16 hours ago
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A huge tailback of cars formed at the entrance to the national park (Image: La Voz de Lanzarote)
Tourists in Lanzarote were left frustrated after getting caught up in a massive traffic jam at a popular national park on the island. The Canary Islands are hugely popular with British holidaymakers, with more than half of all visitors coming from the UK.
One of its biggest attractions is Timanfaya National Park, which attracts over 1.5 million visitors annually. The nature reserve offers a stunning and unique volcanic landscape, often described as "lunar" or "Martian."
The nature reserve offers a stunning and unique volcanic landscape (Image: Getty)
It's also recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, highlighting its ecological importance.
However, the national park suffers from a familiar problem of overcrowding, particularly in the high summer season.
Officers from Spain's Civil Guard were forced to intervene on Tuesday after a huge traffic jam formed at the park's entrance.
Video images posted online show an enormous tailback of hundreds of cars, as visitors waited to access the interior of Montañas del Fuego (Mountain of fire).
Traffic jams at the tourist site have become a recurring feature, prompting criticisms of the local council.
It comes after Lanzarote has made it clear holidaymakers are welcome amid a wave of anti-tourism sentiment sweeping across Spain.
In June the Canary Islands government called on Lanzarote's council to get its house in order and "urgently organise" access to the national park.
The park regularly receives rave reviews on Tripadvisor, scoring an almost perfect five from nearly 20,000 evaluations.
One visitor from the UK was blown away, writing: "Wow, what an amazing experience. Seeing all these volcanoes, thankfully dormant whilst we were there, and craters and fissures etc, these are sights never forgotten.
"At the centre they showed us a geyser where a guide poured water into a hole and within a second or so the steam shot up into the air."
Entrance to Montañas del Fuego costs €22 for adults and €11 for children aged between 7 and 12.
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Children under 6 can enter for free. Canary Islands residents benefit from a discount, with adult tickets priced at €17.50 and children’s tickets at €8.75.
Although tickets can be purchased in advance online, only 250 tickets are available each day that guarantee access until 2:00pm.
At present, the system does not offer timed entry slots to help ease the flow of visitors.
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