Max Abroad : The Best of Spain

There is no comparison with any other place in the Canary Islands, nor in Spain, nor any other place in the world. This is La Geria, a dark volcanic immensity splashed with grapevines that survive the dampness of the trade winds and the dew absorbed by the black lapilli or picón, the ash residues and lava flowing over the crater.This, in addition to the low walls that protect the malvasía plants against the incessant winds, reveal an extraordinary landscape, like an experimental farm on the Moon, and a wine that is increasingly more appreciated, because wines take on the flavour of the earth and this, most certainly, has its flavour enhanced from the volcano. Half a dozen white bodegas inhabit the lonely black landscapes of La Geria. El Grifo is a must-see. It is the oldest winery on the Canary Islands (1775) and one of the most acclaimed, with the Wine Museum and Library where texts from the 16th century are preserved.

The La Geria Protected Landscape borders the Timanfaya National Park, the 'Mountains of Fire' that razed a third of the island between 1730 and 1736, strikingly turning everything black. After passing through La Geria on the highway that joins Mozaga and Uga, go towards Yaiza, the most beautiful village on Lanzarote, which the molten lava did not quite reach in 1736. From here go directly towards Timanfaya on the LZ-67, a highway with no edges or white lines that goes through a desert of wrinkled and rough lava, like it has been smashed up with hammer blows. The only thing that breaks the solitude of the 'malpaís' (lit: bad land) so called because it is impossible to cultivate, and cannot even be walked on, is the pandemonium of the Moorish Camel Train souk, where tourists can take a walk among the camels.

Wines from La Geria, Lanzarote

The 'Route of the Volcanoes' begins on the islet of Hilario, a 14 km bus tour from which you can see the infernal panorama from the double crater of Timanfaya, 447 metres above sea level. To vary the trip, from La Geria you can return via Mancha Blanca, taking the opportunity to visit the park's interpretation centre and later going towards the south on the LZ-56, the most beautiful highway on the island, once again among lunar vineyards.