The Prickly Pear of Guatiza

A northeastern Canarian community in the Teguise municipality of Lanzarote, Guatiza has a population of around 800 and is well known for its cactus garden and cactus plantations. The cactus garden is located in an old volcanic hollow and was designed by Lanzarote architect César Manrique, it contains over 1,500 species of cactus. The large cactus plantations are grown to attract the cochineal beetle which lives on the prickly pear cactus, and the resulting cochineal has been an important product for the village for many centuries. The old village of Guatiza was sacked several times by the Moors and was moved to a safer location. Guatiza is situated 2 kilometres from the coast about nine kilometres north of Costa Teguise and Tahiche.

The Volcanic Timanfaya National Park

One of the most visited locations on the Canary Island of Lanzarote, the Timanfaya National Park is a volcanic delight, some 51km2 in area in the southwest of the island. Formed when a huge eruption took place in the 18th century, Timanfaya still has molten lava bubbling away four metres under the surface. When visiting you will be able to see water instantly turned to steam by the intense heat, brushwood immediately engulfed in flames, and in the El Diablo (The Devil) restaurant you can eat a barbeque grilled over the heat of the lava. Trips to the Timanfaya National Park (Parque Nacional de Timanfaya) are organised from all the major resorts on the island.

Handsome Haria a Lanzarote Town

Considered by many, the most attractive town on the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, Haria is situated in the “Valley of One Thousand Palms”, and is most noticeable for its greenness laid against the bleak volcanic vistas of most of the island. Most of the palm trees were planted during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when it was a custom to plant a palm tree each time a new baby was born, one for a girl and two for a buy. Haria’s most pleasant square is the shady Plaza de Leon y Castillo, site of a craft market on most Saturdays. Lanzarote’s most famous citizen César Manrique, for a while lived just outside the town after getting too much unwanted pubic attention in his previous abode. The name Haria is also given over to a sizable municipality covering the northern section of Lanzarote. Haria Map.