The Jandía Natural Park in Fuerteventura

The Natural Park of Jandía includes mainly a mountainous area of volcanic origin bordered to the northwest by white sand beaches that stretch over several tens of kilometers; the rest of the coastline consists of rocky headlands and cliffs, spaced by smaller beaches.

In these arid landscapes - and virtually intact - pushes a rare but remarkable vegetation, consisting of often endemic species; the area is also the breeding ground for several species of birds. For these reasons - and also because of the threat posed by the emerging mass tourism - the area was declared a natural park in 1987.

The Park is located entirely within the territory of the municipality of Pájara. The Park is - even today - almost deserted: the only two localities, situated inside the park, are hamlets of fishermen and farmers: Cofete, northwest of the almost island, and Puertito de la Cruz, in the southwest.

You can reach Jandía by car via the coastal road FV-2 from Puerto del Rosario, or the FV-605 road, if we just Pájara. The FV-2 road serves the resorts of Costa Calma, Esquinzo, Jandía Playa and Morro del Jable, which is the terminus of the FV-2 road.

After Morro Jable tracks of earth and stones are used to enter the Nature Park and reach the western tip of the island near the Punta de Jandía; just before the Punta de Jandía, at the hamlet of Puertito de la Cruz, a branch on the right provides access to the Punta Pesebre, along the old airstrip that Gustav Winter had built to the point of the almost island.

Halfway the track of Punta de Jandía, a track off to the right and crosses the crest of the mountains towards Cofete, on the northwest coast of the almost island, then down to the huge deserted beaches Playa de Cofete and Playa de Barlovento.

It is better to have an all-terrain vehicle to take these tracks, especially that of Cofete, very curvy and sometimes in poor condition.

To the west, the headlands of Punta de Jandía and Punta Pesebre mark where the rim of the caldera is sinking into the ocean.

To the east - from the Valle del Pecenescal - these volcanic flows give way to the dune landscape of the isthmus of La Pared, from which emerge only a few hills almost buried under the sands.

Natural Park Jandía occupies an area of 144 km² on the 200 km² of almost island. Only excluded from the Park of the coastal strip already urbanized, located around Costa Calma and Morro del Jable; However, the salt meadows area of Saladar de Jandía at Morro Jable is also the subject of a measure of protection.

Many fences have been put in place - especially around the huge wind farm in the Isthmus of La Pared and the central ridge around the Pico de la Zarza - to preserve the vegetation, often endemic, the goats voracity .

It was long believed that the isthmus was the border between the two indigenous kingdoms that existed before the conquest of Fuerteventura by the Norman Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de La Salle: the kingdom of Maxorata, north, and the Kingdom of Jandía, south. This is what has earned the name of “la pared” (the wall) to the isthmus and the village nearby. In fact, historians now believe that the border went 20 km further north along a line going from Ajuy to Salinas del Carmen.

The istmo de la Pared is largely covered with sand brought from the Moroccan Sahara by easterly winds occur when the phenomenon of the sirocco (chergui Moroccan), although the prevailing winds are westerly winds; This golden sand also formed the splendid beaches, which benefits the resort of Costa Calma, the beaches known as the Playas de Sotavento de Jandía (“beaches downwind”). The wind also provides energy to the station with a huge wind farm fifty wind towers placed on the isthmus.

This dune landscape gives way to the first mountains around the valley Pecenescal (Barranco del Pecenescal), with the mountains Loma Negra (335 m) and El Paso (253 m).

The Massif of Jandía is the remnant of a stratovolcano emerged from the sea there are 21 million years, the northwestern part of the crater rim collapsed into the ocean there are about 12 to 14 million years and leaves today Massif de Jandía crescent. The northwestern edge of the Pico de la Zarza falls steeply to the coastal plain of Cofete, while the slopes southeast and southwest are softer. In the mountains of Jandía found the oldest material that makes up the base of the island of Fuerteventura, including marine sediments of the Mesozoic era, prior to the formation of the archipelago; from the ravine Amanay and to Pic de Jandía dominate the materials of Miocene volcanic corresponding to the first phase. The massif is covered - especially in the area of Vigocho - a volcanic gravel, locally named the “jable”, which is a kind of pozzolan.

You can visit the Massif de Jandía walk from Morro del Jable; PR FV 54 hiking trail leads to the Pico de la Zarza or Pico de Jandía, the highest point of the island of Fuerteventura, 807 m. The starting point for this trail is the tourist resort of Jandía Playa, district of Morro del Jable, around the mall Ventura. The trail - well signposted - begins near the promenade and taken to the peak of the Degollada de Vinámar and finally to the Pico de la Zarza, after a walk of 7.5 km and a vertical drop of nearly 800 meters. This hike should only be undertaken in good weather because the winds can be strong and very fresh at the top of Jandía, and the summit shrouded in nebulous.

Le Massif de Jandía is then lowered to the west, but with high peaks like Pico Fraile (689 m), the valley of Gran Valle where the track passes leading to Cofete. On the track Cofete, the viewpoint of the Mirador Degollada Agua Oveja (“Belvedere Casting Water Sheep ...”), 230 m above sea level, offers a magnificent view on the beaches of Cofete and Barlovento, with a covered area and a panel of information.

After the beach Las Pilas is a natural cave, the Cueva de la Negra.

Puertito de la Cruz is a hamlet of fishermen, dilapidated caravans and second homes where some residents of Morro del Jable come to spend the weekend away from the bustle of the tourist resort. The small port facilities were completed on the initiative of the German entrepreneur Gustav Winter, who had the concession of nearly all of the peninsula of Jandía in 1950-1960. Two small restaurants (the restaurant Punta de Jandía and the restaurant El Caletón), located on the beach, serve grilled fish or soup of freshly caught fish.

In the first fortnight of September the Octopus Festival (Fiesta del Pulpito).

At the Punta de Jandía is the lighthouse of Jandía (Faro de Jandía) 1884. electrically powered by solar panels and a wind turbine tower. The lighthouse houses the visitor center of the Natural Park of Jandía and a small coffee shop, but that is not open all year. From Pointe de Jandía, it is possible to see a clear day the coast of Gran Canaria.

Since Puertito de la Cruz a track - tough enough - to get to the northwestern tip of the island near the Punta Pesebre (“Pointe Manger”), a distance of about 4.5 km.

Halfway you can access a small often deserted beach, the Playa de Ojos, accessible by a wooden staircase. On the right of the dirt road you can see the runway of an abandoned airfield that had been projected by Gustav Winter. The Punta Pesebre has steep cliffs with crashing Atlantic waves; it is the walls of the caldera of the volcano Jandía falling into the ocean.

This geological landscape is even more spectacular in the Caleta de la Madera (“Cove of the plank”) a few kilometers east of Punta Pesebre. Following the coast from Punta Pesebre, it reached - in half an hour walk - a small hill with a splendid view of the Caleta de la Madera and the northwest coast of the peninsula Jandía.

On a height behind the Caleta de la Madera is the site of Las Talahijas, a former aboriginal hamlet located 189 m above sea level, which leads many winding paths.

This coast is indeed exposed to prevailing westerly winds and ocean currents, making swimming dangerous, but the delight of surfers who have the courage to reach so far.

Cofete is a hamlet of farmers and ranchers with few houses and a restaurant. Above the village, at the foot of the Pico de la Zarza, is a curiosity: a large secluded villa that seems to monitor the coast, the Villa Winter.

In the vicinity of Pico de la Zarza encountered the silky asterisk (Asteriscus sericeus), also known as “silky gold star” groundsel leaf oleander (Senecio kleinia synonymus Kleinia neriifolia) and houseleek Bethencourt (Aichryson bethencourtianum).

But the symbol of Jandía is certainly spurge of Jandía (Euphorbia handiensis) (cardón de Jandía), a kind of cactus that grows only in these parts.

On the Isthmus of La Pared develops a very special flora because herders are grazing their goats, mainly grows the tree launée (Launaea arborescens) is not sensitive to animal feed. However, after the first winter rains, gush all over the floor tiny flowering plants that survived in the dry season as seeds.

Visiting hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 18 pm (the interpretation center seems to be temporarily closed).

Free admission.

Phone: 00 34 928 858 998