Tanit Ethnic Museum
Almost adjacent to the Town Hall in San Bartolome is the Tanit Ethnic Museum, which contains
exhibits representing both the working and cultural life on Lanzarote over the past 200 years.
Founded by José Ferrer Perdomo and his wife Remy de Quintana Reyes,
the museum first opened its doors to the public on February 18th 2000
and is located in the converted wine cellar of a traditional 18th
Century Canarian house. The museum consists an exhibition gallery,
chapel, an old beam press, craft shop, market garden, a cafe with
terrace, and a dance floor. The museum name "Tanit" is taken from the Carthaginian goddess
of love, fortune and fertility with the "Tanit" symbol being engraved
onto a stone block.
The museum is open Monday to Saturday
throughout the year, except for Public Holidays, and contact details
for more information is:
Ethnographic Museum Tanit
Calle Constitución, 1
35550
San Bartolomé
Lanzarote
Telephone: +34 928 522 334
Fax: +34 928 802 549
Web Site: www.museotanit.com
Timanfaya National Park
No visit to Lanzarote is complete without a visit to the Timanfaya National Park.
The park covering almost 1/4 of the surface of the island, was created during the period 1st September
1730 until the 16th of April 1736.
During which time over 100 volcanos are known to have erupted destroying 20 villages
and 420 homes in the process.
Even now almost 300 years later, this area of Lanzarote is still considered to be active.
Volcanologists regularly record temperatures of 600°C just 10 metres below the surface, and 160°C just 10 centimeters
or 4" below the surface.
Large groups of tourist visit Timanfaya every day and as part of the experience are provided
with a guided tour of the park by bus with commentary given either in English or German.
This tour is included in the admission price, as it is forbidden for vehicles other than the bus to enter the park.
During the tour
demonstrations of the immense heat beneath the ground are given when a dry brush thrown into a hole in the ground
immediately catches fire, and when water is poured into a bore hole, seconds later it erupts back into the air as steam.
Visitors also have the opportunity to visit the 'El Diablo' restaurant where traditional Canarian food is cooked using
only geothermal heat on a cast-iron grill placed over a large hole in the ground.
Admission to the park is very
reasonable and the park is open every day from 10.00 - 18.00.
