One stop on our 2023 transatlantic cruise was the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. While researching things to do there, I learned about a cactus garden designed by Cesar Manrique, a sculptor and artist born in Arrecife, the island’s capital. When talking to a taxi driver about taking us to the garden, he suggested a whole island tour for just a few dollars more since the garden was about 45 minutes outside town. So, Off we went!
The first stop was the town of Teguise. It is a small town in the island’s center, the first town on Lanzarote, and its capital from the early 1400s until 1852 when Arriecife became the capital. We visited the old town section, which features a town square with several gift shops and a church. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, was built in the mid-1500s.
Construction used simple methods with stone seats built into the walls and no windows. The town’s long history of arson and violence led to the church being burned and reconstructed several times. The last reconstruction occurred between 1909 and 1914, when another section was added to the tower, making it the tallest structure in Teguise. Today, the church serves as the principal church on the island and is one of the most important in the region.
Following our visit to Teguise, we visited Jameos del Agua, another sculpture project created by Cesar Manrique. In 1966, Manrique set out to create a new project combining art, architecture, and nature using an ancient lava tube as the foundation.
The results were stunning. A spiral staircase of volcanic stone leads to a small natural lake within the lava tube, which leads to a garden surrounded by volcanic rock. Jameos del Agua receives thousands of visitors each day and is one of the most popular attractions on Lanzarote.
You may as well have called this the Cesar Manrique tour since the final two stops were also his projects. Next is the Mirador del Rio, meaning lookout and Rio, the name of the strait separating the Lanzarote and La Graciosa islands. The lookout is built into lava rock 475 feet above the strait and contains the lookout platform, a small snack bar, and a gift shop. The views are stunning! It was not a long stop, but well worth taking the time to visit.
Finally, we made our way around the northern corner of the island and headed toward El Jardín de Cactus, a cactus garden containing over 4,500 specimens from around 500 species of cactus from five continents. It was Manrique’s last great work and was designed as a reclamation project for an area that was once used as a landfill. The garden is internationally acclaimed and considered one of the most important cactus gardens in the world.
I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Lanzarote. Due to our limited time there, we took a taxi, but I believe day-long tours may be more cost-effective. However, it was an outstanding tour, and I would not hesitate to do it again!