🏡 El Golfo today
Although most visitors come here primarily to see the Green Lagoon, it is well worth taking some time to explore the village itself. El Golfo is a small, peaceful fishing village where whitewashed houses stand in striking contrast to the black volcanic lava and the deep blue Atlantic Ocean.
Along the seafront promenade, you'll find restaurants renowned for their fresh fish and seafood. It is one of the best places on Lanzarote to enjoy a meal overlooking the ocean while experiencing the atmosphere of a traditional fishing village. In the evening, El Golfo also becomes one of the island's favourite spots for watching spectacular sunsets.
Despite its growing popularity, the village has retained its quiet, authentic character. There are no large hotels or bustling resorts here. Instead, you'll discover a relaxed atmosphere, a small harbour, and the everyday life of a community that has lived in harmony with the Atlantic for generations.
📖 Learn more...
Would you like to explore Lanzarote without spending hours planning your trip?
In the guidebook "Lanzarote with César Manrique", you'll find ready-made sightseeing itineraries, precise GPS coordinates for every featured location, practical driving directions, and suggestions for nearby attractions that can easily be visited on the same trip. It makes planning your day simple while helping you discover far more than just the island's best-known landmarks.
⏳ Why is the Green Lagoon gradually disappearing?
Although the Green Lagoon is one of Lanzarote's most famous landmarks, its appearance is constantly changing. It is a natural body of water whose size depends on the island's environmental conditions. The water level fluctuates according to rainfall, evaporation, and the amount of seawater filtering through the porous volcanic rock.
Over time, the lagoon is gradually becoming shallower. Sand carried by the wind and sediments deposited by the water slowly accumulate on its bed. As a result, the surface of the lagoon is gradually shrinking, although the process is so slow that it is almost impossible to notice during a single visit.
After periods of heavy rainfall, the lagoon usually expands, while during prolonged droughts it becomes noticeably smaller. This is why visitors arriving at different times of the year may see the Green Lagoon in slightly different shapes, sizes, and shades of green.
📜 Where does the name Charco de los Clicos come from?
Although most visitors know the site as Lago Verde or the Green Lagoon, the people of Lanzarote have long referred to it as Charco de los Clicos. The Spanish word charco means a small pool or lagoon, while clicos is a local term for the small shells and molluscs that were once abundant along this stretch of coastline.
Both names refer to the same place but highlight different aspects of it. Lago Verde emphasizes the lagoon's extraordinary green colour, while Charco de los Clicos reflects the island's local traditions and its rich marine heritage.
💎 Green olivine crystals
As you walk along the black volcanic beach at the foot of the cliffs, you may notice tiny green crystals sparkling in the sunlight. These are olivine crystals—a mineral that formed deep within the Earth's mantle and was brought to the surface during the volcanic eruptions that took place nearly three hundred years ago.
Olivine is one of the most common minerals found in volcanic rocks. On Lanzarote, it can be seen mainly in places where the Atlantic waves have eroded the lava over many years, revealing countless small green crystals.
Although their vivid colour makes them tempting souvenirs, it is best to leave them where they are. They are an important part of Lanzarote's unique geological heritage and have taken hundreds of thousands of years to form.
El Golfo and the Green Lagoon
A remarkable corner of Lanzarote's west coast
On the west coast of Lanzarote lies one of the island's most iconic places. A vivid green lagoon surrounded by black volcanic cliffs and the deep blue Atlantic Ocean creates a landscape that seems almost otherworldly. This is Charco de los Clicos, also known as Lago Verde or simply the Green Lagoon.
Although most visitors come here to admire the lagoon's extraordinary colour, the site is equally fascinating for its history. It was created by one of the greatest natural disasters in Lanzarote's history and has since been continuously shaped by the Atlantic Ocean. Today, the Green Lagoon and the nearby fishing village of El Golfo are among the most visited attractions on the island's western coast.
📖 Learn more...
In the guidebook "Lanzarote with César Manrique", you'll find precise GPS coordinates, detailed driving directions, parking information, suggested sightseeing routes, and recommendations for nearby attractions. Everything you need to plan your visit and easily combine El Golfo with other remarkable places on the island.
🌋 How was El Golfo created?
Before the eighteenth century, Lanzarote's west coast looked completely different from what we see today. There was no volcanic cone known as El Golfo, no Green Lagoon, and no fishing village bearing that name. Historical sources make no mention of any settlement here before the great eruptions of 1730–1736. Everything suggests that this area was simply a rugged stretch of Atlantic coastline.
Between 1730 and 1736, Lanzarote experienced a series of violent volcanic eruptions that permanently transformed the island's landscape. Over more than six years, dozens of new volcanic cones were formed, while lava flows covered nearly one quarter of the island. One of these newly created cones was El Golfo, which emerged right beside the Atlantic Ocean.
After the eruptions ended, people gradually adapted to the new landscape. A small fishing settlement developed near the volcanic cone, where residents made their living from the rich fishing grounds of the Atlantic. This is how modern-day El Golfo came into existence—a village whose history is inseparably linked to the great volcanic eruptions of the eighteenth century.
💡 Did you know?
The same volcanic eruptions of 1730–1736 also shaped the landscape of Timanfaya National Park, created the spectacular coastline of Los Hervideros, led to the formation of the Janubio Lagoon, and left behind volcanic ash that made it possible for the famous vineyards of La Geria to flourish.
🌊 Why is the crater open to the ocean, and what gives the lagoon its green colour?
When the eruptions ended, the El Golfo volcanic cone formed a completely enclosed crater. Over the following centuries, however, the powerful waves of the Atlantic gradually eroded its western wall. Eventually, the ocean broke through the natural barrier, opening the crater to the sea and creating the distinctive semicircular shape that can be admired today.
In the lowest part of the former crater, seawater began to accumulate as it filtered through cracks and porous volcanic rock. Although the lagoon has no visible connection to the Atlantic, it remains permanently linked to the ocean through underground channels. The water is highly saline, creating ideal conditions for microorganisms and algae specially adapted to survive in this extreme environment.
These organisms are responsible for the lagoon's remarkable green colour. Depending on the time of day, the angle of the sunlight, and the weather conditions, its appearance can range from a bright emerald green to a deep olive shade.
🎬 Film fact
The spectacular scenery of the Green Lagoon, its semicircular crater, and the black volcanic beach has long attracted filmmakers, photographers, and advertising producers. Among the productions filmed here are Pedro Almodóvar's "Broken Embraces" (Los abrazos rotos), starring Penélope Cruz, and Ron Howard's "In the Heart of the Sea."