If you read nothing else
- The Timanfaya Natural Park Trekking Tour runs three hours with groups limited to 9 participants and a live guide.[1]
- The trekking tour starts from US$54, and free cancellation runs up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1]
- Live guides on the trekking tour speak English, Italian and Spanish, and starting times appear when you check availability.[1]
- The Guided Volcano Hike with Transfers lasts 3.5 - 4 hours and the La Geria vineyard trek lasts 3.5 hours.[2][3]
- Timanfaya covers about 51 square kilometers (20 square miles), and the Mancha Blanca Visitor Centre opens Monday to Sunday from 9:00 to 16:00.[4][5]
| Timanfaya trek | Volcano hike | La Geria trek | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From | from US$54[1] | from US$48[2] | from US$50[3] |
| Duration | 3 hours[1] | 3.5 - 4 hours[2] | 3.5 hours[3] |
| Group size | Limited to 9 participants[1] | Limited to 8 participants[2] | Private or small groups available[3] |
| Guide languages | English, Italian, Spanish[1] | English, French, Spanish[2] | Italian, Spanish, English, French[3] |
| Traveller rating | 4.82 from 907 reviews[1] | 4.85 from 929 reviews[2] | 5.00 from 6 reviews[3] |
The Termesana Route allows you to come into close contact with the volcano and the culture that permeated the inhabitants of Lanzarote during the 1730-1736 eruptive period.
Walking Timanfaya: is a guided trek worth it?
Prepare for the day
Why walk in Timanfaya National Park
Timanfaya covers about 51 square kilometers (20 square miles) of lava fields, ash plains and volcanic cones.[4] From a coach window you see the colours; on foot you feel the ground under you, the crunch of lapilli, the wind that funnels between craters and the heat still held in the rock. Most guided walks here are short by mountain standards, a morning rather than a full day, and they leave the rest of the day free.
Walking also slows the landscape down. Lava from long-past eruptions still looks fresh, with ropey folds, hollowed tubes and pale lichen creeping in from the edges of the flow. The park was declared a National Park by a decree of August 9, 1974, published in the Official State Gazette on September 17, 1974.[9] Guides use that history on the trail, pointing out how fast plants come back and how long bare rock takes to break down into soil.
You do not need to be a serious hiker to enjoy this. The walks are half-day outings on volcanic ground rather than long mountain routes, and the pace is set for people who want to stop, look and take photographs. Bring a hat and water, wear shoes you do not mind dusting off, and expect to be back in resort well before dinner.
The guided walks you can choose from
A good default is the Timanfaya Natural Park Trekking Tour: three hours on foot, groups limited to 9 participants and a live guide in English, Italian or Spanish, from US$54.[1] Starting times appear when you check availability, and the listing offers reserve now and pay later, with free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1]
Other walks trade the park for the volcano flanks and the vineyards. The Guided Volcano Hike with Transfers runs 3.5 - 4 hours, with groups limited to 8 participants and a live guide in English, French or Spanish, from US$48.[2] The La Geria trek between volcanoes and vineyards lasts 3.5 hours, with private or small groups available and a guide in Italian, Spanish, English or French, from US$50.[3] If you want a Lanzarote Timanfaya National Park trekking tour that collects you from your hotel, check availability for pickup options on each listing before you book.[2][10]
Three things are worth comparing before you commit: the group size, the meeting or pickup point, and the language your guide will use. Then look at the duration. A short walk and a longer half-day with transfers leave very different amounts of time for the caves, the coast or an afternoon by the pool.
Lava folds and red cinder stretch across the Timanfaya landscape.
What you see on foot: craters, ash and heat
Hiking in Timanfaya National Park means reading the ground as much as covering distance. The colours shift through the day: black basalt, rust-red cinder, ochre sand and grey pumice, with flashes of orange where the rock is freshly broken. Underfoot the surface is loose and crunchy in places and firm and ropy in others, and the trail lifts over small cones before opening onto wide ash flats. Geothermal heat sits close to the surface at Islote de Hilario, where temperatures on the surface reach around 250 ºC and more than 600 ºC at 13 m deep.[8]
The bare ground has doubled for other worlds on screen. Several films inspired by other planets have been filmed in Timanfaya, including Enemy Mine, Krull, Mission Stardust, Stranded and Operation Ganymed.[11] The Termesana Route allows visitors to come into close contact with the volcano and the culture of Lanzarote's inhabitants during the 1730-1736 eruptive period.[12]
There is human detail too, if you know where to look: dry stone walls marking old plots, fig trees in the deepest hollows, and vineyards planted in scooped bowls of ash. Guides on the park walks tend to point out the small things, a lichen spreading over a lava tongue or a plant working its way out of a crack, that are easy to walk past on your own.
The Timanfaya National Park coastal route
The protected area stops short of the sea, and the shoreline just west and south of it is the natural extension of a walking day: black cliffs, a green lagoon and blowholes that spout when the swell is running. El Golfo and Los Hervideros are the usual stops, and the light is at its best early and late. This is scenery to look at and photograph, with short walks between viewpoints rather than a long-distance trail.
Getting around without a car takes planning. Line 60 passes through Yaiza on its route between Arrecife and Playa Blanca.[13] Puerto del Carmen and Timanfaya National Park are about 22 km apart directly, with a road distance of about 23.5 km.[14] For the coastal stops and the park in one day, a coach tour takes the driving out of your hands: the Lanzarote: Timanfaya National Park Tour includes pickup, with details shown when you check availability.[15]
Cruise passengers and anyone short of time can join a southern loop that calls at the Green Lagoon and La Geria as well as Timanfaya. The Arrecife: Timanfaya and Green Lagoon for Cruise Passengers tour runs 2.5 - 5 hours and stops at Timanfaya National Park, the Green Lagoon, the Casa Museo y Monumento al Campesino and La Geria.[16]
from US$54
The trekking tour runs 3 hours, limits groups to 9 participants and has a live guide in English, Italian or Spanish.[1]
Heat, shoes and timing on the lava
Bring more water than you think you need, wear closed shoes with grip, and pack a light layer for the wind. There is very little shade out on the flows, and the dark rock keeps its warmth long after midday. Sun cream and sunglasses matter as much here as they do on the beach, and the glare off pale ash can be strong even under thin cloud.
The Visitor Centre at Mancha Blanca is open Monday to Sunday from 9:00 to 16:00.[5] It gives free access to an exhibition and an audiovisual programme covering the park.[7] It is a sensible first stop if you want the geology and the eruption history in order before you walk over the ground itself.
If you plan to visit Montañas del Fuego on your own, note that tickets for independent entry can only be purchased online and for a specific time slot.[6] The standard adult entrance ticket costs 30.00 EUR.[17] Once inside, the Route of the Volcanoes has adapted coaches for the classic circuit through the craters.[18]
Group sizes, guides and free cancellation
Small groups are one of the real advantages of walking here. The Timanfaya Natural Park Trekking Tour takes a maximum of 9 participants and is rated 4.82 from 907 reviews.[1] The Guided Volcano Hike with Transfers caps groups at 8 participants.[2] The Hike Across Timanfaya's Volcanic Landscapes caps them at 10.[19] On narrower sections of trail, fewer people means fewer stops and more chance to hear what the guide is saying.
Language coverage is broad. The trekking tour is guided in English, Italian and Spanish, the volcano hike with transfers in English, French and Spanish, and the guided hike about volcano history and culture in Spanish, English, French and German.[1][2][20] Checking the language before booking avoids a morning of polite nodding.
Reserve now and pay later is standard on these listings, and free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund applies to them.[1][2][20] That gives you room to move the walk if the weather turns or if you decide to spend the day at the coast instead.
Making a day of it: caves, vineyards and camels
Walking is one half of a Timanfaya day and the caves are the other. The Lanzarote: Timanfaya Park, Jameos Agua, & Cueva Verdes Tour runs 9 hours and takes in Timanfaya National Park, Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua, with 61 pickup location options and skip the ticket line, from US$102.[21]
Closer to the park gates, the camel ride at the Timanfaya camel station lasts approximately 20 minutes.[22] At El Diablo, the restaurant's volcanic oven uses natural heat from the subsoil, where temperatures exceed 600 °C just 15 meters below the surface, cooking meat and vegetables without fire or electricity.[23] Neither is a walk, but both add something to the day.
Back in the vineyards, a stop in La Geria is a gentle way to finish. The vines grow in individual hollows scooped out of black ash, protected by low stone walls, and the tasting rooms are used to dusty walking boots. If you have a hire car, this is the easiest part of the island to string together with a morning on the lava.
Maximum group size on guided Timanfaya walks
Group limits as stated in each GetYourGuide listing:[1][2][19][20]
From prices for guided walks and volcano days in Lanzarote
From-prices per person in US dollars from the GetYourGuide listings for these tours:[1][2][3][21]
When to book and when to walk
Plan your Timanfaya walk
Pick the walk that fits your day
A morning on foot, a half-day with transfers or a full day with caves: choose by time, not by price.
Check the group size
Smaller groups mean fewer pauses and more time with the guide on the narrow parts of the trail.
Match the guide language
Check which languages your chosen walk is guided in, and book a departure you will follow easily.
Wear closed shoes
Lava and lapilli are uneven and sharp. Trainers with grip beat sandals, and a light jacket helps in the wind.
Carry water and sun cover
There is almost no shade on the flows, and the dark rock stays warm well into the afternoon.
Keep the afternoon free
Caves, vineyards and the green lagoon sit close by, and they pair well with a morning on the lava.
Walk the lava fields of Timanfaya with a small group and a local guide
from US$54
