Lanzarote's Prickly Attraction

Sept. 10, 2010 - PRLog -- Jardin de Cactus – the place where you can see over 10,000 cacti together, officially the last work of Cesar Manrique and a symbol of Lanzarote's history. Made from a converted quarry in the form of an amphitheatre, it is considered one of the best collections of cacti in the world, and is known as a monument to this unique plant.

With an eight-foot high cacti sculpture standing over the car park and main entrance, the park is hard to miss. And it's not just in the car park you'll see the cactus form either, it's everywhere through the place – even the door handles! There's even an amazing glass-ball sculpture of a cactus in the bar.

In the centre of the garden there are a series of water features with bridges that link pathways, here you can see glimpses of orange in the water as goldfish swim by. There is also a bar and restaurant area that is set into the far wall of the quarry, located under an old windmill. From the terrace you can get a beautiful view of the gardens below, whilst inside there is a spiral staircase with a central sculpture that leads to the terrace. The windmill is small with a curved wooden staircase that takes you up to the eaves of the roof. Here you can see how the sails move by the mechanism; this is according to the wind direction of course. Also from here you get to see a great view of the north, here you can see Mala and the coastal village of Arrieta.

The 10,000 cacti consist of more than 1,400 different species gathered from across the world, including places such as America, Madagascar and the the Canaries, by the late botanist, Estanislao González Ferrer. Ferrer also oversaw the design and the layout of the centre and states his intention of this Cactus garden not to be educational, but aesthetic and recreational. Indeed when you examine each cactus up-close, you can see that each of these pants has hidden details that are easy to miss with some even produce amazing flowers, although not all year round.

The Garden itself is located in the middle of a sea of cactus in between Guatiza and Mala. Also Costa Teguise is located nearby so if you want to stay at some of the best Lanzarote villas and visit here you could. This is a significant area, as it is considered as the heart of Lanzarote's traditional cactus growing country, with over 300 acres of Tunera cacti cultivation still growing today. The insect 'cochineal' lives off this type of cactus and the natural dye 'carmine' is derived from the hand-picked larva. This is then used in the textile and cosmetic industries, and was especially in high demand before the discovery of synthetic dyes which reduced the demand for this natural dye - although it is still used in certain items of food and drink. In the car park outside the cactus garden there is a local farmer that demonstrates how to actually harvest a beetle, which is very popular with tourists.








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