Timanfaya: a volcano of film

The Island of Volcanoes – for decades, this slogan has summed up the essence of Lanzarote. The origin lies in the eruptions that took place in the 18th century, when between 1730 and 1736 more than 20 volcanoes devastated about 25% of the island and affected an even larger area with their rain of ashes. The catastrophe provoked a historical change in Lanzarote which, paradoxically, also had positive consequences. One of these has been to provide the island with very attractive landscapes for filmmakers. These terrains of pristine and surprising geology have been used to recreate prehistoric and science fiction adventures, as well as post-apocalyptic storylines, emotionally charged dramas and even Westerns.

It should be noted that Lanzarote was named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1993 and a World Geopark in 2015. And the island’s flagship is Timanfaya, one of the oldest and most visited national parks in Spain.

We propose two variants of this route that you can choose from. One itinerary only goes through areas located on the outskirts of the national park, which can be undertaken more freely; the other covers the same area,  but in addition also includes the entrance to Timanfaya, and covers the “Ruta de las Volcanes” – the only way you can visit this area. Please bear in mind that visits to the national park are highly controlled and regulated because the terrain can be dangerous and, above all, because many areas are extremely delicate, with geological forms that would be spoilt by the uncontrolled passage of cars or walkers. In fact, the very origin of the national park in 1974 lies in the attempt to manage and limit visits to the park in the face of the incipient emergence of tourism in Lanzarote.

The route starts from one of the best places to get to know this extraordinary territory: La Geria and its surroundings. This is Lanzarote’s wine-growing area par excellence, with an extraordinarily original agricultural landscape. Lanzarote produced no wine before the volcanoes of the 18th century, which destroyed the economy of the island, and led to it being almost completely depopulated in the blink of an eye. However, within a few decades the number of residents had almost doubled. The miraculous recovery also had something to do with this dramatic episode that buried dozens of villages, because farmers soon discovered that the volcanic ash increased agricultural yields and even made it possible to grow fruit trees – something that had previously been impossible – by better preserving the scarce rainfall and humidity the island receives. With the hard work of arms and camels, the island’s farmers moved millions of tonnes of volcanic ash to create new areas of cultivation that today look like manicured gardens, with grape vines as the favoured crop. This titanic effort is admired today for its aesthetics, but it involved enormous labour on the part of several generations to survive and thrive in the island’s arid climate.

Eight films have been filmed in and around La Geria, but probably the best for getting to know this unique landscape is Mararía (1997), a Spanish production based on the novel of the same name. The film was a huge success and, inspired by the traditional culture of Lanzarote, is a poetic and heart-breaking drama. This area also offers visits to wineries, museums and historical buildings. Starting at the Monumento al Campesino, in Mozaga, and before you reach Uga, you will find more than a dozen wineries and cultural spaces which are ideal places to stop to admire the agricultural landscape around you and to sample the wine of Lanzarote, whose great speciality is the volcanic Malvasia.

In the middle of this route, between Mozaga and Uga, right in the heart of the Protected Landscape of La Geria is the Volcán del Cuervo, which was the first of the Timanfaya eruptions. This is where the Hollywood blockbuster Eternals (2020) was recently filmed. From the road you can follow an approximately one-hour trail that takes you into the heart of this compelling crater. It is a signposted route of great scenic and natural value, but be careful, remember you are in a SPA (special protection area for birds), and it is forbidden to leave the signposted path and to use drones. The impressive profile of the volcano, plus the wide lava fields that you will see make it well worth the walk.

The next big stop is the Timanfaya National Park itself, for which it is advisable to book a ticket in advance on the website of the Centres of Art, Culture and Tourism of Lanzarote. After leaving La Geria via Uga, you will find the road leading to the park next to the village of Yaiza. Shortly after starting on this road, you will see the emblematic “Echadero de Camellos”, the point from which short routes are offered on camelback through the Montañas del Fuego. Shortly afterwards you will see the entrance to Timanfaya, which is best enjoyed by taking the outstanding “Ruta de los Volcanes”, a guided bus trip that takes visitors through amazing landscapes, reminiscent of the Moon and Mars, or of the Earth in its early stages. In fact, several films inspired by other planets have been filmed in Timanfaya, such as Enemy Mine, Krull, Mission Stardust, Stranded, Operation Ganymed, etc. The geological power of the landscape has also given rise to post-apocalyptic films such as Spectrum (Beyond the World’s End), Rational Animals, The Possibility of an Island, adventure films such as Zorro or Aida, dramas such as Mararía, Rostros, etc., and even westerns such as Take a Hard Ride. Numerous stars and great directors have produced work in this national park.

 

After the visit to Timanfaya or skipping this part if time does not allow for more, the following stops to the south are near at hand and do not require an entrance fee, which allows you to organise yourself more freely, and to cover them in a short time. Leaving Timanfaya or Uga, head for Yaiza, a picturesque village that is representative of the island’s architecture, and from there take the road to El Golfo, a small coastal village that used to be a fishing village but now lives mainly from its restaurants. The popularity of this spot with tourists is due to the undoubted attraction offered by the Charco de los Clicos, a green lake of volcanic origin located by the sea, which offers spectacular views, combining views of the lake with those of the crater that holds it and the Atlantic Ocean. A small path has been laid out that takes you up to a good height to contemplate an extraordinary landscape that has served as a backdrop for 14 films of great variety. Several of the films already mentioned have scenes in this wonderful natural space that mixes the green of the lake with volcanic black, the blue of the sea and the ochre tones of the eroded mountain, but it is also a backdrop to other well-known films such as Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos), One Million Years B.C., In the Heart of the Sea, etc.

 

The last two stops are just outside El Golfo, heading south. Shortly after starting this section of the route, you will see a beach of black sand before a reddish volcano known locally as Montaña Bermeja. This is a very enigmatic location that was used for several episodes of multi-award-winning TV series such as Black Mirror and Welcome to Eden.

Next continue south to the area known as Los Hervideros, which receives this curious name because, being a north facing coast, the frequent waves hit the stony lava left by the eruptions of the 18th century with such force that it seems as if the sea is boiling. Films such as Iguana and How to Be a Woman and Not Die in the Attempt (Cómo ser mujer y no morir en el intento) were filmed here.

 

Continuing along this unusual road the route will come to an end in another landscape that mixes the human with the volcanic to create something unique: the Janubio salt flats. After the destruction of the old port in this area by the eruptions of the 18th century, the people of Lanzarote took advantage of the peculiar shape of this semi-enclosed lagoon to extract sea salt using a natural process. This product that is so highly valued in the kitchen also creates extremely striking architectural and landscape forms. Films such as Road to Salina, Red Gold, Playa Azul, Rational Animals and Mararía, among others, were shot here.

This is the perfect place to end your journey, since it is an ideal place to enjoy nature (Janubio is a Site of Scientific Interest for its birds) as well as the sunset. And if you get hungry, you’ll find excellent restaurants in the nearby villages of El Golfo, Yaiza or Playa Blanca.