The joys of Lanzarote are within reach for Mayo sun lovers

ONE of the most spectacular experiences on the Canary island of Lanzarote is visiting Timanfaya National Park and exploring the lunar landscape of the Montañas del Fuego (fire mountains).

Locations in the park were used in the early Star Wars films and a 25-minute coach tour along the Ruta de los Volcanoes is a must as well as witnessing the power of nature first-hand, as bubbling geysers spurt water high into the air.

And there is a restaurant there where they cook food in the heat of the volcano. El Diablo Restaurant is a unique dining experience right in the heart of the park.

Forget your average garden barbecue. At this grill restaurant, temperatures soar to around 450 degrees Celsius!

Don’t worry, this is a dormant volcano with the last eruption being in 1824. The only activity you’re likely to feel is the geothermal heat used to cook your lunch.

Later, courtesy of the Spanish Tourism Board in Dublin and their colleagues in Lanzarote, we visited the largest salt pan in the Canary Islands, which is located about 10km north of Playa Blanca.

Salinas de Janubio is a working salt manufacturer with a rich history and thought of as one of the most important salt production plants in the world.

This tranquil spot offers visitors a calming vista, and a gift shop and bar where you can sit back and relax.

The Salinas itself can be found behind a black volcanic beach, known as Playa de Janubio, that is popular with both locals and tourists. The contrast of the black sands against the mounds of white salt is quite striking, and at sunset you’re in for a treat as the pools of salt water light up under the golden Lanzarote skies.

There is a 90-minute guided tour where you can discover the authentic production of the ‘White Gold’ of Lanzarote.

Construction of the Salinas de Janubio dates back to 1895, where the idea to take advantage of the natural lagoon was realised.

The area was originally a port that served the southern area of Lanzarote which was destroyed during the Timanfaya eruptions during the 18th century.

The eruptions created a lagoon which went on to produce over 10,000 tons of salt.

To this day, the salt is still produced using natural methods of salt water and heat from the Canarian sunshine. It employs over 100 people on the island and is still the leading production site of salt in the Canary Islands.

The on-site Bodega sells a range of different salts, from plain sea salt to flavoured salts including red mojo, sweet paprika, crushed chilli and more.

The Jameos del Agua are part of a 6km long lava tube which formed about 4,000 years ago when the Montaña La Corona erupted.

Molten lava continued to flow as the surface hardened, which in turn led to the formation of the tubes, which run down under the Atlantic.

The word Jameo is used in this context to refer to the large openings in the tube which formed when parts of the roof collapsed due to a pressure build up caused by the volcanic gases.

The Jameos was conceived by the island born artist and architect Cesar Manrique, during the 1960s.

While other Spanish sunspots were busy building golf courses and water parks to attract visitors, Manrique rejected this route.

Instead he planned to fuse art with nature on his native Lanzarote and create a unique cultural attraction.

You enter the Jameos by climbing down a stone-staircase into the first cave known as 'Jameo Chico', which has been turned into an unusual bar/restaurant, with views over a small lake.

This natural lake has extremely clear water - regulated by the Atlantic Ocean - and is home to a species of blind albino crabs known as 'Jameitos' which are only found on Lanzarote.

These crabs have been adopted as the symbol of the Jameos del Agua.

Manrique created an identity or logo for each of the cultural attractions developed under his aegis and symbols of crabs and lobsters are echoed throughout the site – from the big statue welcoming visitors in the car park through to the giant lobster pots used as hanging planters for giant ferns.

Crossing the lake, by a narrow footpath, we found ourselves in the 'Jameo Grande'. This crystal-clear, turquoise pool is truly paradise, even if you can’t actually use it, as swimming is forbidden.

Reputedly, only the King of Spain is allowed to swim here.

From the far end of the 'Jameo Grande' you can access the auditorium which has been constructed in part of the volcanic tube running down to the ocean.

The concert auditorium that is located behind the pool was first opened in 1987 but was closed for several years until 2009 due to the need for extensive restoration work.

Now completed, the auditorium is used for classical concerts as it has excellent acoustics and also for film screenings.

We visited Valle de La Geria, a vast expanse of volcanic ash located in the south-west of the island, which includes five of the seven municipalities that make up Lanzarote, and where there are an enormous number of wineries.

The César Manrique Foundation consists of an incredible house that has been created within a series of volcanic bubbles by local born artist and architect César Manrique.

Manrique returned home from America in 1966, just as the tourist industry on Lanzarote began to take off.

Aware of the dangers, the well-connected César was determined to avert the threat of his beloved island becoming buried beneath a sea of five star concrete.

He championed an ecological approach towards development, but needed to physically demonstrate both his skills as an architect and what could be achieved by uniting art with nature in order to win over opinion.

So he decided to build a home, using land that had instead been buried beneath a sea of lava.

Unsurprisingly, the house remains highly popular, welcoming on average some 300,000 visitors a year.

It now houses the best art gallery on the island as well as the HQ of the Cesar Manrique Foundation, a non-profit body established to promote his work and artistic philosophy.

The Gran Hotel in Arrecife is well worth a visit where tourists can take the lift to the Star City Cafe and Rooftop Bar, on the 17th floor, offering panoramic views over Arrecife, the beach, and the airport.

The main tourist area is in Puerto Del Carmen where there are numerous restaurants and pubs with local beers priced at £1.50 a pint. Some of the recommended restaurants are Mardeleve in the harbour and BFF, Indian Aroma, The Little Elm, Go Chow Mein and, for tapas, La Cana.

And, of course, Lanzarote had its own range of wines with some of the finest being produced in La Geria, a unique landscape of cones excavated from the volcanic ash.

*There are weekly flights to Lanzarote from Ireland West Airport.