Travel Places

Lanzarote may be a Spanish island by name.  But this little speck of Spain, which measures just 58km by 35km, is located just off the coast of Africa – and combines a melting pot of cultural influences which are part European and part Latin American.

This unique blend results from the fact that Lanzarote was once an important staging post between the New World and The Old.  As Spanish galleons transported Inca gold and silver back from South America to the homeland – via the Canary Islands.  Inviting frequent raids from English privateers such as Raleigh and Drake.

Today the island is home to around 127,000 citizens – the bulk of whom reside in the capital of Arrecife.  But this population is swelled by tourists – as since the explosion of package holidays in the 1970’s the island has established itself as one of the most popular destinations in all of Spain.  Attracting around one million visitors from Britain and Ireland alone every year.

The reasons for this popularity lie in the fact that Lanzarote enjoys a year round clement climate, due to its location on the same line of latitude as parts of Mexico and Florida.  With temperatures that rarely fall below 20c even in the depths of winter.

But Lanzarote offers more than just sunshine alone.  As this little island is big on attractions and unlike other Spanish sunspots remains relatively unspoiled.  Thanks to the work of an island born artist and architect called Cesar Manrique. Who campaigned against over development and worked in tandem with the island government to ensure that Lanzarote was not buried beneath a sea of five star hotels.

Thanks to Manrique’s influence the three main tourist resorts on the island are all well contained. Advertising hoardings are banned.  And no buildings taller than a Canarian palm tree are permitted.

Manrique also sought to create a unique range of tourist attractions on the island as an alternative to the golf courses and water parks springing up in the rest of Spain.  He sought to fuse art with nature – and working with Lanzarote’s unique volcanic landscapes he created a range of cultural sites such as the Jameos del Agua - where he transformed a collapsed lava tube into a lush underground grotto.

Lanzarote’s main tourist attraction though is the Timanafa Volcano Park.  Which is the epicentre of the eruptions that buried around one quarter of the island under a sea of lava back in the 1730’s.  At the time this event obviously caused devastation.  But today the volcanoes are a huge draw for tourists,. Attracting just under one million visitors every year.  Who are transfixed by the eerie landscape which is often likened to the surface of the moon.

The island has accommodation for around 65,000 tourists at any one time.  With apartments and holiday villas in Lanzarote * accounting for around two thirds of this capacity.  Whilst the remainder of the market is catered to by hotels and apart hotel complexes.