Posts Tagged ‘Luxury Villas’
22 Lanzarote Attractions – Mirador Del Rio, Jameous Del Agua and La Cueva de los Verdes
It is possible to do these three attractions in a single day providing you set out early and plan your day.
As we live in Playa Blanca, we travelled north on the LZ-2 via San Bartholme and Teguise into the mountains in the north where we made our first stop at the Mirador Del Rio. This is a cafeteria cut into the mountains in the north and has the most spectacular views of the island you could possible want to see, so a camera is a must.
After a drink and a snack, we continued North and then turned at the top of the island and made our descent to sea level, where we saw an array of different coloured sands blown across the sea from the Sahara desert. If you are into beaches, you might want to stop off here to explore the many bays on offer.
Shortly after this we arrived at our second attraction, the Jameos del Agua. Enchanting, Mystical & Magical, the three most common words used to describe a place created as a result of a formation of gas explosions within a volcanic bubble. Over the years, seawater has flooded the tunnels so that eventually a lagoon has been left behind. A lagoon that is home to thousands of tiny white crabs that have become blind through many years of living in poor light, a lagoon that has a bar and a restaurant and even a nightclub three times a week ! Read the rest of this entry »
21 Lanzarote Attractions – Timanfaya
The Montañas del Fuego (Fire Mountains), to give them there proper name were created in the 1730’s when more than 100 volcanos in what is now the National Park, rose up to devastate the southern part of the island. Eruptions lasted for six years and several villages were completely destroyed. The last eruption on the island was in 1824.
Because Lanzarote has such low rainfall (and therefore a lack of erosion) the area appears much as it did at the time and in 1968 the area was declared a national park “Parque Nacional de Timanfaya”.
We decided to make a full day of this trip and we firmly believe that this a must see for any visitor to the island, because of its unique ‘martian’ landscape and rare plant species. On entry to the national park (entrance was around 8 euros per person, as I recall, and the small children were free as is usual at many of the islands attractions), the first thing to catch our eye were camels and of course we had to stop because the children wanted a ride !
An hour or so later, we arrived at the Car park of the Islote de Hilario, where we saw a crowd of people standing around a hole. This was to be the first of two quite stunning demonstrations of just how hot the area is just below the ground. We were told that temperatures a few metres below ground are a staggering 400°C to 600°C.
Dry bushes were thrown into a hole and in less than a minute, it caught fire !
Water was then poured into a bore hole and seconds later the water erupted back into the air as steam and we all got a warm shower because we were standing on the wrong side.
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17 Lanzarote Beaches – Haria
Haria is the most northern of Lanzarotes seven municipalities. It can thank the Sahara Desert and strong winds for what some regard as Lanzarote finest beaches.
The entire coastline is known as Malpaís de la Corona (“badlands”) and is strewn with white and golden sand which mingles intimately with volcanic magma forming small sheltered bays (a number of which are featured in this article), which are ideal for swimming. This preominently rural area harbours many of the natural marvels of Lanzarote such as Jameos del Agua and La Cueva de Los Verdes (See my related article 23xx on these attractions).
Our first of five beaches being reviewed in this area is known as El Caletón Blanco (“The big inlet”) measuring half a kilometre long and 9 m. wide, consisting of fine white sand.
Camping is also permitted on the beach, but you’ll need to get prior municipal approval at the Lanzarote Town Council (Cabildo). There is ample space for parking and the guaguas (autobus) also stops here.
Our second beach is known as El Risco, measuring 845m long and 8m wide and consisting of fine white sand. This beach gets very windy, although Isla Graciosa shelters it to a degree from the rougher seas. It is a 400m climb down (and back up !), so not for the faint hearted. The waves are moderate. Read the rest of this entry »
16 Lanzarote Beaches – Teguise
Teguise is one of the largest and most popular of Lanzarotes seven municipalities. It includes Famara (in the north) and Costa Teguise, (in the south).
If your mathematical formula for fun on the beach is “Water=Waves”, then you should be heading for the northern coastline that takes in Famara (and neighbouring La Santa – See article “13 Lanzarote beaches – Tinajo”).
Our first of six beaches being reviewed in this area is known as Famara, measuring 6 kilometres long by 100 m (the biggest beach in Lanzarote). Fine golden sand, a constant wind and ever present strong swells against a backdrop of mountains makes this worth visiting, but the strong currents in this area can be a problem, so keep small children well within your reach.
The surf in this part of the island is world famous (so it’s hardly surprising that Famara is often referred to as the Hawaii of Europe). Large waves crash into the beach, and roll up the fine white sand towards the beach road, making it a surfers paradise. Behind the road you’ll find a large area of sand dunes, a perfect sheltered base from which to view proceedings.
The village nearby has a few restaurants and cafe bars where you can enjoy a quiet drink – but it’s all very laid back and has a UK/Sunday feel about the whole place.
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