Jameos del agua in Lanzarote, a unique place in the world
It’s been 3000 years that the Volcán de la Corona – Volcano of the Crown – of Lanzarote seems to be asleep, but its ancient eruptions left us with endless caves and volcanic tubes of incomparable beauty in the north of Lanzarote. And it is in this volcanic system that we find the stunning nature of Jameos del Agua.
‘Jameo‘ is a word of aboriginal origin and in the Canary Islands it refers to a natural cave that has been formed by the sinking of a volcanic tube roof, either because its width is too large or due to an explosion by the accumulated gases.
The Centre of Art, Culture and Tourism of Jameos del Agua of Lanzarote received this name because this area is located right in the centre of that volcanic tunnel produced by the eruption of the Volcán de la Corona. Its work aims to unite nature and man in a space barely intervened by the human being.
Jameos del Agua is located in the municipality of Haría and the centre is formed by at least three Jameos: ‘Jameo Chico’, ‘Jameo Grande’ and ‘Jameo de la Cazuela’. It opened its doors to the public in 1977, including the Auditorium that still stands. Over the years new facilities have been incorporated, such as a space dedicated to the exhibition, which we know as ‘Casa de los Volcanes’.
César Manrique, an artist in love with Canarian nature
César Manrique was an artist very aware of the environmental issues of the Canary Islands. Born in Lanzarote, Manrique was the architect who built Jameos del Agua, culminating his creative plans to unite nature and artistic creation in harmony. In fact, it was his first architectural work dedicated to public attraction.
White, blue, green and black - the colours of this underground habitat
These are the colours you will find during your tour to Jameos del Agua, a curious underground habitat. Each corner of the centre is carefully designed and moulded by the hands of César Manrique. When in the area of the tube closest to the coast, below sea level, we find water leaks that have created natural lakes, associating the place with water and giving the name Jameos del Agua.
You will access the Centre through a spiral staircase made entirely of volcanic stone and you will immediately be amazed by the vegetation and ornamentation of this underground area. When you access the main lake, you will clearly notice the similarity of the composition of this large area with cathedral architecture.
One of the places that stand out in Jameos del Agua is its Auditorium, unique in terms of its geological characteristics and its acoustics. The Auditorium of Jameos del Agua is also located underground and is used for concerts and theatre or ballet performances.
One of the three Jameos is known as ‘Jameo Grande’ and it is 100 meters long and 30 meters wide and is a garden with a large natural pool. You will also find a bar and a restaurant where you can enjoy traditional dishes of Lanzarote in this unique space. Do not forget to make your booking if you want to eat there. A dance floor shows us how this area is also used as a party club.
Fauna of Jameos del Agua, the blind crab
As we have already said, Jameos del Agua constitutes a very unique habitat due to its underground situation and to water in this area caused by the sea leaks. Among its curious fauna we highlight a white crab (known as albino crab). It is unique in the world and it has become the symbol of Jameos del Agua. It is a very small crab, one centimetre long and it is also blind.
For this reason it is very important that you follow the rules established in the centre and, above all, do not throw coins into the water since these crabs are very sensitive to rust.
Cueva de los Verdes
Cueva de los Verdes – Cave of the Greens – was also formed as a result of a Volcán de la Corona eruption. Formerly it was used by the inhabitants as a hiding place during pirate attacks. It is said that the name was adopted by a local family as a surname. It was the artist Jesús Soto who, as a close collaborator of Manrique, adapted the cave so that it could be visited.
If you want to discover more places in Lanzarote, you can book our excursions and feel a complete experience aboard our boats. You can see all our excursions here.
