If you've ever dreamed of pedalling along trails in the reddish, arid landscape of Mars, Lanzarote can make your dreams come true. Pedales de Lava is a MTB Tour of this volcanic Atlantic island and its small neighbour, La Graciosa.

The route is the cycling equivalent of flipping through an album of surrealist postcards with multicoloured deserts and pumice cliffs overlooking the sea. Only instead of turning pages, you pedal from panorama to panorama on alien-looking trails.

In the 18th century, great volcanic activity poured into the island from the bowels of the earth and gave it its present appearance. Its landscape is a palette of earth tones and brown, red and yellow stone that mix in infinite combinations. Its sharp, smooth shapes contrast with the deep blue sea and sky.

Almost 250 kilometres (155 mi) of almost every type of road, street, cycle path, track and, above all, trails of all shapes and colours await you on this journey. These singletracks can be sandy, rocky, steep, flat, straight, undulating or twisty, but always impressive and fun. In this Collection, I invite you to enjoy five stages of cycling between the impressive volcanoes of the island, especially those of the Timanfaya National Park, the vertiginous cliffs of the Famara cliffs and numerous paths where the lava cooled in the waters of the Atlantic.

Although the gradient of the route is not remarkable, the terrain is difficult at times. While there are hardly any steep descents, there are exposed sections where it is prudent to take extreme precautions. Due to the variety of surfaces, it’s best to do this route with a full-suspension bike with a dropper post. Also, bear in mind that the rough terrain of Lanzarote is very demanding on tyres.

On this adventure, you can travel light as the island has plenty of urban centres where you can find all the tourist services imaginable. Make room for your swimming kit, though, as the island is full of paradise beaches. At the end of the first stage, you must take a ferry to La Graciosa and, at the end of the second, another to return to Lanzarote. Each day ends in a town with a good choice of accommodation and restaurants, which are ideal for enjoying the delicious Canary Island gastronomy.

Although the archipelago has a tropical climate, in winter it can be a bit cooler and in summer it can be very hot. The only seasons that should be avoided are those with a lot of wind (spring-summer) or on days when it can be very hot. Sunscreen is essential. In Lanzarote, the sun is relentless and there is little shade to protect yourself.

To get to Puerto del Carmen, where the crossing begins, you can fly or sail. The island has frequent flights from many mainland cities and a ferry from Cadiz. If you choose to fly, when you're on the plane on your way home, take the opportunity to take in the desert landscape of this Atlantic island, which you've travelled through between volcanoes, from the air.