Your Lanzarote holiday starts here
Lanzarote is an island of extreme and unusual beauty. Its rugged landscapes of jagged black volcanoes and malpais – the badlands of the huge lava flows created by volcanic eruptions nearly three centuries ago – contrast strongly with the wide sandy beaches and the sleepy green valleys of the northern part of the island. The sweeping vineyards, where small crescent shaped walls protect vines from the strong north easterly trade winds, are planted on jet black soil, a fine volcanic gravel called picón which spewed out of the volcanoes. At first thought to be a disaster, the inventive islanders found that picón retained moisture, and made a perfect soil for growing vines. Emblematic of the enterprising spirit of the people of the island, Lanzarote now produces some of the best Malvasia wines in the world.
For César Manrique, the island’s most famous son, this ability to harmoniously blend the natural and manmade was part of his passionate vision for the island and its people. His extraordinary Centres of Art, Culture and Tourism around the island combine landscape and architecture in a unique way, with volcanic lava tubes transformed into performance spaces, or lookout points built into 500 metre high cliffs with astonishing views over the beautiful Chinijo archipelago.
Manrique’s touch can be felt everywhere on the island still today, and the passion he engendered to preserve and combine the best of old and new, traditional and modern, still exists on the island. From the simple whitewashed villages of the interior, to the large modern resorts of the south, and the rugged beauty of its steep northern coast to the peaceful coves of the southern headlands, intriguing Lanzarote exerts a compelling attraction on its visitors, who will always wish to return. This insider guide, through pictures, interviews and stories reveals how, when, and where to have the best holiday on this unique island.
Lanzarote is an island of extreme and unusual beauty. Its rugged landscapes of jagged black volcanoes and malpais – the badlands of the huge lava flows created by volcanic eruptions nearly three centuries ago – contrast strongly with the wide sandy beaches and the sleepy green valleys of the northern part of the island. The sweeping vineyards, where small crescent shaped walls protect vines from the strong north easterly trade winds, are planted on jet black soil, a fine volcanic gravel called picón which spewed out of the volcanoes. At first thought to be a disaster, the inventive islanders found that picón retained moisture, and made a perfect soil for growing vines. Emblematic of the enterprising spirit of the people of the island, Lanzarote now produces some of the best Malvasia wines in the world.
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For César Manrique, the island’s most famous son, this ability to harmoniously blend the natural and manmade was part of his passionate vision for the island and its people. His extraordinary Centres of Art, Culture and Tourism around the island combine landscape and architecture in a unique way, with volcanic lava tubes transformed into performance spaces, or lookout points built into 500 metre high cliffs with astonishing views over the beautiful Chinijo archipelago.
Manrique’s touch can be felt everywhere on the island still today, and the passion he engendered to preserve and combine the best of old and new, traditional and modern, still exists on the island. From the simple whitewashed villages of the interior, to the large modern resorts of the south, and the rugged beauty of its steep northern coast to the peaceful coves of the southern headlands, intriguing Lanzarote exerts a compelling attraction on its visitors, who will always wish to return. This insider guide, through pictures, interviews and stories reveals how, when, and where to have the best holiday on this unique island.
"Our life on this planet is so brief that every step we take must be a further contribution to the ideal space of Utopia. Let us build that space together: it is the only way to make it possible"
César Manrique
Tila Braddock, Lanzarote resident
"When you go out into the countryside you still find it untouched and as it was 100 years ago – the people working with their donkeys and goats. That’s what keeps me here – the people are so warm and friendly"
"When you go out into the countryside you still find it untouched and as it was 100 years ago – the people working with their donkeys and goats. That’s what keeps me here – the people are so warm and friendly"
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