Malpais de la Arena

From the top of the Volcán de la Arena the whole island lies open below you, and the wind makes itself felt the moment you reach the rim. The summit holds two craters, deep bowls of reddish-brown cinder cut into the cone.

The climb is the other half of it. Below the cone the malpaís spreads out as a sea of dark, jagged lava crusted with pale lichen, and the trail across the slope stays quiet even when the island's better-known volcanoes draw a crowd. It is an easy walk for most of the way, with a steeper pull at the end.

• The trail is unmarked. It starts behind a house at the foot of the volcano: once past the house, bear right and follow the path up.
• There are no toilets, no drinking water and no information point at the site or nearby. Bring water.
• The path steepens near the top. Wear comfortable shoes with a good grip.
• There is no way round the crater rim, so the summit is an up-and-back walk.
• The wind at the summit is strong. Bring a layer, even on a warm day.

The way in starts from La Oliva village, where a gravel track runs out to a house at the foot of the Volcán de la Arena. The nearest mapped car park, free and on bare ground, lies about 1.8 km away in a straight line, and the nearest bus stop is about 1.9 km away.

The trail begins behind the house, with no signs. Bear right and follow the path up the cone. The walk up and back down takes roughly an hour: long but easy underfoot until the last stretch, where it steepens towards the rim.

Best: early morning or late afternoon on a clear day.

Avoid: the middle of a summer day, and days of strong wind.

The cone and the lava around it are bare, with no shade anywhere and no water on site, and the view across the island only pays off when the air is clear; the summit is already windy on a calm day.

Malpaís de la Arena is protected land. Keep to the existing trail on the cone and across the lava: the lichen on the rock and the loose cinder slopes take years to recover from footprints and new shortcuts. Leave lava stones and cinder where they lie, and keep vehicles on the track.