Malpais de La Rasca Nature Reserve

Where the lava met the sea it set into black, jagged rock, and the blue swell breaks straight into it. The coastal path keeps to that edge, and it has the views.

Inland the ground tells an older story. The flat stretches were once irrigated farmland and are now desert. Low stone shelters stand among the lava, left from seasonal camps where people fished and gathered salt. Out on the point there are two lighthouses, an old tower and a modern one.

Paths branch across the whole reserve. Head straight for the lighthouse, or wander the shoreline instead, and carry on along the coast to Las Galletas if you still have the legs for it.

• There are no toilets and no drinking water in the reserve or nearby. Bring water: the lava gives no shade.
• Most paths cross rough lava and will not take a pushchair. One does, though it takes some finding.
• The rock beside the paths is sharp and broken; wear closed shoes with a solid sole.
• Runners and a few cyclists share the paths with walkers.

The walks into the reserve start from Palm-Mar, on its edge, and everything beyond that is on foot. The nearest car parks lie about 2.7 km away in a straight line, and the nearest bus stop, Jilguero, about 2.6 km away.

From Palm-Mar one path runs directly to the lighthouse; another meanders along the coastline over the lava. The coastal route continues past the reserve to Las Galletas, so you can walk through and finish there.

Best: early morning or late afternoon.

Avoid: the middle of a sunny day.

The lava field is bare and dark, with no shade along the paths, and it soaks up the heat; low sun is easier on the walk and brings out the texture of the rock and the colour of the breaking waves.