Mirador del Río, the gun battery that became a balcony

The Risco de Famara drops sheer to the arm of sea separating Lanzarote from La Graciosa: that channel is called El Río, and it gives the place its name. In 1898, during the war between Spain and the United States, a battery was built on the edge to control the passage.

In 1973 César Manrique took that structure and transformed it, working with Jesús Soto and Eduardo Cáceres. The idea is the same as at the Jameos: the building cannot be seen. From outside there is only rock; you enter along a white corridor and suddenly two great windows open onto the void.

What you see

Below lie the Río salt pans, La Graciosa with Caleta de Sebo, and beyond them the islets of Montaña Clara and Alegranza. On clear days you can pick out the houses one by one.

Reach it from Haría following signs for Yé. The best light is in the morning, before the sun is head-on; afternoons mean shooting into the light.