The best hikes in Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura is a volcanic island with plenty of amazing hiking spots. From river beds and ravines to volcanic calderas to coastal treks, there’s a landscape for everyone to enjoy. These were our favourite hikes in Fuerteventura
Caldera Hondó
The first hike we did in Fuerteventura was up Caldera Hondo. The extinct volcano is less than minutes drive from Corralejo, and is a fairly easy hike for anyone with moderate fitness levels. We parked in the car park on the Corralejo side (Aparcamiento subida Calderón Hondo), which was a 1.6 mile round walk up, around the top of the caldera, and back.
The path from the car park to the volcano is steep and even though I don’t like heights or exposed walking areas, I found walking around the top of the caldera fine. There’s plenty of space pretty much the whole way around. But the ground is rocky and it’s easy to slip in some areas.
The whole walk took us 1 hour 15 including stopping for photos.
Isla los Lobos
We took the afternoon ferry to Isla los Lobos from Corralejo, which only takes 15 minutes. Tickets are for a return journey and you’ll be given a ticket for the time you choose to return.
The island issues 400 visitor permits per day: 200 in the morning and 200 in the afternoon. This means visitors can stay for up to four hours, helping protect the unique ecology of the pristine volcanic island. The main thing to do here is hike or go to the beach – in fact they are the only things to do as there is nothing at all on the island with the exception of a small restaurant near the ferry port.
We got the 12:30 ferry and walked anti-clockwise around the island, which took about 2.5 hours including stops for photos, walking up the caldera, and walking up to the lighthouse. The paths are well marked and made from either sand or rock, but we could still walk quite quickly except up the mountain which was steep.
The island feels beautiful and untouched and although there are other people around, for a lot of the hike it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves to explore. Though the hike up to the caldera is steep, we made it in much less than the 30 minutes indicated by the marker and it’s worth going up if you can for the view.
We finished the walk with an hour or so relaxing and swimming in the calm, pristine water at Playa la Concha before catching the last ferry back to Corralejo at 17:15.
Volcanes de Bayuyo
The volcano that overlooks Corralejo. Drive down the track from Tres Islas and you’ll come across the parking spot and trail start at the base in Montaña San Rafael. From there we hiked up the steep right side to the peak, with views across the dunes and caldera Hondo. For an easier walk down we took the longer route towards the chain of craters which eventually swings back to the right towards the car park. The whole walk took about 1 hour 10 minutes including stopping for photos and walking the full length of the peak of the caldera.
Other hikes
We didn’t have time to do every hike on our list, but if we did these are some of the routes we would have explored:
Malpais de la Arena, a volcano near La Oliva.
Tindaya, another volcanic peak near La Oliva. It’s probably not worth hiking up every volcano as they do become quite samey!
Vega de Rio Palmas, a pretty area near Betancuria with hiking routes along a ravine.
Pico de la Zarza, the highest point on the island in the mountains behind Playa de Cofete.
Running routes
As we were staying in Corralejo for three weeks, one of the best ways to see the area quickly and enjoyably was during our lunchtime runs. There are some parts of town that we wanted to explore without dedicating too much time to it and as runners will know, it’s a great way to get to know a new place.
These were our favourite routes.
Parque Abandonado
We ran a 5k through Corralejo to the abandoned theme park next to Acua Water Park. You can still see the main areas where things like pirate ships would have been. It only takes about 15 minutes to walk around the whole thing, and there are large entryways through the fence next to the padel court, or at the top of the site next to the entrance to the waterpark.
Paseo Marítimo Bristol
We ran from our villa in the south east of Corralejo along the beaches and seafront, past the marina, and along to the north of Corralejo on the Paseo Maritimo Bristol. This is a popular hiking, cycling, and running route that takes you along the ocean and through the town. This circular route was about 7-8km from our Airbnb.
Corralejo National Park
While you could hike for hours through the dunes in Corralejo National Park a faster way to see the landscape is by using it as a running route. It’s exposed so gets very hot in the daytime, but the sand is packed and hard in places so it’s not as challenging to run on as you might expect. We ran about 5k there and back along the road, which has plenty of space for runners, to the RIU hotels. Despite the fairly busy road to one side, the view of the beach, sea, dunes, and Isla los Lobos makes up for it.
Find out more about how we spent our three weeks in Fuerteventura here.