The benefit of owning two dogs is that you do go out and discover paths around the island of Lanzarote. We wanted to share some of our walks with you, so that you too can enjoy the landscapes of Lanzarote. I apologise in advance about the lack of information regarding the length of the walk or time expectation on the following walks, we tend to grab a rucksack, the dogs, loads of water and head out for an adventure, one of these days I promise to take the GPS and get a bit more technical! Please click on the title of each walk for the full post. Coastal Walks
This has got to be the most extreme walk that we've done on the island and it was absolutely fantastic but I wouldn't attempt it again until I was sure that some of the landslides had been cleared! Not recommended for those afraid of heights.
This is a beautiful walk along the coast line from the quiet naturist village of Charco del Palo to the popular beach of Arrieta. It’s not a strenuous walk, there aren’t lots of hills to climb but you do need to wear good footwear and keep an eye on the terrain underfoot.
Pick up a copy of the free island map from the harbour information centre when you arrive. The purple area shows the restricted zones, the yellow are the sand tracks suitable for 4x4’s and bikes and the white are footpaths. There is too much to see in one day, even if you are on a bike and take the first and last ferry, the island covers 27km2.
I was surprised at how easy it was to walk from Puerto del Carmen to Puerto Calero at the weekend. Normally I don’t think twice about how to get there as I just drive but for tourists staying in Puerto del Carmen without a hire car I wondered how they would visit the marina. From Puerto del Carmen, they could catch the Arrecife Bus, take the water taxi, arrange a free transfer if booked on the Catlanza or Submarine excursion or they could walk!
This walk links up nicely with a previous one from Puerto del Carmen to Puerto Calero which covered the coast from the old harbour to the marina and the two could easily be connected for a longer trek. Playa Quemada is a small seaside village nestling at the foot of the Monumental Natural Los Ajaches mountains with black beaches.
We were invited by David from Activity Adventures to join in with some of his clients on a walk to the water tunnel during the first week of August. In 10 years of living in Lanzarote I haven’t heard anyone mention a water tunnel before? We were intrigued and not knowing quite what to expect we set off to meet David in Famara.
Countryside WalksIf you’re on the island during the second week of September then you must take part in the Romería de Los Dolores. You can set off from any point on the island as long as you are comfortable walking the distance to Manch Blanca. The tradition is to walk from where you live but as we live in the North we walk from the Monumento Campesino in San Bartolomé and this is a common meeting point. One point, you really should make the effort to wear the traditional costume.
You can’t miss the Monte Corona, its the huge one at the North end of the island of Lanzarote overlooking Órzola, this is where the lava flowed down to the sea to create the tunnel that now forms the attractions of the Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua.
There is a really great walk from Haría up to the forest and picnic area called Bosquecillo, from the centre of the village there are two routes, one is easier underfoot but longer. Start from the Plaza de Constitución, with the ayuntamiento building on your left walk along the road past the library, when you get to the junction at the corner you need to decide which way you prefer.
On an impulse recently I walked back up to Haría from the lovely Arrieta beach, by road its a distance of 7km. I walked from the roundabout with the Manrique wind toy along the (LZ-10) road to Haría before turning off after the long straight – if you prefer you can start this walk from the beach, along a dirt track.
We have walked up to the Presa de Mala (the dam) countless times but not up past or around it before which is what we decided to do one overcast and very windy day in Lanzarote. We had a quick look at Google Earth and could see that the dirt track from the village of Mala went up and past the dam right up to the top road at Los Helechos (Teguise – Haría road) climbing from 47m to 555m!!
Built Up Area Walks
There’s been a lot of media regarding the changes on the front in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote. This resort has a 6km stretch of promenade that runs from the end of the runway at Matagorda to the main beach Playa Grande. For the main part, the traffic now runs in one direction with a cycle lane from the main beach towards Matagorda and the pavement has been widened. I took the opportunity to walk the length of “The Strip” recently with my camera and hope you enjoy the photos!
El Charco de San Ginés really is a lovely spot in Arrecife! El Charco translates to ‘the puddle’ and is situated on the front in Arrecife, between Calle Real and Puerto Naos. There is a car park on open ground to the side of El Charco with a children’s playground, the very popular restaurant Casa Ginory marks the entrance and no matter the time of day there are always people enjoying fresh fish platters or bocadillos de pescado or calamares here.
I’m ashamed to say that in the ten years of living in Lanzarote I hadn’t yet walked the paseo marítimo (promendade) along the front at Playa Blanca, the opportunity arose recently on a beautiful winter’s day in January. We decided to park our car at the El Faro end of Playa Blanca and start from the lighthouse around the bay to Papagayo – well, that was the plan and we had our beach kit with us to relax at the end.
I found myself with an hour to spare in Costa Teguiseand intrigued by the series of little sign posts that had appeared I set off exploring where these paths went. I started from the outdoor exercise machines situated on the promenade just along from Playa Bastian and found they incorporated two children’s play areas and the skateboard park along the route.
A map is now available showing three routes around the resort of Costa Teguise, green 4.6 km, blue 6.5 km and red 10 km. The green path is the easiest and central to the resort, the blue path takes in more of the South side and the red more of the North side.
Other Walks
The Cabildo de Lanzarote have released details of 10 walks around the island where they are going to create signposted footpaths. The new routes “Red de Senderos Turísticos y Recreativos de Lanzarote” will total a distance of 147 km and are spread out around Lanzarote. The budget of €80,000 Euros has already been raised and the work should be finished during the month of September 2010.
The Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino have launched a new website Red de Parques Nacionales, where you can book two free guided walks online through the Timanfaya National Park in Lanzarote. There is a tough coastal 9km walk and an easy 3km volcano walk. Have a look at another local website called Outdoor Lanzarote, its a blog written by Andrea and dedicated to walking around the island. We’ll add more to this list as we publish them, let us know in comments which ones you enjoyed and if you have any walks you’d recommend.
The 160 page paperback book follows the authors (Ros & David Brawn) walks around all types of landscapes in Lanzarote from along the coast, to exploring volcanoes and hidden rural paths. Each route has a walk summary and rating, fully detailed description, frequent timings so you can check your progress, compass directions, and gps waypoints for all country routes.
Happy trekking! |
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Mirador del Río - Risco de Famara
This walk is a toughie but worth it! When you visit the Mirador del Río at the Northern tip of Lanzarote, there is a stunning view from the Risco down over the Río to the island of La Graciosa. If you look down you will see a beautiful sandy beach called the Playa del Risco and next to it the pink ruins of the Salinas del Risco.
Monte Corona Yé
Haría to Bosquecillo
Presa de Mala
Walk “The Strip” in Puerto del Carmen
Walk the "Red de Paseos" in Costa Teguise
Red de Parques Nacionales
Walk! Lanzarote Map & Book
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