Walking in Lanzarote is fabulous! The island has hundreds of kilometres of trails and seaside paths and offers some of the best scenery anywhere in the world. Coupled with the fact that we have the best climate imaginable, walking on the island is healthy, fun and a great experience.
The variety of walks is breathtaking – as you’d expect, there are any number of coastal promenades you can enjoy, but head into the countryside, and there are hundreds of KM of tracks, which wend their way up and down hills, into barrancos, and weave their way in and out of volcanoes.
Here are some tips for walkers on the island:
Stay hydrated!
In winter or summer, you’ll sweat much more here than you will in your home country, so make sure you take plenty of water with you, and keep stocking up with more when you come across shops. Most shops sell small and large bottles of water inexpensively, so try to make sure you always have a litre with you. Our advice is also to invest in a thermo water bottle, which will keep it cool all day. There’s nothing worse that sipping tepid water from a plastic bottle.
Take a mobile phone and let people know your route
Mobiles work almost everywhere on the island, so if you get into trouble, you can at least call for help. Although small, there are many inaccessible places on the island, and many walkers each year have to be taken off by helicopter. Also, try to let someone know where you are heading and roughly what time you should be back, so that they can alert the authorities if you don’t return.
Wear a hat, sun cream & sunglasses
Again, in winter or summer, the UV in the sun here is much higher than in northern Europe, so you will burn quickly, We’d recommend a high factor sun cream, regularly applied, and to cover you head, which will also help with squinting against the sun.
For the same reason, good quality sun glasses are also essential here, because once again, they will filter out the harmful UV Rays.
Stick to the paths
The paths across country are fairly well marked out, so avoid straying off them. For one thing, you might get lost, and you should also remember that much of Lanzarote, particularly the volcanic areas, are protected and you shouldn’t walk on them. Stick to signed paths, and invest in a walking book with maps, which will show you where you can, and more importantly, where you cannot go.
Take nothing but photos
Don’t be tempted to steal rocks – it’s actually illegal to do so here! Every year, people are stopped at airport security trying to smuggle rocks from the island.
Please don’t be tempted to create rock piles either – these destroy the habitat and cause drainage issues.
And of course, you should take your litter home with you.
Watch the bikes!
Many of the coastal paths here double up as bike lanes, so stay aware when you are on them – it’s easy to stroll across one to see a view and end up being hit by a cyclist.
The dirt tracks all over the island are also used by mountain bikers, so keep an ear out for them.
Take the hills into account
Lanzarote is quite hilly – there are areas in the north that climb from sea level to over 600 metres, so when planning your walks, take the hills into account. They’ll slow you down a lot, and tire you out faster than you might expect. Coming down steep hills can also be tough on the thigh muscles, so if the route you’re planning is a hilly one, you might want to lessen the planned distance.
Walking in Lanzarote – Walks you can do
We’ve been walking in Lanzarote for years. You can see many of our walks at this tag: Lanzarote Walks
We’ve also produced a PDF guide to ten walks we’ve done, with full colour photos, the you can follow: Ten Walks in Lanzarote
