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If you ever visit Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, look out for the big mountain with the aerials on top. This volcanic mountain called the Atalaya de Femes dominates the southern half of the island. The Atalaya is the second highest point on the island at 600 metres above sealevel, only 10m lower than the Radar station at the northern end of the island.

One day a mate of mine told me that it was possible to walk to the top of Atalaya as he had the done the trek on a quad bike. I was somewhat in disbelief, but was very interested in the challenge and so followed his directions. I have done many walks on this island, some of them have been a bit reckless and quite dangerous, like getting stranded on top of a volcanic crater once and panicking like hell trying to find a way down that wasn't going to kill me. The Atalaya isn't quite as extreme as that, but it is a mission to make it all the way and back in 1 piece.

I always use the village of Uga, that straddles the Timanfaya lava flow, as a starting point. I follow the Camel Track that goes into a tunnel underneath the Lz2 road and head for the camel farms and the Old Windmill in the distance. The safest way is to keep walking straight on till you cannot go any further and then bear right and upwards till you can get to the Old Windmill.

The Old Windmill is just the start of the real ascent. It looks steep and it is. The climb seems to go on forever, you can never see the top for quite some time. After about 30 minutes it flattens out a bit and you realise that you have reached the top of the first mountain. The next stage is to go up yet another mountain, to even see the Atalaya.

This middle stretch of the ascent is where it can get quite exhausting and dangerous. It contains a stretch i have nicknamed "The Path of Doom". When you look up at it, you are almost filled with dread, as it is very steep, almost hands and knees, but not quite. You have quite a narrow path as well in places and it's not wise to try and admire the view on the Path of Doom, you need to be concentrating on survival and not looking around into the empty chasms either side of you. If you reach the top of this mountain, you have basically done all the hard work and you will be presented with a full view of the top of the Atalaya and the aerial masts that sit on top.

The final leg is quite simple, you actually go down for a little while and follow a ridge that connects the 2 mountains together. You realise at this point that you are on some kind of a road. Engineers drive up here in 4x4 trucks to service the dishes and aerials. Follow the road round and you reach the aerials. It is generally at this point that you feel the need to sit down and try and admire the view in all 4 directions. The reason why you will want to sit down is that this is quite possibly the windiest place on the island. It can be calm at the Old Windmill and yet you will feel like you could get blown off the mountain at any time by the raging gusts at the summit. You have to wonder how the aerials dont blow away sometimes.

You have Atlantic Ocean views in 3 directions and volcanic cones and lava flows in the other direction. You have incredibly clear views over the port resort of Playa Blanca and the Magical Island of Fuerteventura. Fuerteventura always looks like a magic kingdom from a distance with its huge white beach overlooked by multiple towering peaks.

When you are at the top you have the natural compulsion to get back down, the wind normally puts anyone off from sticking around very long. The descent is normally much faster than the ascent, but is still very tricky. The Path of Doom on the descent is probably more dangerous. You are constantly fighting gravity and stopping yourself from slipping into oblivion.

Getting back to the Old Windmill makes you feel you are nearly finished, but the camel track back to Uga does seem to go on forever. Fortunately you are surrounded by a wide range of animals to keep you amused on the way. None of the animals are wild, but they include, camels, horses, llamas, pigs, sheep and deer. You may on occasion run into a stray dog. Some of the dogs can be quite large and quite daunting as they run at you and then just carry on past you.

On arrival back into the quaint village of Uga you get a feeling of achievement. The round trip takes 3 hours if you are fast, or 4 hours if you want to take your time. It is certainly a challenging walk and i dont see many people doing it. The best times to do this are late-autumn to late-spring. Its not worth trying to climb this peak in the Lanzarote summer, you will probably kill yourself with heat exhaustion and de-hydration. I would not attempt this climb if it feels windy in Uga or Yaiza. If it's windy in the villages, it will be like a hurricane at the summit of the Atalaya. You will absolutly need to take something to drink as well, maybe a chocolate bar for extra energy too. I always manage this mountain, by starting early in the day while it is still cool, making sure i have had breakfast first and then drink a can of redbull before you reach the Old Windmill. I am a redbull addict anyway, but i find it helps.