Arrecife Shore Excursion

This Arrecife shore trip visits the Timanfaya National Park to see the lunar landscape created by millions of years of volcanic activity. You also visit Yaiza, which is considered one of the six most beautiful villages in all of Spain.

Lanzarote is one of the oldest of the Canary Islands and is the result of volcanic activity that began in this part of the Atlantic Ocean 22 million years ago. The passing millennia have molded its landscape, giving it a truly spectacular countryside which is listed as an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The impressive fields of solidified lava have converted Timanfaya National Park into the land of the volcanoes.

After meeting your guide you depart for the National park. From the viewpoint of Monta̱a Rajada you admire a vast sea of lava that reaches the coastline. Over time, the local inhabitants have learned to live alongside this unusual and pretty landscape, and have learned to dry farm melons, onions, tomatoes and also vines in La Geria.

The park is divided into two ecosystems: land and marine. The land is dominated by a lunar landscape and you see different environmental features such as; volcanic cones, seas of lava, older areas which are not covered by recent lava so vegetation abounds, and cliffs. The formations found in the marine ecosystem are; geysers, hot springs, rocks and black sandy beaches. In this exceptional landscape, numerous species have developed and have been the subject of many studies.

After visiting the Timanfaya National Park you drive to Yaiza, which has an English translation of Rover, Lassie or Fido (being a common Spanish name for a pet dog). It is an enchanting village of brilliant white-washed houses that the locals call the village the Capital of the South. It is more reminiscent of North Africa than of Spain, both for its architecture and the surrounding vegetation. Nevertheless, the village is included in a list of the top six most beautiful villages in the whole of Spain. It's a deserved honor too, of which the villagers are rightly proud. Yaiza is superbly kept with bougainvillea and hibiscus providing gorgeous splashes of color against the white of the houses and the black of the surrounding fields of black volcanic ash.

While you are in Yaiza, you enjoy a short guided tour and then some free time before returning to Arrecife.

Mobility: Folding wheelchair OK, some sites may be inaccessible (advance notice required)