Those were the most spectacular volcanoes in Fuerteventura.
If you’re looking for many different, but beautiful views and if you want to look further into Fuerteventura’s flora and fauna, make sure you will visit those mentioned volcanoes one day!
When we think of Fuerteventura, we imagine massive, astonishing sand dunes with sandy landscapes, beautiful beaches, like the Sotavento Beach, which has made it to the top 10 beaches of the world, and many water activities, for example, surfing. And that’s a good first thought – Fuerteventura is known for those things, but many people forget about Fuerteventura’s volcanoes, which should be on a must-to-visit list for every tourist.
Before starting with the list, it’s good to know one very important thing…
What are the volcanoes?
From wikipedia.org, we can read that a volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. This occurrence is known to us as a volcanic eruption.
On Earth, volcanoes are often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging, and most are found underwater.
We can classify volcanoes into active, dormant, and extinct groups:
Significant eruptions can affect atmospheric temperature as ash and droplets of sulfuric acid obscure the sun and cool the Earth’s troposphere. Historically, large volcanic eruptions have been followed by volcanic winters, which have caused catastrophic famines.
All volcanoes are formed by processes known as plutonism and volcanism. In short, it can be said that first, thanks to plutonism, various geological processes take place, consisting of the underground formation, movement of magma, its solidification within the lower Earth’s crust and upper mantle, and the formation of plutonic rocks from it, and then, thanks to volcanism, geological processes take place on the Earth’s surface, such as the formation of volcanoes, the release of lava, or the formation of volcanic rocks.
Now that we know what volcanoes are, here are the some of the most beautiful volcanoes. of Fuerteventura :
1. Bayuyo Formation of Volcanoes
Between Corralejo and Lajares, a village to the northwest of La Oliva, lies the Bayuyo formation, which is the most popular formation of Fuerteventura’s volcanoes. It is made up of many volcanoes and volcanic cones. The most recognizable are Calderón Hondo, Bayuyo and Montaña Colorada. All of the volcanoes there were created almost 50 000 years ago! Here’s an interesting fact – eruptions of some of the volcanoes of this formation increased Fuerteventura’s surface and made Isla de Lobos!
Calderón Hondo has a 70 meters deep crater and is the best-preserved volcano of other volcanoes in the Bayuyo formation. From the viewpoint of this volcano, you can have a look at the beautiful northern part of Fuerteventura and other volcanoes of the formation. After hiking there, which isn’t that difficult because the path is well marked, you will be greeted by many squirrels, which will come to you for food. Make sure you won’t feed them because they negatively affect flora and fauna of Fuerteventura.
The shortest way to get there is from Lajares.
Volcan Bayuyo has two craters of almost equal size. From it, you can have beautiful views of Lobos Island and Lanzarote. Volcan Bayuyo is also the first visible volcano from those two islands!
The shortest way to get there is from Corralejo.
Montaña Colorada forms a twin volcano with Calderón Hondo. As its name suggests, this volcano is mainly known for its color – red. It was created over 10 000 years ago, and it’s one of the last volcanoes formed in volcanic activity. Red lapilli from this mountain is mainly used for decoration purposes.
The shortest way to get there is from Lajares.
The other volcanoes in Bayuyo formation worth hiking are Las Calderas and Caldera Encantada.
2. Montaña de La Caldera
Montaña de La Caldera is a 127 meters high ancient volcano and the highest point of Isla de Lobos, and it’s a must-see on this island. Lobos Island is 6 km northeast of Fuerteventura and covers an area of 4.58 km². Montaña de La Caldera rises to the west of the island, in the part of the Isla de Lobos where there aren’t any residents. From the top of this mountain, you can have breathtaking views of Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and Lobos Island itself. There is a marked hiking trail to this mountain from El Puertito – the hike takes about 20 minutes.
3. Volcán de la Arena
Volcán de la Arena is a part of Malpaís de la Arena, which is one of the protected areas of Fuerteventura. Volcán de la Arena is 420 meters high and is the youngest volcano in Fuerteventura. It’s mostly known for its unique surrounding badlands – “Malpaís,” an incredible-looking lava field covering approximately 12 square kilometers. There are also many animals like lizards and rabbits, but they are protected, so you, unfortunately, can’t take them home… From the summit of this volcano you can have beautiful views of El Cotillo, Isla de Lobos, Corralejo’s Dunes, Lanzarote and Lajares.
The shortest way to get there is from Villaverde village.
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4. Caldera de Gairia
Caldera de Gairia, which is located in the center of the island, is one of the largest and best-preserved volcanoes in Fuerteventura. It’s pretty wide, so it’s visible from many parts of the island. It is possible to climb to its top of 461 meters of height, from where you can see other recent volcanic formations, such as the Malpaís Grande, and other volcanic buildings, such as the Caldera de la Laguna.
The shortest way to get there is from Tiscamanita.
5. Montaña de Escanfraga & Montaña de Caima
Montaña de Escanfraga, with its 529 meters of altitude, is considered the highest volcanic cone in Fuerteventura. Thanks to its height and localization (northern municipality of La Oliva), people used that volcano to spot ships and possible pirate attacks. It is a perfect mountain to hike because this volcano has many beautiful views!
The shortest way to get there is from Villaverde.
There’s also a very similar mountain – Montaña de Caima is very close and aligned to the previously mentioned Montaña Escanfraga, that’s why the views are very nice – there’s a relatively flat landscape, with gentle slopes, interrupted by numerous ravines. On the northwest, there are spectacular lava tongues covered with sandy-clay deposits. The fauna of this area is full of different birds like eagles, shrikes, Canary stonechats, Canary crows, Egyptian vultures, and kestrels. In addition, there are many mammals like squirrels, hedgehogs, and rabbits.
The shortest way to get there is from Villaverde.
This article was originally published in our partner website Fuerteventuratimes.com here