Tour guide David Penney treats us to a short but spectacular excursion to some of the most impressive geological formations on Lanzarote.
This outing is different to many of the walks as there isn’t a great deal of walking involved.
Over the past couple of years, I have been asked by many people where these mini ravines are, and how to get to them. Well, this secret place for many people isn’t much of a secret to us explorers.
We parked our cars on some flat land at the side of the LZ-35, which is the main road from San Bartolomé/Güime to Tías. Many of you will be familiar with the wind structure on the nearby roundabout designed by César Manrique.
To give yourself an idea of where it is exactly, look for the green and white marker post indicating the trekking route. You should also still have a view across to Arrecife. (see photo, if you zoom in you can also see the cruise ship Mein Schiff 2 in the far distance).
Often, I see people who park on the roadside which is further along. Apart from being illegal parking it is also unnecessary, with ample parking further down. But the other reason not to park on the roadside is because you then have a challenging uphill scramble to get up to the established path and then scramble back down.
From our cars you now simply follow the path as it gradually rises and walk towards Tías along the track keeping the base of Montaña Blanca to your right-hand side. Within 10 – 12 minutes you’ll arrive at the start of the mini-ravines.
My recommendation is to aim to get here by late morning as the sun rises from the east and then shines through the chambers. This will give you much better photos than later in the afternoon when everything is in shadow. Here you can explore three or four different mini-ravines and capture your photograph moments, just like the girlies did on their trip out.
The ravines are naturally created from the water courses caused by the heavy rains running down the side of Montaña Blanca. The rains have now exposed a water pipe which runs parallel to the road, and these can be seen from the road as you drive past. In several places the water pipe has had mini bridges created to support the pipe, which was sunken below the surface for most of the route.
After spending about 40 minutes exploring the mini ravines, we make our way back along the track to the cars.
WALK INFORMATION
This is a linear 2km walk that should take you about an hour to complete. The terrain is easy and non-challenging.
Unfortunately, this is not accessible by bus unless you take the number 32 and walk in from the village of Montaña Blanca.
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