Things to See and Do in Lanzarote
1 ... TIMANFAYA NATIONAL PARKParque Nacional de Timanfaya - The 30 or so volcanoes here could blow again, and the route up here is precarious and the scenery otherworldly; buses climb mountains of silky-grey sand, past rust-red craters and lava frozen into waves tipped with white-lichen foam. At El Diablo, the park's Manrique-designed restaurant, you can watch chicken legs drip and sizzle over a well as they're roasted by the 600°C heat raging 13m below the surface.
2 ... JAMEOS DEL AGUAEdge down steep steps carved into the rock at Jameos del Agua [which is open daily] into the first of two roofless caves [actually partially collapsed lava tunnels], then head for the dark central area. Here a sapphire lagoon shimmers, and thousands of tiny blind albino crabs glow on the bottom like stars. There's a memorable night out to be had here too; Manrique snuck a couple of bar/restaurants and an auditorium into the recesses.
Above the caves in Jameo Grande. This picturesque, irregularly-shaped swimming pool is surrounded by artistically arranged tropical flora. Jameo Grande opens to an underground auditorium seating 600. This unique setting is famous for its outstanding acoustics. Apart from the natural features in the caves, another point of interest is the exhibition on volcanoes.
3 ... PUERTO CALERO HARBOURThe count of glossy hulls puts Puerto Banus to shame! The King of Spain is rumoured to berth here when things get blustery back home. There are designer shops and a row of unpretentious restaurants strung with fairy lights.
4 ... MIRADOR DEL RIOThe lichen-covered Mirador del Rio is an old lookout, which Manrique originally conceived as a restaurant. Perched in the heights on the northern-most tip of the island, it looks like somewhere Bilbo Baggins might call home. Inside, it's all much more "Grand Designs", with minimalist Manrique decor, a spidery light sculpture and ferns in hanging baskets. The view from here is arguably the best and most famous in Lanzarote with the island of La Graciosa looking so close you might be tempted to jump across!
In 1898 when Spain was at war with the United States over Cuba, a gun emplacement was built here, guarding the straits of El Rio, which separate Lanzarote from La Graciosa. In 1973 the former gun emplacement was transformed by Cesar Manrique and visitors have been coming here ever since.
5 ... CESAR MANRIQUE'S HOUSEA visit to Cesar Manrique's house in Teguise helps make sense of his work elsewhere on Lanzarote. Built on a lumpy black lava field, it looks as if tar has been poured through its windows. There are sketches of the Mirador del Rio [as well as drawings by Picasso and Miro] squiggly murals, a cactus garden and, down in the basement, domed black-lava ceilings.
Cesar Manrique was born in Arrecife. Having completed his army service in 1937-39, he devoted himself to art. His abstract paintings were exhibited across Europe as well as in Japan and the United States, and he won international acclaim. In 1968 he returned to Lanzarote and brought his talent to bear on the tasks of protecting the natural environment against the uncontrolled development of the island for tourism. Manrique's efforts paid off and rules were introduced for developers dictating the height style and colour of buildings. In addition, Manrique's own designs incorporating volcanic forms helped to create many architectural masterpieces on all the Canary Islands. Manrique died in 1992 in a car accident but he left his mark on Lanzarote, both in terms of his bold designs and in the restrained way traditional island life has adapted to tourism.
6 ... LOS HERVIDEROSA couple of kilometres south of El Golfo, Los Hervideros ["The Kettles"] is a strange, cubic-looking stretch of coast sculpted by the Atlantic and punctured by a series of blowholes and caves, and where the waves "boil" inside the vast caves of the 15m high cliffs. Peer from the natural rock "balconies" into the emerald pools below, dodging the blasts as the sea is sucked in.
7 ... JARDIN DE CACTUSManrique crammed more than 10,000 specimens into his bowl-shaped Jardin de Cactus, outside Guatiza. Caterpillar and paddle shapes sprout from the black gravel, as well as more unusual examples, such as the long tentacles of Fasheiroa Ulei, from Brazil, which looks like Medusa's hair.
At the entrance to the garden stands a 8m [26ft] tall metal statue of a cactus. The large garden which also has a good restaurant, was built in an enormous pit, originally dug by the villagers who were excavating volcanic ash to fertilize their fields. The garden is dominated by a white windmill.
8 ... VINEYARDSYou might think Lanzarote's dry, black pastures wouldn't yield a bean. In fact, vineyards are among the island's biggest employers and La Geria region is where it all happens. The 15km drive from Mozaga to Uga passes through fields of dark gravel that are studded with hundreds of semi-circular stone walls, each sheltering a spindly vine in a scooped out hollow. At the many wineries en route, you can taste the popular Malvasia white. The largest, El Grifco, started producing in 1775 and for about £10 they will throw in five different wines and cheeses. There is a museum full of beginning-of-time presssing equipment, too.
9 ... MONUMENTO AL CAMPESINOManrique erected a sumbol of a very special kind in the form of this abstract monument to the
peasants, also call the fertility statue [Monumento de la Fecundidad]. The sculpture is made of watertanks, which lend themselves to symbolism, and some say it shows a farmer with a dromedary, a dog, and a donkey. The plants cultivated round the base of the statue are a representative selection of Lanzarote's agricultural produce.
In the complex at the foot of the Monumento al Campesino, there is a local museum, a restaurant and a souvenir shop. Manrique had this built in the traditional style, so it is also a monument to Lanzarote's typical architecture. Agricultural tools such as a grape press, a wooden harrow, and dromedary harness are the decorations.
10 ... CASTILLO DE SAN JOSEThe commanding position of San Jose Castle once made it a vital defence for the island's capital and port agains the pirates who plagued the Canaries. Today, it looks down on the busy commercial harbour of Puerto de Naos. Built of black basalt in the midst of a period of great suffering after the eruption of Timanfays, the castle came to be known as the Hunger Fortress. It is entered by crossing a moat, and the year of its completion [1779] is carved above the entrance. Despite its military purpose, the 2-storey castle possesses great elegance and charm both inside and out.
Its spacious halls and spiral stairwells and the sharp contrast of black stone and white walls, create an atmosphere of powerful, stark simplicity. Floors are paved with patterned black volcanic slabs and black pebbles. The barrel-vaulted ceiling, too, are black.
In 1976, Cesar Manrique restored the castle and installed the Museo Internacional de Arte Contemporaneo devoted to abstract modern art. Spiral steps lead down too Manrique's own contribution, a glass-walled restaurant and bar overlooking the sea, with black tables and modern classical music playing.
