Timanfaya National Park

APR 10

Today I visited Timanfaya National Park on the north-western coast of Lanzarote. There we took took a bus tour of the mountains of fire and saw the incredible lava fields that dominate the landscape. It felt like a bus tour of mars, and I took the opportunity to take some photo's.

The Montañas del Fuego (Fire Mountains) were created between 1730 and 1736 when more than 100 volcanoes, covering more than 50 km², rose up and devastated this part of the island. The last eruptions were in 1824, however due to the low rainfall (and therefore lack of erosion) this area appears much the same as it did just after the eruptions. In 1968 the area was declared a national park, Parque Nacional de Timanfaya.

As you can see from the photographs below, the landscape is barren, sharp and unforgiving. Up close the lava is razor sharp and agressive. It feels like no life can exist there and that from the moment it was created all lifeforms were replaced by molten rock. Visually it still looks like you could touch it and it would burn you.

The final photo below is of the visitor centre and was designed by the Lanzarote based designer Cesar Manrique. His work is amazing and can be found all over the island. The building itself is incredible and built from perfectly cut lava blocks and like all of his work is low-rise, maintaining a harmonius relationsip between building and landscape.