There are plenty of opportunties to walk reasonable distances on and along Fuerteventura's beaches and coastlines often with hardly anybody else around. For naturists it is easily possible to have an enjoyable nude walk on the island - for instance on the Pared Isthmus coast and it's dunes or the far busier but really scenic beach walk from Morro Jable to Coasta Calma. These beach type walks are perfectly ok to do in the nude if you wish.
The Crater Walk from Lajares to
Corralejo is mentioned in various books so we decided to do have a go at it. We
have hiked this route both ways and found the best way to walk it is from Lajares (park by
the Camel Centre) and by taking the track as far as the end of the hills and where
Corralejo appears in the distance. It is easy enough to continue on and create a circular which is what we did
but we would not do so another time as the Corralejo
part of this walk is sometimes through really scruffy rubbish tips, there are barking dogs around
and also a long road section. Much better by far to simply return back the way you went out.
The walk from the Camel Centre took us around four hours, but this did
include us spending a fair bit of time looking round the re-created Herders Hut, messing about around the crater and
so on.
Note there is no shade on the walk anywhere therefore you need to take drinks with you plus of course a hat.
The track starts on the right side of the road (almost opposite the
Camel Centre) and the path is beautifully paved and stone walled. You walk
round a brown volcanic mound - Montana Colorada, and then arrive on a
large stonewalled plain and can see Calderon Hondo on your left with the
paved path leading to its base. From the viewing platform at the top there
are really good views for miles around, with for instance the Corralejo
dunes quite visible.
You can clearly see paths below leading to the
various rebuilt dwellings etc, the Herders Hut is worth a detour. The walk
itself continues straight across the plain to a dirt track, turn left and
just keep going for as long as you fancy it. Corralejo appears just after
you pass the Bayuyo Crater which we felt was a good turning point.
From Lajares there is a road which passes the Camel
Centre and then becomes an extremely rutted dirt road which after
several kilometres gets you to Majanicho on the coast. We parked
here and then set off for a walk towards the lighthouse at Faro de Toston.
Facing the sea turn left and follow the track, which mostly follows the
coast in and out of several small beaches and inlets
After about 2 hours (5 miles) we got as far as Caleta del Marrajo which was
within close sight of the lighthouse and then found our own little sandy beach.
Here we stripped off and had a picnic and nude swim and then eventually walked
back to Majanicho..
A fairly long walk which
does really require walking boots/decent pumps, as well as taking water
and perhaps a picnic, starts
from the Mirador by taking the path
immediately before the viewing platform. Bearing left on the top head
along the cliffs and after a while you come to a brocken down wire
fence/gate. From here either follow the cliff edge or just go straight
across the rough ground towards a barranco wall ahead and then Pena
Horadada becomes visible. To get down to it bear slightly right and find
the track which leads into the barranco and the beach. This takes around
40 minutes from the car park and is a good place to stop for a picnic etc
However, if you wish to explore further,
when you reach the barranco turn right (away from the beach) and follow a
deep cut (a dry river bed) until you come to a turn on the left heading UP.
At the top it's up to you where you walk from here - you can either
continue following the coast but we decided on making a circuit by heading
slightly right and following the track heading for the top of the distant
hill. At the top of the hill on your left you can see
another huge barranco and we made our way down towards it on an
initially very steep track. Once in the barranco turn left and follow it
to the sea. Just before you reach the sea take note of a very steep path
on your left - this is your return route. To get right onto the beach
you have to scramble down a drop over some large rocks which we found
easiest to do on the left
On the beach you have good views of the sea through huge rocks on the
right-hand side, and on the left if you climb
over and through the rocks you will come to small pools - with hungry fish
in them quite willing to share your picnic. Return to the track mentioned
above, keep climbing until you reach the flatter area and follow the track
across and eventually back to Pena Horadada.
This walk took us around five
hours however we did dawdle a bit - but you really do need to take drinks
with you.
South on the main road you will come to La Pared;
turn right and then right again and follow the road bearing
left to the coast where you will find a really good cafe/restaurant (which
also has a swimming pool with water slides and a children's pool).
The views from the cafe and from the cliffs are excellent - a wander across
the rocky outlet as shown in our left-hand picture is good.
Morro Jable to Costa Calma nude beach walk.
Perhaps this is the one walk which many visitors to
Fuerteventura may of heard of - and one which quite a few will at least walk
part of. The only real way is to take very little with you, get to one end of
the beach or the other and then
strip off and walk. (walking nude is not
compulsory of course but it is an extremely pleasant way to beach walk)
The full walk is around 16 kilometres and as it's mostly on sand it can be quite hard/tiring on your
feet, but at least there are several restaurants on the way which helps.
Because of the strain on your feet it is worth taking sandals or pumps for
a bit of relief, and also at times depending on the tide you do have to go
over rocks and stoney/sand surfaces.
We have walked this several times, the last time being in October 2001 when we parked at Costa Calma and caught
the bus to Morro Jable - the buses are frequent during the morning
and inexpensive.
The walk is straightforward, just follow
the beach - sometimes going over long sandy beaches or walking round the
rocky outlets and then back to beach. Eventually you come to the Playa
de Sotavento de Jandia, pictures of which appear in most
brochures. It has a sweeping sandbar with tidal lagoons - if the tide is out you can
walk the sandbar otherwise its a long trog through around 1 to 2 feet of
water or you can go along the shore. When
you eventually pass the wind surfer's centre don't kid yourself you have
nearly finished - you have to walk over or round the next set of rocks
(depending on the tide) and then the final beach comes into sight -
Costa Calma's main beach - and it is a long beach - especially after 14/15 kms.
If you drive south from Costa Calma towards Morro Jable you cannot fail to notice the wind generators and sand dunes on your right. This area is known as the Pared Isthmus, and is excellent for exploring either by jeep or on foot. If walking, a good place to park/start is at the Hodge Podge Fuerte shopping centre, which not only has ample parking but also several restaurants and cafes - something you will appreciate hugely if you do go walking for a few hours since there is nothing out on the Pared Isthmus but sand and shoreline.
t is quite remote out on the Pared and if it's very windy or the sand is
flying be wary of taking this walk or even driving here - the tracks get covered
very easily. Don't forget to take DRINKs with you. Really loved this area though
- we walked around here quite a few times. The walk shown in various books is
more or less a rectangular trip which starts from the Hodge Podge Centre - walk
up the narrow road on the right of the buildings and keep going up past the
houses until you reach the dunes. The track basically heads straight across the
dunes, with the
wind generators
on your left - just stay on the main track and ignore incoming left and right cross tracks etc..
Eventually the sea comes into view and you will find your track apparently disappearing
between high sand banks into the sea.
A little further on you come to a rocky ledge with a steepish slope heading to the shoreline. Make your way
down this in careful zig-zag fashion - you can usually spot footprints of
previous walkers to show the way. Once on the beach you can head left to
walk to one end of the beach eventually walking across a huge rocky platform.
Having explored this now head for the other end of the beach, enjoying the marvellous
waves, rock colours and general scenery on the way. This beach is often quite deserted so fine for
stripping off and having a sunbathe - the water is great too but real care needs to be taken if you go into the
sea as the waves can be really violent and the currents are strong.
There are several good places to stop and picnic and you will almost certainly have guests for lunch - the ever present Barbary squirrels. At the far end a dramatic rocky outcrop shows the end of the beach. Return from here a few hundred yards to a very sandy track which heads up to the cliff top - near the top the track bears slightly left and then eventually reaches the very top. Continue towards the merging Barranco which is slightly to the right - keep on the left-hand side track of the Barranco until you meet a crossing track, then turn left and head for trees and houses and eventually the road. Turn right and walk back up the hill to the Centre - and have a cold beer.
Another similar walk is to park as above,
head out on the track past the wind generators after which you come to a
major cross track, turn left on this and head towards the huge dune which
has come into view.
This climb is quite deceptive since as with many hills
the top never seems to be the top - also the track up the dune is very
deep in sand and quite hard going - i.e. one step forward and two steps
back...
At the top of the dune there are
excellent views (flying sand permitting) including the huge beach of
Cofete to the south, La Pared to the north and Costa Calma beach across the island.From
here make your way down the dunes towards the visible rocky shoreline
and when you get to the cliff edge turn right - beware of crumbling
edges though.
Eventually you come to the track down to the beach as mentioned above. Having enjoyed the beach make your way back up the cliff using the climb you went down on - and then simply follow the track back across the sand dunes (always heading towards the visible wind generators) and subsequently back to the starting point.
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