The Timanfaya National Park is where you will find the Montanas de Fuego which is the Spanish for the Mountains of Fire. Covering an area of just over fifty square kilometres, when you pay a visit to this area, and the best way to do it is by the tour bus, you will see a diversity of geological phenomena whilst taking the journey around the National Park.
During the early 1730’s the most notorious event of the island which was also one of the longest and most devastating volcanic eruptions in world history took place and lasted for nearly six years. Within an area of only eight square kilometres between twenty five and thirty volcanoes erupted and this is the area now known as the Timanfaya National Park. The next volcanic eruptions to take place in this area were in 1824 and these are the last recorded incidents to date. However, there are still several areas above ground level which are too hot to touch even in this day and age.
The original land which is buried underneath the now solid black lava was once an area of twelve villages where the most fertile farming of Lanzarote took place. The Timanfaya National Park is now the most popular attraction for tourists when visiting the island and it draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. With the small amount of rainfall on an annual basis there is little erosion taking place so the unique landscape, often referred to as almost moon-like, is there for the tourists to see in its pristine structure.
The amazing Visitors Centre within the park is where you will be taken as the first part of the tour when you arrive and it is the place where you will see numerous experiments which are carried out by members of the staff to enable you to fully appreciate the sheer force of the volcanic eruptions.
Then it is onto the bus where your guide for the tour will point out what is known as the tongues of lava, the lines of volcanoes and the volcanic tubes. The scenery is some of the most spectacular to be seen on the island as the buses weave in and around the actual volcanoes every quarter of an hour or so and travel the distance of around ten kilometres along narrow pathways.
When it is time to eat you should visit the other major attraction here at the Park, the El Diablo restaurant which not only provides stunning and panoramic views of the area but the grilling of the food served here is done over the heat provided from the volcano.
If you decide not to go to Timanfaya National Park on an organized excursion you can hire a car and travel independently. You will still need to take the tour once you get there to see everything the park has to offer, but travelling there and back in this way allows you the opportunity to call in at the village of Yaiza on the way back to your resort. This is a village which was lucky enough to escape the devastating effects of the volcanic eruptions and is well worth a visit while you’re in the area.
