The insiders guide to Lanzarote from responsibletravel.com
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Things to see and do in Lanzarote

Lanzarote travel guide

responsibletravel.com
Lanzarote
Spain
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.

Puerto del Carmen beach in Lanzarote. Photo by Lanzarote Tourist Board Lanzarote location map Mountain. Photo by Lanzarote Tourist Board

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"

Find out more about Lanzarote's history and geography
Lanzarote hotels
H10 Timanfaya Palace Hotel Los Fariones
The hotel industry here has created the Biosphere Group of Hotels, which work within the framework of the Biosphere Reserve and which encourage low impact tourism and a respect for the environment.

Hotels

Unusual places to stay in Lanzarote
Lanzarote Retreats Club La Santa
Some holiday accommodation available now is actually set in ancient lava chambers and other small eco tourism accommodations offer Mongolian yurts powered by the sun and wind.

Unusual places to stay

Rural accommodation in Lanzarote
Villa Lola y Juan Caserio de Mozaga
The quiet villages of Lanzarote away from the bustle of the coastal resorts seem to have changed little over the past 50 years but some of the larger houses have been converted into delightful casas rurales.

Rural accommodation