The Charco de los Clicos lagoon, playing with all the different shades of colour, often appears in cover photos and postcards from Lanzarote. This guide is no exception.
The exotic beach with its black volcanic sand, the lagoon with its light greenish water and the red, grey and yellow rocks surrounding the beach are rightly attracting attention.
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Charco de los Clicos is one of the most visited places in Lanzarote and should not escape your attention.
In fact, the lagoon filled with part fresh and part seawater comes from a former volcanic crater that has almost completely submerged into the depths of the sea.
View of the beach
The best view of the beach is from the official lookout point on the north side towards the village of El Golfo.
The road from the centre of the village is less than a kilometre long and runs along the edge of the sea cliff on more or less flat ground. The view from the top will provide the best view of the colour range from the deep blue ocean to the black beach, the luminous green lagoon and the red rocks.
Incidentally, the bright green colour of the lagoon is caused by the algae species Ruppia maritima and also by the high proportion of sulphur in the water.
Swimming in the lagoon
You can walk directly to the beach along the stone path just on the other side from the south of the parking lot by the road LZ-703. The beach is covered with black volcanic gravel, there is no hiking equipment and swimming in the sea is not recommended due to the large waves and strong currents.
Swimming in the lagoon is prohibited due to the high sulphur content.
How to get there
The lagoon and its beach lie less than a kilometre south of the village of El Golfo in an inhospitable landscape of volcanoes and lava fields. It can only be reached by car; buses do not go to El Golfo.
The turn-off from the LZ-2 motorway is clearly signposted. The lagoon is about 26 km from the airport, while Playa Blanca is 19 km away.
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