Lanzarote Lava Caves and Lava Tubes: What You Can Visit

How lava tubes form

A lava tube forms when the outer surface of a lava flow cools and hardens while molten lava keeps moving underneath it. When the eruption stops feeding the flow, the remaining lava drains away downhill and leaves a hollow tunnel behind.

That is what happened beneath the Malpaís de la Corona, the lava field below the volcano in the north of the island. The tube formed on several levels stacked one above another, which is why the walk through Cueva de los Verdes climbs and drops between galleries. In places the roof later collapsed, opening the tube to the sky. Those openings are known locally as jameos, and Jameos del Agua takes its name from them.

Cueva de los Verdes

Choose Cueva de los Verdes for a true underground lava-tube experience. The guided visit lasts about 50 minutes and covers roughly one kilometre on foot through:

• narrow passages
• larger chambers
• different levels of the tube
• an underground auditorium, used for concerts several times a year
• volcanic formations picked out by careful lighting

The lighting is the work of the artist Jesús Soto, who prepared the path and lit the cave when it opened to the public in 1964. It brings out the ochres, greys, blacks and reds in the rock, along with the drips of lava that hardened on the ceiling and the salt deposits on the walls. In the 16th and 17th centuries, islanders hid in these galleries from pirate raids from North Africa. The guides, who speak Spanish and English, finish with a surprise at the end of the route that they ask visitors not to spoil.

Timed online booking is required. Tickets are not sold at the ticket office: you choose a date and an entry time online, show the QR code on your phone, and arrive 15 minutes before your slot. Tickets cannot be changed or refunded.

The route has stairs, uneven ground, narrow sections and low ceilings. The centre warns visitors over 1.80 m tall to take care, it is not suitable for anyone with reduced mobility or claustrophobia, and pushchairs are not allowed. The temperature stays at around 20 °C all year. Parking at the cave is free for ticket holders.

Jameos del Agua

Jameos del Agua is less like a traditional cave tour. It was the first of César Manrique’s art-and-nature centres on the island, and the volcanic setting is combined with:

• an underground tidal lake
• endemic blind crabs, Munidopsis polymorpha, found nowhere else
• gardens
• César Manrique architecture
• the famous white pool
• an auditorium built into the tube

There is no fixed route and no guide. You walk at your own pace through the lake chamber, up into the open jameo with the pool, and on to the auditorium, and most people spend one to two hours there. A combined ticket with the Casa de los Volcanes museum costs €22.40 for adults. A Jameos del Agua ticket is valid for three months from purchase rather than for a fixed slot, and the centre also runs a guided Insólita visit on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings for €46.97.

For opening hours, tickets and what you see in each chamber, see our complete guide to Jameos del Agua.

Which is better?

Choose Cueva de los Verdes for geology and underground exploration. Choose Jameos del Agua for architecture, art and photography.

If you have time, visit both. They cost the same, they are a few minutes apart, and together they show the same tube in two completely different ways: one as the eruption left it, lit by an artist, and one redesigned by an architect. Our side-by-side comparison of Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua goes through the choice in more detail if you only have time for one.

Can you do both in one day?

Yes. They are close together on the road between Arrieta and Órzola.

Book Cueva de los Verdes first, because it uses timed guided entry, then fit Jameos del Agua around that slot. Cueva de los Verdes opens at 09:30 and Jameos del Agua at 10:00, so an early cave slot followed by Jameos for lunch works well. In summer, the road between the two (the LZ-205) runs one way, and the cave asks drivers to approach it from the Jameos del Agua side.

Without a car, the Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua half-day tour includes both entry tickets and is rated 4.4/5 from more than 400 reviews. The smaller North Lanzarote Premium tour adds Mirador del Río, includes the entrance fees and is rated 4.8/5 from more than 100 reviews.

Can you combine the caves with Timanfaya?

Yes, but it makes a much longer day, because Timanfaya is in the south-west of the island and the La Corona tube is in the north.

Full-day organised tours commonly combine all three. The Timanfaya, Jameos del Agua and Cueva de los Verdes tour includes all three entry tickets and hotel pickup in a nine-hour day, and is rated 4.5/5 from more than 2,800 reviews. Our breakdown of this tour → The Full-Day Island Highlights Tour covers the same three sites with tickets depending on the option you book. If you would rather split the island over two shorter days, our guide to Lanzarote island tours sets out a north day and a south day, and what a Timanfaya ticket covers explains the timed entry at the park.

What is Túnel de la Atlántida?

The La Corona lava tube continues beneath the Atlantic as the Túnel de la Atlántida (the Atlantis Tunnel), one of the longest known submarine lava tubes.

It is scientifically significant, but it is not a standard tourist cave that ordinary visitors can simply enter. Only Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua are open to the public.

Frequently asked questions

Are the caves natural?

Yes. Both are sections of a natural lava tube, though paths, lighting and visitor facilities have been added. At Jameos del Agua, César Manrique also added the gardens, the pool and the auditorium.

Are Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua connected?

They are parts of the same larger lava-tube system created by Volcán de la Corona, but there is no walking route between them underground. You go from one to the other by road, a few minutes’ drive.

Which should I visit first?

Cueva de los Verdes, because its timed booking is less flexible. A Jameos del Agua ticket has no time slot, so it fits around whatever cave slot you get.

How much are the lava cave tickets?

Both cost €17 for adults and €8.50 for children aged 7 to 12, and children up to 6 go free. Cueva de los Verdes tickets are sold online only, for a set date and time; Jameos del Agua tickets can be bought at the ticket office or online.

Are the caves suitable for children?

Generally yes, though Cueva de los Verdes is dark and enclosed in places, with stairs and low ceilings, and pushchairs are not allowed at either site. Jameos del Agua has the blind white crabs, which children tend to remember.

Are the caves near Timanfaya?

No. They are in northern Lanzarote, while Timanfaya is in the south-west of the island. Full-day tours that visit all three spend a fair part of the day on the road.

Compare the bookable tours that include the caves in our guide to choosing a Lanzarote volcano tour, or browse all Lanzarote volcano tours.