La Geria Volcanic Crater Walk

Walk through 10,000 hand-dug volcanic craters, each protecting a single vine from the relentless wind. After the 1730s eruptions buried the island in ash, farmers invented this insane technique: dig a funnel-shaped hole into the lava, plant one vine at the bottom, build a crescent wall to block the wind. The black moonscape stretches to the horizon. These vines survived phylloxera when Europe lost everything.

Insider tips

• Go at sunrise or sunset when the black ash glows. Midday is harsh.

• The main road (LZ-30) bisects La Geria - park anywhere and walk into the fields

• Touch the volcanic ash (picón) - it is incredibly porous, which is why vines survive with no rain

• These vines are pre-phylloxera. The louse could not survive in the ash. Original European genetics.