Spain Guide Lanzerote Lanzerote is a firm favourite with holiday makers and has been so for many years. It is the eastern most of all the Canary Islands and is situated less than 126 kilometres from the coast of North West Africa. It has a developed market for persons wishing to buy holiday homes but often property is in short supply. There are approximately 1123,000 residents on Lanzerote, many of the local people are now employed in the tourist industry and the population is growing and a steady pace, people are attracted to this island because of it’s peace and quite and relatively simple way of life. It’s capital Arrecife has many small shops and plenty of wonderful restaurants The larger cosmopolitan establishments much in evidence on Tenerife & Gran Canaria are not yet on Lanzerote and perhaps this is a good thing.
Many people say that Lanzerote is like no other place on earth, it leaves a deep impression on all who visit, certainly it’s lunar like landscape is almost unique. Like the neighbouring islands, Lanzerote has a volcanic history expect that it was still experiencing explosions up until fairly recently. There were eruptions in both the 17th & 18th centuries and although most of the northern part of the island escaped the Timanfaya explosions, the south was covered with molten lava. Because of the low rainfall, little has changed since these explosions and today many gardens are still covered in the black ash which the locals have put to prodigious use in making some very interesting garden displays.
As well as it’s volcanic history, Lanzerote has managed to keep hold of it’s unique desert island feel by imposing some fairly tough planning rules and regulations, thus many of the excesses of the tourist industry have been avoided, These rules are quite sympathetic to the environment and are designed to help protect the island heritage, unsightly advertising hoards are not allowed as are most forms of high rise building, even power cables have to be run underground, how refreshing an attitude. As mentioned above, tourism is a major part of the island economy, it has a very mild, dry climate and with temperatures between 21C & 30C, it is possible to visit the island throughout the year and almost always have good weather. However, the island does experience sandstorms with the wind coming off the Sahara desert, during these times, the temperature can rise to 40c and can be quite uncomfortable. Despite the volcanic activity, not all the beaches on the island are covered with black ash like on neighboring Tenerife, in fact the beaches are more akin to those found on Fuerteventura which is only 11 kilometers away. In particular, the beaches located on the south coast are very beautiful and the surrounding clear azure waters are most appealing. Away from the resorts and beaches, there are quite a few things worthy of a visit.
Lanzerote has a range of mountains, the Montenas del Fuego which rise up to 670 meters above sea level. The highest peak is Penas del Chache.These montains are located in the Timanfaya National Park, here you will find over five thousand hectares of volcanic landscape. There are over three hundred craters and beaches covered with black ash, these “ Mountains of Fire” are truly stunning and probably as close to a lunar landscape as you can find. The Caves Los Verdes are a complex network of caves created nearly 5000 years ago and running nearly 7 kilometers to the sea. A guide is a available and you can visit part of the complex between Monte Corona and the sea. The Cesar Manrique Foundation commemorates the island hero. This person was almost single handedly responsible for much of the preservation work on the island, an artist of much repute, his work has helped preserve the island in the face of the advancing tourist industry. Cactus Garden – Although the idea of a visit to a Cactus garden may not appear to be everyones cup oif tea, there are over 10,000 specimens and the landscaping designed by the above mentioned artist is worthy of a visit.
If you decide to buy a property in Spain and require holiday home insurance, including insurance for holiday letting, contact Assetsure for a quote.
