Tatjana and Martin Žagar, mother and son, came on vacation from their native Slovenia this August, and among many places of interest on the island, they also visited Timanfaya. They had bought the tickets in advance, to "save and minimize the wait", they thought. However, they encountered a situation they did not expect, a problem that Timanfaya has been dragging on for years, in periods of high affluence: the long queues to access this tourist center. Without information about it, their surprise was enormous when they verified that reaching the bus that would take them for a ride through the national park would take more than three hours. They took photos of the experience, in which the waiting times were marked.
"We thought it would take half an hour to get in, an hour at most," says Martin Žagar. "Even when we arrived and saw the line of cars, we were confident that it wouldn't take too long. Then we started seeing several cars turning around and going back where they had come from. For a moment, we thought we should leave too."
Tatjana explains that "they decided to stay because they didn't know when they would have another opportunity to see a place as beautiful as Timanfaya." After an hour, they managed to reach the ticket office and validate their tickets. Then they were already trapped. "The queue to access the parking lot kept growing and there was no space to turn around," explains Martin. "We were very hot, the cars moved very slowly, I felt very disappointed, we had no idea how long we were going to be like this," says Tatjana.
She also explains that during that time they saw many people getting out of the cars and even entering the protected area. "Many people got out of the cars to stretch their legs, especially young people and parents with children, for whom waiting so long is even more complicated than for adults. Some were taking pictures climbing rocks and holding stones with their hands." "I myself went out for a while," says Martin, "no one reported that it was forbidden to walk, some guards were there controlling traffic and said nothing about it," he adds.
Tatjana proposes a solution that coincides with the plans of the Cabildo, which has announced that it will create two new car parks with shuttle buses. "I think the problem is that there is very little space in the Timanfaya car park and you can only park when spaces are freed up. Maybe there could be another car park, and people could be transported by bus to the park." However, this solution will not arrive until at least the month of September, once the high summer season is over.
Despite the very long waiting time and uncertainty, both were delighted with the beauty of Timanfaya. But yes, they will recommend "avoiding the Park in high season."
