On the top of the volcano Pico Partido in Los Volcanes Nature Park
The perfect way in which Lanzarote has managed to integrate its tourist infrastructure within the island's natural environment make it a model of sustainability for the rest of the world. This fact, along with the excellent state of preservation of its natural heritage, lead to the declaration of the island as a Biosphere Reserve in 1993 by UNESCO. The fact that more than 40% of the island is a nature preserve, tells us about the vast wealth of natural treasures of the island, and how its population has managed to preserve and enhance these values.
If something defines Lanzarote as unique, it is the Timanfaya National Park and Los Volcanes Nature Park, with its peculiar landscape of solidified lava and volcanic ash, in which very curious geologic formations emerge, like grottoes, cones and craters. This is the result of the various volcanic eruptions that took place in the island between the 18th and the 19th centuries.
The lava coast near Timanfaya National Park.
From north to south, the island exhibits a varied scenery, from the luxurious vegetation found in Haría to the vineyards in La Geria. Along the coastline there are beautiful beaches like Papagayo and Famara, which contrast with the rocky cliffs and volcanic formations found in places like Los Hervideros and El Golfo.
Lanzarote has some other open spaces of great importance, such as the Los Volcanes Nature Park, which surrounds Timanfaya and is full of hiking trails. Good to know since inside Timanfaya is not allowed to walk and you can get fined if you do. And the Archipelago Chinijo Nature Park, a marine ecosystem that comprises most of the north coast and sorrounding outer islands, inhabited by a few local people with numerous bird species and marine life, and beautiful coast line to discover where life still moves in rythm with nature.
