa, Lancelotti Malocello, on whose behalf the island's name is derived.

Before the conquistadors, the Canary Islands were inhabited by Guanche tribes (Berbers who came to the Canary Islands from North Africa), and the rapid process of conquest of the islands by Europeans began in 1402, when the French knight Jean de Betancourt appeared in Lanzarote, and two years later returned with reinforcements from the king of Castile.

The capital of Lanzarote is the city of Arrecife (a commercial and passenger port), located in the southeastern part of the island, snow-white, huge (by local standards:), stretched on the ocean, and, by the way, worthy of a visit (in terms of shops, mainly). The Canary Islands are a duty-free zone. Here is a luxurious promenade with restaurants, administrative authorities, stunning houses in the colonial style! Currently, the project has received funding for the construction of the world’s longest (!) embankment, with a length of 23 km, which will connect Arrecife with another tourist center in Lanzarote – Costa Teguise. In Arrecife there are several castles that were built in order to repel pirates, now they have functioning art galleries, museums of modern art, Lanzarote is a very creative, bohemian island, there are many private galleries, workshops!

Arrecife is home to the only high-rise building on the island, which houses the Gran Hotel and SPA. It was built in the 70s (in the 80s it was forbidden to build high-rise buildings on the Island). A large fire (or arson, as residents protested against the invasion of civilization in Lanzarote) destroyed the hotel in 1994, and in July 2004 a reopening took place.

Key points on Lanzarote:

North end:

1. Teguise is the ancient capital of Lanzarote.

2. Santa Barbara Fortress in Tegiza. Built in the 15th century on top of the extinct volcano Guanapay (Guanapay), from the tower of which you can see not only the landscape of the Tegize Valley, but also the coast of the island and the surrounding ocean!

3. Valley of "thousand palm trees" - the town of Aria (Haria) and the House-Museum of the artist Caesar Manrique in Aria. Far and high in the north of Lanzarote!

4. The white beaches of Orzola, a pretty town in the northeast of Lanzarote, from here go ferries to the neighboring island-reserve of La Graciosa.

5. Mirador del Rio (Mirador del Rio), literally "an observation deck across the Rio Strait": a stunning view of the neighboring islands, especially the satellite island, La Graciosa, as well as the very small islands of the Natural del Archipelago Chinijo Park - Montana Clara, and rocks - Rock del Queste and Roque del Este. And here, at an altitude of 500 meters above sea level, there is a “space” bar-restaurant designed by Manrique!

6. Cueva de los Verdes (Cueva de los Verdes) is a volcanic cave that arose as a result of the ancient eruption of the highest volcano in Lanzarote - La Corona (La Corona), 1 km (out of 6) is open to visit, the tour is guided by the guide of this cultural center. A guided tour! Very exciting, there will be surprises! The cave got its name from a family named Verdes, who lived here in the 17th century! And yet, there is a concert hall, excellent acoustics, and concerts and exhibitions are regularly held!

7. The nearby cave - Jameos del Agua (Jameos del Agua) - another impressive creation of the artist Caesar Manrique - with terraces hanging over the underground lake, and living in it blind white shrimp endemic, swimming pool, concert hall, opera (!), restaurants, museum! The construction of this work of art lasted 30 years under the leadership of Manrique!

8. The cactus garden (Jardin de Cactus) and cochineal plantations in the village of Guatiza. Also the development of the great Manrique!

9. Lagomar. Art object - a house built into the rock, is an operating museum, an art gallery, a bar, a nightclub. Included in the top 50 best bars in the world (according to unverified data:) It was once presented by Caesar Manrique to Hollywood star Omar Cherif, who came to Lanzarote to shoot the movie Mysterious Island. Currently privately owned, owned by German architects, the bulk is accessible and must-see!

10. Surfer beach of Famara, a luxurious 6 km sandy beach! In this fishing village, Caesar Manrique, who came from a wealthy family, spent his childhood, and, as he himself said, “I breathed pure Atlantic iodine!”

11. La Santa is an old fishing village, next to which stands a large sports and tourist base, where you can often easily meet sports European celebrities right on the street! Club La Santa is a favorite place of professional sports teams in northern Europe (football, basketball, athletic, etc.) for training before the season or winter, due to the high quality of sports and residential facilities of the club, coupled with the ideal climate of Lanzarote! Also, the administration of La Santa are the organizers of the world's most famous triathlon competitions IronMan. And this place is a cult for surfers!

Central and Southern Lanzarote:

1. The Campesino Monument (Casa-Museo del Campesino) is a monument to the peasants of Lanzarote and a whole architectural complex, here is the largest underground restaurant on the island. It is also the "central" intersection on Lanzarote!

2. The headquarters of the Caesar Manrique Cultural Foundation in Tahiche is Fundacion Cesar Manrique. A house built in 5 large lava bubbles around a fig tree bush! It contains the main characteristic features of the artistic concept of Manrique: Art of Nature. It is a work of art and an architectural ensemble: thanks to the “hands” of Caesar Manrique, underground volcanic bubbles turned into places to relax with the signature Manrique white passages. There were buriest pools with waterfalls, giant cacti, secluded corners - everything is made in a juicy hippie style with notes of Ibiza and Morocco!

3. A trip along the “wine” road (La Geria) is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places in Lanzarote, with a visit to bodegas (wine) and wine tasting from the local Malvasia. You can and should buy a great wine and bring it with you. It was Malvasia that made Lanzarote a world-famous island among wine connoisseurs! At all times, this wine was considered one of the best in the world! It was delivered to the royal courts, as well as to the wine cellars of the Old and New Worlds! In total, the island produces more than 150 brands of wine, some of them – in the amount of less than a thousand bottles a year!

4. Park Los Volcanes (Parque Natural los Volcanes), here is the famous volcano Del Cuervo, it began with what now determines the appearance of Lanzarote, a six-year volcanic eruption! It was here that the Canary village of Chimanfaya was located, on behalf of which, later, the name of the world-famous National Park of Spain - Timanfaya! Over time, the letter “h” became “t”. Entrance here is free, you can walk everywhere, go to the crater lying on the ground, soak up its energy and, of course, make a wish:

5. National Park - Timanfaya, with a tour of it, and even a small show! This is the main attraction and business card of Lanzarote! It is the second most visited of the fifteen existing national parks of the Kingdom of Spain (the first is the Teide National Park on the "capital" Canary island - Tenerife). There are two options to visit Timanfaya: hiking routes and excursions with a trip to the heart of Timanfaya by tourist bus!

Excursion with a trip to the center of Timafaya on a tourist bus, drivers are masters of their craft, masterfully drive along the serpentine, we always leave a tip of 1-2 euros: And then the workers of the National Park arrange for tourists a small show with lighting hay from the heat coming from the ground, pouring water into metal tubes that are immersed in the ground. Heated from the internal heat, water under pressure, with a rumble flies out of the tube in the form of steam!

Restaurant El Diablo is built in the town of Islote de Ilario (Ilario Island) above the flow of magma passing underground, the temperature here is only a few meters from the surface of the earth reaches 400 degrees Celsius, which is what the restaurant uses, preparing excellent steaks of meat and chicken on a natural grill!

6. The picturesque Canary villages of Yaisa and Uga. It is in Uga that camels brought from Morocco live: every day on volcanic trails in the morning they go to work in Timanfaya Park, where they ride tourists along volcanic dunes. In the evening they return home to Ugu.

7. Salt and Salt Baths Salinas de Janubio. Salt is produced for the needs of the island. Beautiful anthropogenic landscape! The purest Atlantic salt can be purchased in any supermarket for 1 euro / kg:

8. El Golfo (El Golfo) A beautiful bay with black sand, a beach with semi-precious stones (olivines) and a “green” lake in the crater of the volcano – Charco de los Clicos.

8. Los Hervideros, “Boiling Boilers.” A place with unusual rock formations, thanks to the fact that it was here that burning lava flowed into the ocean when Timanfaya erupted!

9. Papagayo Beach, a beautiful natural bay, the very south of Lanzarote! From here come the ferries to the neighboring Fuerteventura. From Playa Blanca are clearly visible white dunes of Fuerta National Park!