Fuertevenutra - El Cotillo lighthouse and Volcano circuit

el Cotillo lighthouse and Volcano circuit - The circuit starts at a popular beach near to the lighthouse whihc is great for a swim once you have finished the trail. The trail along sea front is for around 14km and as it is used on a regular basis by cars and 4x4 there are lots of ruts and the usual undulating ridges which makes the journey a little uncomfortable but nothing technical. The only thing that got on my nerves in this secion was the idiots driving the ATV 4x4s who fly past with no thought at all for the cyclist, I was hit twice by small stones kicked up by the tyres as they sped past. Grrrrrrr. Eventually you turn south heading towards the volcano, the tracks here are much better and I got a real sense of freedom with some awesome scenery and the quietness was great. On arrival at the base of the volcano there is a purpose made track whihc you can cycle along (but be aware of any pedestrians) all the way to about 50m below the summit where you will need to get off the bike and walk the rest of way to the view point on the summit. It is well worth the effort and the views are spectacular, the crater is pretty big just a shame there is no boiling lava or gases to etc to view.

The next stage begin with a rapid decent down the purpose made track on the opposite side of the volcano all the way down into Lajares village before making you way onto El Cottillo and back to your start point. Be prepared to deal with strong winds as you start the final journey North back to the start / finish point.

I really liked this route and there are ample opportunities to use this route as your base route and make detours as you feel fit to create a route of your own.