The essentials
- The centre stands at Ctra. Tinajo-Yaiza, Km 11,500, in Tinajo, just outside the National Park boundary on the road towards Tinajo.[1][2]
- Turismo Lanzarote says the centre gives free access to its exhibition and an audiovisual programme in several languages.[3]
- MITECO gives 9:00-16:00 every day since 1 July 2023, while Turismo Lanzarote gives 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. every day.[1][3]
- A permanent exhibition on volcanism and the birth of the Canary Islands, an eruption simulation room and an elevated walkway over lava.[1]
- The park's guided routes are booked through the OAPN's Central de Reservas online; Tremesana needs 25-30 days' notice and is free.[1][4]
| Mancha Blanca centre | Montañas del Fuego | Guided walks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free exhibition and audiovisuals[3] | from €30.00[5] | Tremesana is free, in small groups[4] |
| Hours | 9:00-16:00 daily, per MITECO[1] | 09:30-15:45, per CACT[5] | Tremesana takes about 3 hours[4] |
| Booking | Free access, per Turismo Lanzarote[3] | Online only, fixed date and time[6][7] | Online, 25-30 days ahead[4] |
| What you see | Exhibition, eruption simulation, lava walkway[1] | Geothermal demonstrations, coach route[5] | Tremesana and the short coastal route[4][8] |
| Where | Ctra. Tinajo-Yaiza, Km 11,500[1] | Islote de Hilario[9] | Tremesana: Plaza de los Remedios, Yaiza[4] |
on 1 September 1730, between nine and ten at night, the earth suddenly opened near Timanfaya, two leagues from Yaiza
Free centre, ticketed Fire Mountains, or a guided walk
Visiting the centre
Access and booking
Where the Mancha Blanca visitor centre is
The Centro de Visitantes e Interpretación de Mancha Blanca stands at Ctra. Tinajo-Yaiza, Km 11,500, 35560 Tinajo.[1] MITECO places it on the road towards Tinajo, already outside the limits of the National Park, and run by the park's own administration.[2] From the centre, the Taro de entrada gate of Montañas del Fuego is 4.5 km further along the LZ-67.[2]
Driving from Arrecife through Tinajo, MITECO's route takes the LZ-20 to Tinajo and then the LZ-67 towards Mancha Blanca and Yaiza.[2] From Costa Teguise it describes the LZ-14 to the Arrecife ring road, the LZ-20 to Tinajo and the LZ-67 to the park, visiting the Mancha Blanca centre first.[2]
Without a car, bus line 16 between Arrecife and La Santa covers Mancha Blanca, and Intercity Bus Lanzarote lists stops named Teleclub Mancha Blanca and Mancha Blanca.[10][12] No public transport service goes into the National Park itself, according to the park authority.[12] The park authority points to the official Intercity Bus Lanzarote website, arrecifebus.com, for more information.[12]
Opening hours and entry
The two official sources give different hours. MITECO states the centre has been open every day from 9:00 to 16:00 since 1 July 2023, while Turismo Lanzarote gives every day from 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.[1][3]
Turismo Lanzarote advises checking out the centre, which gives free access to an exhibition and an audiovisual programme offering a complete overview of the park in several languages.[3]
Volcanic landscape and signs around Timanfaya
Inside the exhibition halls
The permanent exhibition covers the state network of National Parks, protected spaces in Lanzarote, the internal structure of the Earth, geodynamics and volcanism, the birth of the Canary Islands, and Timanfaya and recent volcanism, with every panel in Spanish, English and German.[1] Scientists estimate the lava of 1730-36 may have reached about 1 km3, and the Canary Islands park authority gives the resulting sea of lava as about 174 km2.[13][14]
In the Simulation Room, a volcanic eruption is recreated so visitors feel the same sensations lived by the people of this place.[1] The projection room shows two audiovisual programmes lasting about 30 minutes in total; the first is a diaporama with a specially composed soundtrack and special effects, with simultaneous translation into Spanish, English, German and French.[1]
The building also has an elevated walkway over lava flows that reached farmland during the eruptions of 1730-36.[1] MITECO says those eruptions of 1730 to 1736 affected a quarter of the island's surface, and the best-known account of them is the manuscript of Yaiza's parish priest, Andrés Lorenzo Curbelo.[13] A later eruption began on 31 July 1824 at the Tao volcano, raised Tao, Volcán Nuevo del Fuego and Tinguatón, and ceased around 25 October of that year, according to MITECO.[13]
Booking the guided walks from Mancha Blanca
MITECO's page for the Mancha Blanca centre directs guided-route bookings to the Central de Reservas online of the Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales, at reservasparquesnacionales.es.[1] The Tremesana route is compulsorily guided, and bookings are made online at least 25-30 days ahead, since groups are small; the service is free.[4]
Tremesana is a linear 3.5 km walk of low difficulty, taking about 3 hours including transfers, with its meeting point at Plaza de los Remedios in Yaiza 15 minutes before departure.[4] The short coastal route, from El Golfo to near Playa del Paso, is 2 km, guided, of medium difficulty and about 2.5 hours, and also needs a prior booking.[8] The long coastal route is the exception to booking: 9.75 km, self-guided with free access, of high difficulty and 5 to 6 hours.[15]
Turismo Lanzarote describes the Tremesana walk as some 2 km and reserved in advance at the Mancha Blanca Visitor Centre, while the park authority's own route page gives 3.5 km and online booking.[3][4]
Free
Turismo Lanzarote says the Mancha Blanca centre gives free access to its exhibition and audiovisual programme.[3]
Timanfaya National Park official site and ticket channels
Official visitor information is split between bodies. MITECO's pages for the national parks network cover the Mancha Blanca centre and the guided-route bookings, and the Gobierno de Canarias publishes the route pages for Tremesana and the coast.[1][4][8]
Montañas del Fuego, on the other hand, is sold by CACT: there are no ticket sales at the box office, tickets must be bought online in advance, and a fixed date and time must be chosen.[6][7] CACT's general visit is listed from €30.00, including a 35-minute coach route and the geothermal demonstrations.[5] CACT's own hours for Montañas del Fuego are 09:30-15:45, while Turismo Lanzarote gives 09:00 a.m. to 04:45 p.m. and MITECO 9:00-17:00.[5][9][16]
For questions about CACT's centres, including Montañas del Fuego, its customer service is on +34 928 84 84 84 or [email protected].[6] The park's administrative office is a separate address: C/ La Mareta, 9, in Tinajo, open Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 14:00, or 9:00 to 13:00 in summer, on 928 118 049 or 928 211 771.[12]
Accessibility at the centre
The accessible-tourism assessor Equalitas Vitae rates three parts of Timanfaya as accessible: the Mancha Blanca Visitor Centre, the Mancha Blanca trail and Montaña del Fuego.[11] At Mancha Blanca the car park sits next to the centre with several parking spaces marked for people with disabilities.[11]
Entry is by a ramp with a slope of about 5% and uniform paving.[11] Inside, a sensory room is fully adapted for visitors with visual impairments, and the audiovisual programme is translated into Spanish sign language.[11] The Montañas del Fuego car park, by contrast, has no specially marked bays, though park staff point out the most convenient spaces.[11] CACT describes its centres as artistic interventions with over 60 years of history, classified as Cultural Heritage Assets, and says the Route of the Volcanoes has adapted coaches.[5][6]
Timanfaya National Park information: science and history
Timanfaya was declared a National Park by Decreto 2615/1974 of 9 August, and MITECO's technical sheet gives it a total area of 5,107.50 ha.[17] Its international recognitions are Biosphere Reserve (1993) and ZEPA (1994).[17] Lanzarote as a whole, with all its towns, was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO on 7 October 1993, and named a World Geopark in 2015.[18][19]
Since the 1980s, the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, the Instituto de Astronomía y Geodesia and the Department of Volcanology have carried out continuous research into Timanfaya's seismic, volcanic and geodesic aspects.[20] The Laboratorio Geodinámico de Lanzarote has three modules, at Cueva de los Verdes, Jameos del Agua and inside the National Park, where its module is in the Casa de los Camelleros.[20]
The idea of a national park has a postcard behind it: eldiario.es reports that the push began in 1973 after Cabildo president Pepín Ramírez Cerdá received a postcard from the head of the Port of Las Palmas showing a national park in New Mexico.[21] After its declaration the following year, the park was reclassified by Ley 6/81 of 25 March 1981.[17]
How long the films and the coach route take, by source
The three coach route figures come from three pages describing the same route.[1][5][6][22]
Price a guided Timanfaya tour for your group
Each amount is that listing's own "from" price in US dollars, and the calculator applies the same listed figure to every traveller.[23][24][25]
Hours and notice at a glance
Visiting Mancha Blanca
Take the LZ-67 or bus 16
Bus line 16 between Arrecife and La Santa stops at Mancha Blanca.[10]
Check the hours
MITECO gives 9:00-16:00 daily; Turismo Lanzarote gives 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.[1][3]
Tour the exhibition
Panels on volcanism and the birth of the Canary Islands are in Spanish, English and German.[1]
Feel the eruption simulation
The Simulation Room recreates the sensations of a volcanic eruption.[1]
Walk above the lava
An elevated walkway crosses lava flows that reached farmland in 1730-36.[1]
Drive on to the Fire Mountains
The Montañas del Fuego gate is 4.5 km further along the LZ-67.[2]
See the Fire Mountains on a guided Timanfaya day tour
from US$103Reserve now & pay later
