Timanfaya, and why you visit it by coach
This is the disappointment waiting for anyone who arrives expecting trails: in Timanfaya National Park you do not walk where you like. The main visit follows a closed route, by vehicle. It is not a commercial decision, and it is worth understanding why before you go, because it changes what you should expect from the day.
What is being protected
The park is the result of the eruptions of 1730 to 1736, six years of activity that buried a quarter of Lanzarote under lava and lapilli. What remains is a recent volcanic surface with very little life on it: lichens that take decades to establish and colonise bare rock millimetre by millimetre.
A trodden lichen does not recover in a season. And on recent lava there is no soil to cushion anything: the footprint stays. That is what the restriction prevents.
So how do you visit
- The Route of the Volcanoes, on the park vehicle, which crosses the interior along a road that already existed.
- The geothermal demonstrations at the service area, which show that the heat below is still there a few metres down.
- Guided walks with limited places, which do exist but are not the general visit: ask well ahead, because the quota is small.
What to adjust in your expectations
This is not a walking trip. It is a looking trip, with stops and without freedom of movement. If what you want is to walk on volcanoes in Lanzarote, the island allows it outside the national park: there are cones and badlands with open trails.
The practical part
The park has a single entrance and the access road is narrow; queues of vehicles build up in the middle of the day. The first hour of the morning is the difference between driving in and waiting.
And clothing: it is an exposed place, with no shade, wind, and black ground reflecting heat. It feels worse than a beach at the same temperature.
Frequently asked questions
›Can you hike in Timanfaya?
Not freely. There are guided walks with limited places, but the general visit follows the Route of the Volcanoes on the park vehicle. The reason is that on recent lava lichens take decades to establish and footprints do not fade.
›When were the Timanfaya eruptions?
From 1730 to 1736: six years of activity that covered a quarter of Lanzarote with lava and lapilli. It is a recent volcanic landscape, and that is exactly what makes it fragile and what is being protected.
›Can I walk on volcanoes in Lanzarote at all?
Yes, but outside the national park. The island has cones and badlands with open trails where walking is allowed. If walking is the plan, keep it separate from the Timanfaya visit, which is about looking rather than walking.