Between 1730 and 1736, the earth opened in the middle of Lanzarote and kept pouring out lava for six years. It buried eleven villages, covered a quarter of the island and forced many islanders to leave, and what remains is a landscape of black and red craters, frozen lava rivers and slopes the colour of rust, now preserved as Timanfaya National Park. It was among the largest eruptions in Spain's recorded history, and the Montañas del Fuego, the Fire Mountains, are the scar. Nothing is dead here, exactly, but little grows beyond lichens and a few hardy plants.
The heat is still there, a few metres below the surface. At the Islote de Hilario, a visitor centre near the heart of the park, attendants pour water into a hole in the ground and it comes back as a jet of steam, and they drop dry brush into a pit where it ignites in seconds. At the restaurant, designed by César Manrique, chicken and fish are grilled over a pit that uses geothermal heat directly from the earth. It is a gimmick, but a memorable one. Camels carry visitors up a track on the slopes, an old tradition on the island, though the animals are short on enthusiasm.
For riders, the road through the park, the LZ-67, runs from Yaiza to Tinajo across the lava fields and is one of the most dramatic on Lanzarote. It passes through craters and over black lava flows, with the surface good and the corners gentle. Private vehicles may not enter the park's inner circuit, which is covered only by the official bus tour from the visitor centre. The wind is strong, and heat can build in the afternoon, shimmering over the black rock. Early morning is best, when the colours are richest and the light is low.
Nearby, the vineyards of La Geria are a surprising counterpoint. Vines grow in individual hollows dug into the black ash, each protected by a low stone semicircle against the wind, and they produce Malvasía, a sweet or dry white wine. The landscape of black pits and green plants is one of the island's best, and several bodegas offer tastings.
Yaiza, about five kilometres from the park entrance, has fuel, supermarkets and restaurants, and Tinajo on the other side has services too. Entrance to the park is charged, and the queue can be long in high season. The silence, broken only by the wind, is the most memorable part.