Charco del Viento

Surf breaks white on the outer rocks while the water behind them lies clear enough to watch fish from the surface. Charco del Viento is a set of pools held inside a reef of dark lava, and the snorkelling is the reason to make the drive down through the banana plantations.

The setting is wild. Bare volcanic rock, open ocean on one side, the steep slopes of the north coast rising behind. Getting in and out of the water means rough ground underfoot, which keeps the place feeling far from the resort beaches of the south.

César Manrique, the Lanzarote artist who shaped so much of the Canary Islands' coastal design, singled the charco out for praise on his 1986 visit to La Guancha.

• Bring swim shoes or reef shoes: the rock around the pools is rough and uneven.
• There is no drinking water nearby, so bring your own.
• The site is closed at times.
• The rock offers no shade; bring sun protection and a hat for a long stay.

The drive down from La Guancha runs between large banana plantations and ends at a car park at the end of the road, about 120 m away from the charco. The car park holds 15 to 20 cars.

The last stretch of road is narrow, with few places for two cars to pass. Drive slowly and be ready to reverse when you meet oncoming traffic.

From the car park it is a few minutes on foot over rough rock to the water. The nearest bus stop, Santo Domingo, is about 1.2 km away in a straight line.

Best: a calm day with a flat sea, ideally in the morning before the sun is high over the bare rock.

Avoid: days when a swell is running on the north coast, which happens most often in winter.

The pools are only good for swimming when the ocean outside the reef is quiet, and nothing on the rocks gives shade in the middle of the day.