The Timanfaya National Park (span. Parque Nacional de Timanfaya) is in the west of the island Lanzarote. It is located on the territory of the two municipalities Yaiza and Tinajo and is embedded in the Parque Natural de los Volcanes. It has a diameter of around 30 km and covers an area of 51 km². In the center of the park is that Monumento National de Montaña de Fuego
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background
history
On September 1, 1730, the earth broke open near the village of Timanfaya, a mountain formed from the summit of which flames shot up. It was the beginning of a huge volcanic eruption that lasted a total of 6 years. In its course, 11 villages were destroyed along with the most fertile farmland on the island of Lanzarote. A crack 14 km long formed in the earth, with lava fields at the edges. The longest lava flow was over 20 km long and eventually reached at Arrecife the sea.
During this natural spectacle, which was accompanied by numerous seaquakes, a large part of the population on Lanzarote lost their livelihood. There was a great wave of emigration until the Spanish Crown made all escape attempts a punishable offense. As a result, the people who had become homeless settled further south, but the newly created town of Tías was regarded as the poor house on the island until the last century.
In 1824 there was another volcanic eruption, for the time being it was the last, its center was on the edge of today's national park.
The national park was established on August 9, 1974, it was named after the buried village. It covers about half of the one founded in 1987 Parque Natural de los Volcanes. The region has also been a bird sanctuary since 1994, and the entire island of Lanzarote has also been a biosphere reserve since 1993.
Volcanic landscape
There are more than 30 volcanic cones on the grounds of the National Park of Volcanoes, some of which tower more than 500 m high. Their color is reddish-brown, they are in strong contrast to the dark, almost black lava fields at their feet and protrude like islands from the lava sea, consequently they are called Islote, Islet. They are geologically older than the very common extremely bizarre landscape of solidified lava in the plain, often than Malpaíse designated. Its rough surface is provided with countless extremely sharp-edged breaks, the technical term is Hawaiian and is 'A'a lava.
Other parts of the lava seas were formed when extremely liquid lava cooled, forming a smooth and sometimes shiny surface. They are called in Lanzarote Cordodas, the technical term comes from Hawaii again and is Pāhoehoe lava.
In several places you can find eruptive material, which is called differently depending on the size. Particles up to 2 mm in size form the volcanic ash, if the particles are up to 20 mm in size, they are called Lapilli. These stones have the ability to store water and are therefore used in agriculture. Even larger stones are known as slag, The farmers in Lanzarote have learned to use them to build windbreaks, and in some cases even larger glowing stones were thrown out during the eruptions Bombs are usually not too far from a crater.
When the surface of a lava field cools and solidifies, the lava that is still liquid below often flows for days, sometimes forming tubes or air bubbles, which can then collapse over time, the trenches created in this way are called Jameos.
Another form are the Hornitos or stoves, they are small cones, created on the ceiling of lava tunnels by the pressure of gases. One example is this Manto de la Virgen, one as Mantle of the virgin designated structure.
getting there
The Timanfaya National Park is the most important tourist attraction on the island, it is located roughly in the middle and is therefore easy to reach from any holiday destination. The access road is the LZ-67. The park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is advisable to choose a day with bright sunshine for the visit, otherwise you can hardly see anything from the visitor buses. When a cruise ship is in Arrecife is at anchor, it is better to come in the afternoon.
Fees / permits
At the entrance of the national park is a ticket booth, from there the path branches off to Islote del Hilario, he is the center of the Monumento National de Montaña de Fuego. Entrance fee per person 10 €, you can only drive up to the parking lot. The road is two-lane, but narrow, and the driver should look more at the road than at the spectacular scenery. The roadsides are partly extremely steep.
mobility
You can actually only move freely on the Islote de Hilario, otherwise entering the area is forbidden.
Tourist Attractions
- The landscape is of particular interest. From Islote de Hilario, buses leave about half an hour on the Volcano route, this approximately 14 km long tour takes about half an hour and leads to some spectacular points within the park. The buses belong to the park administration, the ride is included in the entrance fee, you should just pay attention to the languages in which the tour is offered. Spanish always, English relatively often. German is also occasionally offered. Information about the buses Tel. 928 84 00 56/57.
- The restaurant El Diablo was made according to the artist's plans César Manrique built. It has a huge glass front with a view of the mountains of fire, the grill made of lava stone is heated by the subterranean heat. This is possible because the Islote de Hilario is located in an area in which, due to thermal anomalies, temperatures of over 200 ° C already prevail a few centimeters below the earth, at a depth of 12 m it is said to be over 600 ° C. At one point next to the restaurant, the floor is already over 400 ° C at a depth of just under 2 m, here it is demonstrated that the heat is sufficient to ignite straw or undergrowth.
- The demonstrations of a geyser are also spectacular. Some water is poured into a hole in the ground. It is around 300 ° C there. After a few seconds the water will boil. Refilled water then shoots out of the hole like a fountain. Usually it is not said that the temperature inside drops and only reaches the required values after about 2 hours, the next demonstration takes place at the next borehole.
- Information center: When arriving from Tinajo in the north you first reach the visitor center at Mancha Blanca, then the road continues to the entrance of the national park. The access to the center is well signposted and there is plenty of parking space. It is advisable to plan a good hour for the center. It is open daily between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., admission is free. In the center there is very clear information about volcanism in particular and about the island of Lanzarote in general. A kiosk with a large selection of literature is attached. Address: Ctra. de Yaiza a Tinajo (LZ 67), km 11.5, 35560 Tinajo, Lanzarote, Tel. 928 84 08 39
- Echadero de los Camellos: the "camel stable" is 4 km from Yaiza away, here camel tours start along the slopes of a volcanic cone. A small museum, an information center on the importance of the once important workhorses and a cafe-restaurant complete this information point. Address: Echadero de los Camellos, Ctra. LZ-67, km 4, 35570 Yaiza, Lanzarote. Administration: C / La Mareta, 9, 35560 Tinajo, Lanzarote, Tel. 928 84 02 38/8402 40
activities
There are also guided hikes in the area, which you can do at the National Park Information Center in Tinajo book. One of those hikes is the Termesana route on the southern edge of the park, it leads through relatively flat terrain and is about 2 km long. Registration in the information center or on tel. 928 84 08 39.
kitchen
That already mentioned above El Diablo is the only restaurant in the nature park, based on this monopoly it has a decent quality and is reasonably priced, and the good view through the panoramic windows is free. Sometimes it is quite full, after all, around 1.5 million people visit the national park each year.
literature
- Baedeker (Ed.): Lanzarote. Ostfildern, ISBN 978-3-8297-1293-4 , P. 194.
- : Lanzarote. Fuerteventura: RAI, 2008 (4th edition), ISBN 84-922057-5-X (1999–2008), ISBN 978-84-92829-23-1 (2014); 126 pages (German). Available in souvenir shops and supermarkets in Lanzarote
Web links
- Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo, Tourist Information Office of the Island of Lanzarote, Spanish
- Management of the Spanish national parks
