The path of Caldera Blanca, which crosses the badlands left by the lava flows from eruptions almost three centuries ago, is one of the most sought-after in Lanzarote.
This route in the municipality of Tinajo usually makes the media headlines due to the constant incidents involving hikers, who have to be rescued and even evacuated by helicopter by the island's emergency services, sometimes in areas of difficult access.
The Cabildo of Lanzarote announced last year that it was going to install shuttle buses to go to Caldera Blanca and Volcán del Cuervo to combat the tourist saturation of two of the most visited natural spaces on the island. However, neither of the two trails has this measure yet and the image remains that of the constant pressure of vehicles and visitors in both areas.
On a recent visit to this space, some hikers choose to skip the designated trails and ignore the signs indicating the route or those that indicate prohibitions. At the same time that dozens of papers accumulate during the nearly ten kilometers of the route, as well as the stench of urine in several areas.
The space, which hosts around a hundred people daily, according to estimates from the study conducted by the Cabildo, does not have public restrooms, as it is a practically unmodified natural space. Despite this, the lack of these restrooms does not prevent some visitors from deciding to relieve themselves in the middle of the volcano.
Sources from the Environment Area of the Cabildo de Lanzarote have informed La Voz that after the pilot test of Holy Week 2025, the tender for this service is in the contracting office of the first island institution.
Last year it went out to tender but the specifications underwent a modification and now it will have to be put out to tender again. These same sources reported that the Tinajo City Council is the one in charge of acquiring the buses. The space from which the buses would depart would be Mancha Blanca.
While the measure moves forward, the pressure in natural spaces does not cease.
