Watching over the northernmost part of Lanzarote, the Volcán de la Corona is one of the most beautiful volcanoes on the island, and the lovely walk there is one that no one should miss. Let our guide David Penney lead the way…
We park in front of the church in the northern village of Ye and walk along the road to the left of the church until we arrive at a small layby where the communal rubbish containers are placed. Here, you’ll see a gap in the wall which leads up through the farmers’ fields. This is the start of a gradual uphill trek.
We find ourselves surrounded by fig trees and grapevines, some of which are irrigated, although a lot of the vegetation in this area benefits from being so high up, which means that cloud cover is low and the clouds disperse their moisture into the soil.
We continue up the well-established track where we can see the early signs of the wild almonds breaking into their lovely pink blossom. Wild fennel plants are also scattered in many areas, although it is still a bit early to benefit from the distinctive fragrance of the fennel.
This path leads up to a lonesome palm tree where I always stop off for a couple of minutes to regroup, take in the views and take a swig of water.
From this point onwards the dirt path changes to a rocky track and it gets a wee bit steeper as it zig-zags up to the ridge.
But this is not a race – it’s a short walk and we’ve got all the time in the world, so we take our time here and enjoy the panoramic view out to the coast and up over the land to Mirador del Rio in the distance.
Finally, we arrive at the lip of the caldera, from where we can gaze down into the crater of the volcano. It’s a stunning place, sheer volcanic beauty before us and an astonishing view out over the northern islands behind us.
If you look closely you will see the crust is eroding and several sections have big cracks which will one day collapse into the crater. Be aware of strong winds as you get near the edge for your photos looking down into the crater.
PLEASE NOTE: The rim of the volcano leading to the peak, and the crater itself, are fragile, officially protected areas. This means that walking around the top of the ridge or scrambling down into the crater are not only dangerous, but also prohibited. The Environmental Department have wardens who are looking out for people who do not stay on the authorised paths.
After relaxing and enjoying the scenery we start our slow descent back down to the church.
Volcán de la Corona is the highest volcano on Lanzarote and its peak is 609 metres above sea level. It’s eruption 3,000 years ago was responsible for creating El Túnel de la Atlántida, the world’s longest volcanic submarine lava tube. This tunnel has several sections which lead down towards the ocean, the first section which is open to the public is Cueva de los Verdes then it continues down to the other section open to the public called Jameos del Agua. From this point it enters the ocean where only select marine biologists have ever been allowed to explore this underwater section.
WALK INFORMATION
This is a circular 5km walk which should take you approximately an hour and a half to complete. The terrain is manageable but challenging in places.
You can take the number 26 bus if you don’t want to use your car to get there.
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