Salinas de Janubio Salt Flats
Just fifteen minutes by car from Puerto Calero, the Salinas de Janubio are the largest salt flats in the Canary Islands — a mesmerising grid of shallow evaporation pans that shift from white to blush pink to deep violet depending on the time of day and the algae blooming in the brine. They are still a working salt production site and one of the most photogenic landscapes in the entire archipelago.
The landscape and the light
The flats occupy a natural lagoon separated from the Atlantic by a narrow lava bar, and the contrast between the geometric pastel pans, the jet-black volcanic rock and the deep blue of the ocean beyond is almost surreal. The best colours appear in the morning and again in the last hour before sunset, when the low light turns the brine pools into something resembling a Rothko painting.
A free viewing platform on the LZ-703 road gives an elevated overview of the entire complex — it is a two-minute stop that consistently produces the most shared photographs on Lanzarote. Allow longer if you want to walk the perimeter path along the lava bar to the ocean.
Salt, flamingos and the nearby coast
The Salinas de Janubio produce around 10,000 tonnes of sea salt annually, still harvested by hand using traditional wooden rakes. Small bags of the coarse fleur de sel are sold at a kiosk near the entrance and make an excellent, lightweight souvenir — it genuinely tastes different from supermarket salt.
Between October and March, small flocks of flamingos regularly feed in the shallower pans, drawn by the brine shrimp that colour the water pink. Combine the visit with a stop at the nearby Playa de Janubio, a dramatic black-sand beach pounded by Atlantic surf — not safe for swimming but spectacular for photographs.
More of Puerto Calero
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Puerto Calero →
