If you are a plant lover, surely, when you go on vacation, you choose places where you can visit a botanical garden or similar to unleash your passion. It's normal. Therefore, how about we recommend the Lanzarote Cactus Garden?
For those who like cacti and succulents, this place is going to be magical and the truth is that it is huge (although it does not take long to see it). Do you want to know what you will find there?
Where is the Lanzarote Cactus Garden and who created it
The first thing we would like you to know about the Lanzarote Cactus Garden is that this beauty It was created by Cesar Manrique. In case you don't know, this man was a very famous Spanish painter, sculptor and artist, and he combined his work with the environment, hence he designed this work.
He did it in 1991 with the help of the botanist Estanislao González Ferrer, who was the one who decided which were the best specimens to be developed in the area.
From its name, you already know that it is in Lanzarote, but within the island, you should know that it is in the Guatiza prickly pear area.
In the beginning, that is, before the Lanzarote Cactus Garden was there, that area was used as a landfill. Around it there were agricultural plantations of prickly pears that were responsible for growing cochineal. For this reason, this place was chosen to give it an important change, not only on an aesthetic level (we are talking about a garden) but also to improve the environment in that area.
In fact, it is currently considered one of the most important gardens in the world, where its creator knew how to combine architecture, gardening, sculpture and interior design in the same place.
What does the Cactus Garden of Lanzarote have
Now that you know the location and the person who gave rise to this Lanzarote Cactus Garden, do you know what you can find in it? Obviously, they are going to be cacti. What you may not know if you have not looked for information is that there are more than 4500 specimens of 600 different species.
They are distributed throughout the entire enclosure, but it is striking how, almost with a glance, you are able to have a panoramic view of the place. And it is that, César Manrique knew how to capture attention from the moment he sets foot there.
You will see, as soon as you arrive you will see a poster in tribute to its creator and how he saw beyond a landfill. As a quarry that it is, you will have to go down and the first thing you will see, as soon as you cross the entrance wall, is a complete and general view of the entire area, with colors, designs, shades... That will leave you impressed at first and without knowing very well where want to go first.
in that area, specifically in the highest part of the place, you will also have a white windmill. It is in operation, but only decoratively, since it was previously used to grind corn.
how long does it take to see
In case you are planning to go to the Lanzarote Cactus Garden to visit it, but you do not know if you will have time or not, know that, according to what they say, it takes approximately 90 minutes to see it. An hour if you're quick.
There are routes and paths through which to see the entire garden area. It will depend on what you stop to see certain specimens, or to take photos. But it doesn't take long to see it.
Of course, the experience itself can take a long time to forget you, especially if you like this type of plants.
What to see in the Cactus Garden
Speaking of the experience you will have there, we are going to give you some reasons why you should visit it. And we already tell you that it will be something incredible.
As soon as you arrive at the place you will come across an 8-meter-high cactus. Of course, from what we have known, it is metallic, and matches a huge iron door. But that impression that it is going to cause you is only the prelude to what you are going to see inside.
Next to the souvenir shop, you have a cactus, the Euphorbia Candelabrum. It is a African plant highly appreciated there because it was the first cactus that César Manrique planted in 1989. Currently, it has a considerable height. We are talking about 6-7 meters.
Another of the cacti you must not miss is the so-called "mother-in-law cushion". Or rather, "mother-in-law cushions" because it is not a single cactus but a group of about twenty native Mexican specimens that are characterized by having a very short height and an original circular shape.
There are many more cacti to see, and especially if you visit it at different times you can be surprised by the flowering of some of these species. So it is well worth going several times to see it in all its splendor. Do you dare to visit the Lanzarote Cactus Garden?