Los Cuervos Volcano

Local name: Volcán del Cuervo

Volcanic crater on a gravel loop trail through the lava fields, with a breach in its wall leading onto the crater floor.

Caldera de los Cuervos, also listed as Volcán del Cuervo, is a volcanic cone in the municipality of Tinajo on Lanzarote, in Spain's Canary Islands. It formed during the Timanfaya eruptions of 1730–1736, which covered a wide stretch of the island in lava. A loop trail crosses the barren, rock-strewn ground around it, with information panels along the way, and a breach in the crater wall gives access to the interior. Montaña Colorada stands close by.

Volcano crater Hiking

Entrance: Free; there is no ticket.
Accessibility: Not wheelchair accessible. The track is flat gravel, manageable for most people on foot.
Parking: Free car park at the start of the trail, about 810 m in a straight line from the crater. It fills up; arrive early or late in the day.
Difficulty: Easy. A flat, marked gravel track reaches the crater in 15–20 minutes from the car park; there and back takes about an hour, the full loop one to two hours.
Transport: Nearest bus stops: Tegoyo and Tegoyo Vuelta, about 2.5 km away in a straight line.
Advance booking: Not needed; the trail is open access at any hour.
Hours: Open 24 hours, every day.
Address: 35560 Tinajo, Las Palmas, Spain

What makes it special

The trail runs straight at a gap in the crater wall, and you walk through it onto the floor of a volcano. From the track the cone looks modest. Inside, the walls close in on every side and the bowl feels far larger than it did from outside.

The rock is black, rust and ochre, heaped in loose cinder and twisted blocks, with barely anything growing on it. Info panels along the way explain how the ground was made. After the crater, the loop carries on around the outside of the cone, with views across the lava field to the neighbouring volcanoes, Montaña Colorada among them.

Good to know

No toilets at the car park or along the trail, and no drinking water nearby — bring your own, and plenty of it in summer.
The car park fills up during the day; come early, or after 5pm when it quietens.
The car park sits well below the road, and low cars can scrape their front edge climbing back out.
Wear closed shoes: the track is gravel and the crater floor is loose volcanic rock.

Getting there

You arrive by car. The car park sits at the start of the trail, about 810 m in a straight line from the crater, and from there a marked gravel track runs flat across the lava field. The walk to the crater takes 15–20 minutes. The track leads to a breach in the crater's side, and you walk through it onto the floor of the volcano. From the crater the loop continues around the outside of the cone and back to the car park.

The nearest bus stops, Tegoyo and Tegoyo Vuelta, are about 2.5 km away in a straight line.

Best time to visit

Best: early in the morning, or after 5pm. Avoid: the middle of a summer day.

The car park fills through the day and quietens late in the afternoon, when low sun also brings out the reds and browns of the cinder. At midday the track has no shade and no water anywhere along it, and the heat comes up off the dark rock.

Sun & daylight

National ParkVolcano crater

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Lanzarote beyond the beaches: lava, caves and César Manrique

Lanzarote beyond the beaches: Manrique's house in lava bubbles, Jameos del Agua, a walk into a volcano, the vine pits of La Geria and a green crater lagoon.