Zonzamas Nazaret is an easy walk about 2 – 3 hours. A small clamber up on to the old lava flow near the beginning, other than that a flat walk on well defined paths and dirt roads.
Directions
Take the LZ-1 out of Arrecife and then the LZ-34 for San Bartolome at the first round-a-bout. Continue until you reach the municipal dump and turn in right on to a dirt track immediately opposite the Garbage dump entrance. At present, this is where you can park, but there are plans afoot to restart work on the Zonzamas historical site and visitors centre so things may change.
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The Walk
From the historic site of Zonzamas follow the dirt track east, past a small holding on the right and down a small gentle slope. After another 200m on your left there is a small walled ruin. Follow either wall away from the road towards the stark black lava flow. After a small scramble upon to the lava you can walk to the end of the old water pipeline.
Follow the pipeline across the lava field, at the end follow the dirt track Calle de los Cuervos around to the left as it skirts the base of the old volcano. As you look either side of the pipeline you will see where people have built small walls around Fig trees that grow up through the many cracks and opening in the lava.
After a little over a 1km, you see the old aqueduct which once carried the water supply from the water galleries at Famara to Arrecife. About 250m further on, make a left and left again to follow Calle de los Cuervos all the way back to Zonzamas.
This track winds it’s way through old lava fields and small farms, depending on the time of year the fields during this later part of the walk can be filled with cabbage, onions, sweet potatoes, lettuce. tomatoes etc.
To read more on the history of water on Lanzarote and it’s peoples you can checkout the following sites:
If your Spanish is up to scratch you can watch a couple of videos about the importance of Zonzamas.
These sites are obviously in Spanish, so if it helps I have made an attempt to summarise the salient historical events in the History section.
A short excursion either before or after the main walk is to visit the Quesera de Zonzamas or Cheese Makers of Zonzamas – although I personally think these relics in the stone have nothing to do with cheese.
Just outside the entrance of the Municipal Refuse you will see a signpost pointing back along a path. Follow this for about 10 minutes and you see an information board and the stone carvings.