The Cactus Garden – Jardín de Cactus
The Cactus Garden (Jardín de Cactus) is located at the northern end of Guatiza, on the eastern side of the LZ-1 road that leads to Mala – not to be confused with the new by-pass that goes around both towns.
The garden was designed by César Manrique and opened in 1990 (according to the official Spanish guidebook. Many sources quote 1991) and as such was the last of Manrique’s “centres” to open. Inside there are over 1,000 different species of cacti. Some of them are indigenous to the island, but many come from as far away as South America.
Once inside the main entrance, a network of paths takes the visitors round the sides of the circular garden on different levels, and just getting around all of them and seeing all of the cacti can take a good hour. The levels actually go down below the level of the entrance building and car park, so it is like being in a hidden – almost secret – garden.
And the plants are not the only cacti present. Many of the features such as the doorhandles also have a ‘cactus’ design.
At the far end of the garden there is a small lake and a café, behind which a flight of steps goes up onto the outer wall of the garden and to a restored windmill.
From here there are breathtaking views across the cactus fields towards Arrieta and Costa Teguise, as well as out into the Atlantic.
It is also possible to go into the windmill and climb up even further inside that too.
Finally there is a gift shop selling cacti, seeds to grow them from, and various associated products.
But as tempting as it may be to take a souvenir of your visit to the cactus garden back home with you, you might like to check up with your local customs office before you go on holiday to ask if you are allowed to bring cacti back with you.
Of you might just like to be on the safe side as I did and buy a book instead.
Tags: cacti, cactus, César Manrique, garden, Guatiza, Jardín, LZ-1, windmill
