The village of Femés lies up in the mountains in the south west of the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Femés is at the top of the mountain ridge as you drive from Arrecife to Playa Blanca and from the village there are some spectacular views over the mountains to the coast just before you start the steep descent.
We decided to visit the beaches at Papagayo which is near to Playa Blanca, and ended up driving through the small village of Femés which lies on the slopes of the extinct volcano Atalaya de Femés.
How to get to Femés
There are two roads that you can take to Playa Blanca from Arrecife. At the “Camel Roundabout” just outside the village of Uga (easily identifiable because there are several “larger than life” camel statues in the middle of the roundabout), you can either take the main LZ-2 highway through Uga and Yaiza to get to Playa Blanca, or you can take the LZ-702 which climbs up into the mountains, the highest point being the village of Femés.
The LZ-702 is still a good road, and it’s more scenic as well, especially after winding around a few bends in Femés and seeing the viewpoint as you start your descent down from the mountains to the coast. If you decide to take the main highway, the LZ-2, you are going to miss some great views.
The scenic viewpoint at Femés
One of the best places to experience the views across to the coast of Lanzarote is from the viewpoint or mirador called Balcón de Femés, which is at the far end of the village square.
You can also get a great view from the small car park as you begin your descent from the village down to the coast, but beware as this is on a steep hill with a hairpin bend and can be quite dangerous to navigate. The hill is also popular with cyclists, who can appear as if from nowhere as they start their way down from the village and around the sharp bend, right where you exit the car park. However, the views from there make the stop well worthwhile.
You can just see the outskirts of Playa Blanca in one of the photos. Playa Blanca is a large resort town on the south west coast of Lanzarote, but our next port of call is not Playa Blanca but the beaches at Papagayo, just east of Playa Blanca along the coast. You can read about these lovely beaches in our next article.
Walks from Femés
There are some good walks from the village of Femés up to the top of the mountain ridge at Atalaya de Femes which is the second highest mountain on the island, and towards the volcanic cone of Caldera Riscardo. You can also walk through the mountains to Playa Blanca.
Details of some good walks in Lanzarote can be found on the Happy Hiker website.
2 thoughts on “Lanzarote in February (part seven) The Village of Femés – A Spectacular Mountain Viewpoint”
I learn about so many areas I had no idea about when I visit your site, very interesting!
There are so many places in the world that many of us have never heard of. Living in Europe I guess we are quite fortunate to be close to so many other countries.
We are off to Spain next week, hoping to be reporting some more interesting places from there.