Two of these caves are the same cave. The Cueva de los Verdes and the Jameos del Agua are neighbouring sections of one lava tube left by the La Corona volcano, 2 km apart on the same road in the north of Lanzarote, and they cost exactly the same – but they are not the same kind of visit. The Cueva is a guided walk of about a kilometre through raw tube on several levels, lit in the 1960s by the artist Jesús Soto. The Jameos are César Manrique's first designed place: a staircase down into a collapsed section, a saltwater lake full of blind albino crabs found nowhere else on earth, a white pool nobody is allowed to swim in, and a 600-seat auditorium inside the tube. Beyond them the tube runs on under the seabed as the Túnel de la Atlántida, which only research divers have ever entered. If you are looking for the artist's cave house, that is a third place entirely, at Tahíche: Manrique built his home around five natural lava bubbles.
- TicketsThe two caves are sold in completely different ways, and mixing them up is the commonest mistake people make.
- Price€17 (about $19.48) – Cueva de los Verdes – adult, online only, with a fixed time slot
- OpenEvery CACT centre is open 365 days a year, public holidays included.
- Best timeWeather is irrelevant underground; the clock is not.
- ClaustrophobiaThe Cueva de los Verdes has narrow passages and low ceilings, and the operator advises anyone with claustrophobia against it and warns everyone over 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) to watch their head.
The five sites compared
Cueva de los Verdes
The walkable section of the La Corona lava tube: a guided kilometre over several levels, lit in the 1960s by the artist Jesús Soto, with an auditorium in the middle of the cave. This is the raw one.
Chambers with names like the Sala de las Estetas, the Garganta de la Muerte and the Puerta Mora; lava channels, lava drips hanging from the ceiling, salt efflorescence on the walls. There is something at the end the operator deliberately will not describe – it says only to follow your guide's instructions. In the 16th and 17th centuries islanders hid here from pirate raids. The name comes from a family called Verdes who used the cave and kept livestock nearby, not from the colour green. Commentary in Spanish and English, about 20 °C (68 °F) year round.
Adults €17 (about $19.48), children 7–12 €8.50 (about $9.74), under-7s free, Canary residents €13.60, Lanzarote residents €2 – online only (09/2026)
Jameos del Agua
César Manrique's first art, culture and tourism centre, and the reason the two caves are not interchangeable: stairs down into the Jameo Chico, an underground saltwater lake with blind albino crabs, a white pool in the open-air Jameo Grande, and an auditorium built into the lava tube.
The white specks in the lake are Munidopsis polymorpha, a blind squat lobster 2–3 cm long that lives nowhere on earth but this lava tube and is the island's animal symbol. Locals call it the jameíto. The lake rises and falls with the tide. Bathing or entering the lake and the pool is not permitted, and the operator asks visitors in writing not to throw coins or other objects into the water. Behind the restaurant you can make out where the Túnel de la Atlántida begins. The auditorium seats about 600; the Jameo de la Cazuela with its two waterfalls is only shown on the Insólita tour.
Adults €17 (about $19.48), children 7–12 €8.50 (about $9.74), under-7s free; with the Casa de los Volcanes €22.40 (about $25.67) / €11.20 (about $12.84); Lanzarote residents €2 (09/2026)
Túnel de la Atlántida
The final, completely sea-flooded section of the same tube. It starts at the Jameo Chico and runs out under the seabed – according to Wikipedia the longest known submarine lava tube in the world.
About 1.5 to 1.6 km long, ending somewhere between 50 and just over 60 m down depending on the source. Roughly ten diving expeditions explored it between 1983 and 2008 and found a long list of blind, unpigmented cave animals; Spanish Wikipedia counts at least 36 endemic species. Ordinary visitors see only the mouth of it from inside the Jameos del Agua, and the Insólita tour promises a look at that.
Not open to the public
Fundación César Manrique (Taro de Tahíche)
The artist's cave house, and the place people mean when they search for one: Manrique's home from 1968 to 1988, built into a lava flow from the eruptions of 1730–1736. The lower floor is five natural lava bubbles joined by passages cut through the rock.
About 3,000 m² of building on a 30,000 m² plot, home to the foundation since 1992. The lava bubbles hold living rooms, a pool and a small dance floor. Not run by CACT, so it has its own separate ticket – and it is the only genuine combined ticket in this entry.
Adults €10 (about $11.46), children 7–12 €3 (about $3.44); combined with the Casa-Museo at Haría €17 (about $19.48) / €4 (about $4.58) (09/2026)
LagOmar (Nazaret)
A house built into an old quarry, with grottoes, tunnels, terraces and a lake, designed by people around César Manrique and Jesús Soto, and known as Omar Sharif's former house.
The story is that Sharif bought the house while filming The Mysterious Island and lost it at cards shortly afterwards – often repeated, never documented. Today it is a museum with a restaurant and a cocktail bar inside a lava cave.
Adults €10 (about $11.46), children €8 (about $9.17) according to a travel portal, not confirmed by the operator (09/2026)
Tickets and prices
The two caves are sold in completely different ways, and mixing them up is the commonest mistake people make. Cueva de los Verdes: online only, with a fixed date and a fixed time, and there is no ticket desk selling admissions – turning up without a ticket means driving an hour for nothing. Jameos del Agua: a ticket with no date on it, bought online or at the desk, valid for three months. Download the QR code or screenshot it before you set off, because the mobile signal in the north is patchy.
Official prices
- Cueva de los Verdes – adult, online only, with a fixed time slot€17 (about $19.48)
- Cueva de los Verdes – child aged 7 to 12 / aged 0 to 6€8.50 (about $9.74) / free
- Cueva de los Verdes – Canary Islands resident, adult / child aged 7 to 12€13.60 (about $15.59) / €6.80 (about $7.79)
- Cueva de los Verdes – Lanzarote resident€2 (about $2.29)
- Cueva de los Verdes – visitor with a disability of 33 % or more, adult / child€11.90 (about $13.64) / €5.95 (about $6.82)
- Jameos del Agua – adult / child aged 7 to 12 / aged 0 to 6€17 (about $19.48) / €8.50 (about $9.74) / free
- Jameos del Agua with the Casa de los Volcanes museum – adult / child aged 7 to 12€22.40 (about $25.67) / €11.20 (about $12.84)
- Jameos del Agua – Canary Islands resident, adult / Lanzarote resident€13.60 (about $15.59) / €2 (about $2.29)
- Jameos del Agua – Insólita small-group tour, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 09:45, Casa de los Volcanes included€41.20 (about $47.22)
- Noches de Jameos on Fridays, visit plus dinner plus concert – menu / vegan menu / children's menu, ages 7 to 12€98 (about $112.31) / €88 (about $100.85) / €49 (about $56.15)
- Fundación César Manrique at Tahíche – adult / child aged 7 to 12€10 (about $11.46) / €3 (about $3.44)
- Fundación at Tahíche plus Casa-Museo at Haría, combined – adult / child aged 7 to 12€17 (about $19.48) / €4 (about $4.58)
- LagOmar – adult / child up to 12, from a travel portal rather than the operator€10 (about $11.46) / €8 (about $9.17)
- Exchange rate behind every dollar figure on this page€1 = $1.1460, European Central Bank reference rate for 18 September 2026
As of 09/2026 · source and direct booking: cactlanzarote.com/en/visit/cueva-de-los-verdes
When everything is sold out
If a time at the Cueva de los Verdes is no longer bookable, that hour is full and the only option is another slot or another day. There is no walk-up fallback, and the operator does not rebook or refund.
Tickets and tours for the Lanzarote caves
Booking direct is cheaper: CACT charges €17 (about $19.48) for adults at either cave, and €22.40 (about $25.67) for the Jameos del Agua with the Casa de los Volcanes. What a reseller sells you here is the drive, and on this island that is worth something - intercity line 9 runs only a few times a day, some services skip the Jameos stop altogether, and it is a 2 km walk along a road with no pavement from the nearest stop to the Cueva de los Verdes. A coach trip with hotel pick-up from Puerto del Carmen or Costa Teguise removes the hire car, the parking and the one-way summer road. Three things to check in the description before you book. Which cave the offer actually enters, because "Lanzarote caves" covers two separate sites and plenty of itineraries only stop at one. Whether admission is included or whether you are paying for a coach seat and buying the ticket yourself - which does not work at the Cueva de los Verdes, where there is no ticket desk at all. And the time, because the Cueva admits visitors only at the slot on the ticket, so an excursion that arrives an hour late has nowhere to put you.
Lanzarote: Timanfaya Park, Jameos del Agua & Cueva de los Verdes Tour
Lanzarote: Volcanos of Timanfaya and Caves Tour with Lunch
Lanzarote: Cueva de los Verdes & Jameos del Agua Tour
Lanzarote caves: Half-Day Trip
Show all 7 offers
Booked through GetYourGuide (affiliate link, advertising). Most offers can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours ahead. Prices as of 20 September 2026.
Opening hours and best time
Every CACT centre is open 365 days a year, public holidays included. Cueva de los Verdes: daily 09:30–16:45, and you go in at the time printed on your online ticket – the operator asks you to be at the desk 15 minutes early. Jameos del Agua: daily 10:00–18:00, last admission 17:15, no time slots. The only evening opening is on Fridays, for the Noches de Jameos: the site stays open until midnight, dinner runs 18:30–20:30 and the concert 22:30–23:15. Fundación César Manrique at Tahíche: daily 10:00–17:30, desk closes at 17:00. Casa-Museo César Manrique at Haría: daily 10:30–17:30. LagOmar: daily 10:00–18:00 according to a travel portal rather than the operator.
When it is quietest
Weather is irrelevant underground; the clock is not. Book the Cueva de los Verdes slot before you drive north and arrive 15 minutes early, because that time is the whole ticket. Pairing both caves in one morning is the obvious move – they are 2 km apart and cost the same – with the Jameos, which have no slots, fitted either side of the fixed Cueva time. Rain is a good reason to come, not a reason to stay away. And a Friday evening at the Noches de Jameos, lit and with a concert at 22:30, is a different place from the same site at noon.
Who it suits
With children
Under-7s go free. The Cueva de los Verdes is 50 minutes of group walking in the dark with some tight places – heavy going for a toddler, a genuine adventure for a school-age child. The Jameos are the easier half: no fixed pace, a lake with crabs to hunt for, a pool, and open sky in places. Toilets with baby-changing are outside the caves at both sites.
Minimum age
None.
Wheelchair
Treat both lava caves as inaccessible. The operator's FAQ says plainly that because they are volcanic tubes, the Cueva de los Verdes and the Jameos del Agua present great accessibility challenges for people with reduced mobility, and the Jameos page adds that the shape of the tube, the changes in level and the stone paving limit accessibility along the general route. The only aid anywhere is a stairlift platform to the auditorium seating in the Jameos, which does not make the rest of the route accessible. The Cueva de los Verdes is stairs and uneven rock throughout.
Pushchair
Not allowed in either cave, and at the Cueva de los Verdes there is nowhere to leave one. Bring a carrier.
Dogs
Not allowed. Assistance dogs only, under Spanish law 3/2017.
Claustrophobia
The Cueva de los Verdes has narrow passages and low ceilings, and the operator advises anyone with claustrophobia against it and warns everyone over 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) to watch their head. The Jameos are the opposite: wide, and partly open to the sky.
What to wear
Closed shoes with grip. The Cueva stays at about 20 °C (68 °F) all year, so no coat is needed, but the floor is damp and uneven. Parts of the Jameos are outdoors – sun protection in summer – and at spring tides the water can wash over the walkway by the lake, in which case you take your shoes off and walk through.
Photography
Cueva de los Verdes: only in the permitted areas, and you follow the guide. Jameos del Agua: photography is fine, drones are not. Do not throw coins or anything else into the lake – the operator says so in writing, and the reason is the crabs.
Getting there
By public transport
There is no train on Lanzarote and no direct bus from the airport. Intercity line 9, Arrecife–Órzola, runs via Tahíche, Arrieta and Punta Mujeres a handful of times a day – departures from Arrecife at 07:30, 10:15, 15:30 and 17:00 on the timetable checked – and some services skip the Jameos del Agua stop altogether. From the nearest stop to the Cueva de los Verdes it is about 2 km on foot along a road with no pavement, according to a travel blog. Costa Teguise and Puerto del Carmen both need a change in Arrecife, which turns a 25-minute drive into a two-hour journey. Without a car, an organised coach trip with hotel pick-up is usually the more sensible answer.
By car
Both centres have free car parks. The one at the Cueva de los Verdes is small and reserved for ticket holders. In summer the LZ-205 becomes one-way, and the operator's advice is to approach the Cueva from the Jameos del Agua side rather than the other way round. A hire car from the airport is the normal way to do this, and it is what makes seeing both caves in one morning possible at all.
From the nearest city
Lanzarote's airport is Arrecife (ACE), on the island's east coast; every flight lands there. From the airport to the Jameos del Agua is about 34 km and roughly 30 minutes by car, with a taxi quoted at €35–50 (about $40–57). From Costa Teguise it is about 23 km and 22 minutes; from Puerto del Carmen about 42 km and 37 minutes to the Cueva de los Verdes. Arrecife itself is around 27 km, half an hour, from the Cueva. The two caves are 2 km apart. Tahíche, where the Fundación César Manrique is, and Nazaret, where LagOmar is, sit a few kilometres north of Arrecife directly on the way – easy to fold into the same drive.
Tips for your visit
- Buy the Cueva de los Verdes ticket before you drive north. There is no ticket desk – without a booked time there is no way in, and the north of the island is an hour from most resorts.
- Download the QR code or take a screenshot. Reception in the Malpaís de la Corona is thin, and a ticket you cannot open is a ticket you do not have.
- Do both caves in one morning. They are 2 km apart and the same price: book the fixed Cueva slot first, then put the Jameos, which have no slots, before or after it.
- Go to the Jameos del Agua knowing it is a designed place. If you expect an untouched cave you will be disappointed; if you know you are looking at Manrique's first built work, it is the better of the two.
- Do not throw a coin into the lake. The crabs are the size of a thumbnail, they live nowhere else on the planet, and metal in the water kills them. The operator asks in writing that nothing goes in.
- In summer approach the Cueva from the Jameos side, because the LZ-205 runs one-way then.
- Over 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)? Watch the ceilings in the Cueva – the operator says so explicitly.
- Do not look up what happens at the end of the Cueva tour. The whole effect depends on not knowing, and a surprising number of English pages spoil it.
- If you want the Casa de los Volcanes museum, buy the €22.40 (about $25.67) ticket from the start; it is not in the standard Jameos admission.
- Resident and disability rates are sold at the desk only, on production of the original document. Buy one online without the paperwork and it is void, with no refund.
What the internet gets wrong
Four English guides, four different prices, and none of them is right. CACT charges €17 (about $19.48) for adults and €8.50 (about $9.74) for children aged 7 to 12 at both the Jameos del Agua and the Cueva de los Verdes as of September 2026, with under-7s free. The CACT prices have risen several times, so any English page quoting single figures is quoting an old season – and the one quoting €20 is charging you three euros too much before you have even left the hotel.
Sold in English as "you save money when booking both together" (introducinglanzarote.com), as "a combination ticket for the Cuevea de los Verdes, the Jameos del Agua, and the Jardín de Cactus" saving "up to €5" (solosophie.com), as "the multi-tickets available at each center" (guidetocanaryislands.com) and as being "included in the CACT pass" (canariaslovers.com): there is no such ticket any more. The operator's own FAQ states it: "Unfortunately, we no longer offer multi-entry passes for access to several Centres." The ticket shop sells single admissions only. Two caves means two tickets at €17 each, and they are not even bought the same way – the Cueva is online-only with a fixed time, the Jameos is undated and valid for three months. The one real combined ticket in the north is a different organisation altogether: the Fundación César Manrique at Tahíche plus the Casa-Museo at Haría, €17 (about $19.48).
"it is called 'green' for the colour seen inside and its walls, which have green algae" (firstminute-transfer.com), a reading carried in the titles and URLs of English pages that call the place the green caves of Lanzarote: the name has nothing to do with the colour. The operator says the name comes from the surname of a family who used the cave and kept their livestock nearby, and the Barceló guide gives the same explanation. Nothing inside is green: it is black, red and ochre basalt, with white salt efflorescence. The confusion is a translation accident – los Verdes is a family, not an adjective – and it survives in English because Verdes looks like a colour.
the two caves are different works by different hands, and that is the single most useful thing to know before booking. The Cueva de los Verdes was adapted for visitors in 1964 by Jesús Soto, who designed its lighting and its sound, and the Barceló guide is explicit that the present-day appearance of the cave is Soto's work, commissioned by the island council. The Jameos del Agua is the Manrique one – his first art, culture and tourism centre, a built place with a pool, a garden, a restaurant and a 600-seat auditorium inside the tube. Confuse them and you either turn up at a raw lava tube expecting architecture, or at an architectural landmark expecting a cave.
And its more persistent variant, that "only the King of Spain has the right to swim in the pool inside Jameos del Agua" (guidetocanaryislands.com; a Tripadvisor review of the site is titled "The kings pool"): nobody swims, king or otherwise. The operator's visit page says flatly that bathing or entering the lake and the pool is not permitted. The white pool in the Jameo Grande is a sculpture you walk past, and the lake is a habitat: the blind albino crabs in it are 2–3 cm long, exist nowhere else on earth, and the operator asks in writing that visitors "do not throw coins or other objects into the water" because metal in the water and changes to the light kill them. A coin tossed for luck is the one thing a visitor can do here that causes permanent damage.
Fascinatingspain.com runs the headline "Atlantis tunnel, the longest volcanic tube in the world" over a text that then says "the largest underwater volcanic tube in the world", and adds that it reaches "64 kilometers deep": the qualifier is the whole claim. What the sourced formulation says is that the Túnel de la Atlántida is the longest known submarine lava tube – the longest one that runs under the sea. The longest lava tube anywhere is Kazumura Cave on Hawai'i, 65.5 km long. The Atlántida is about 1.5 to 1.6 km. And its depth is between 50 and just over 60 metres, not 64 kilometres, which would put it some way below the deepest point of the ocean.
"open daily from 10.00 to 18.30 hrs" with the bar running "Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 19.00 to 02.00 hrs" (spain-lanzarote.com), and "Every Wednesday and Friday during the summer, you're invited to their special show: Jameos Nights from 7 p.m. to midnight" (capturetheatlas.com): the evening operation is Fridays only, and it is a fixed-price event, not late opening. CACT gives daily hours of 10:00 to 18:00 with last admission at 17:15. The Noches de Jameos run on Friday evenings, with the site open until midnight, dinner from 18:30 to 20:30 and the concert from 22:30 to 23:15, and they cost €98, €88 vegan, or €49 for a child's menu – you cannot simply wander in at nine in the evening on an ordinary ticket. The nightclub that ran here on Tuesdays and Saturdays belongs to an earlier era of the site and to a great many English pages that have not been updated since.
The operator gives about 50 minutes and opening hours of 09:30 to 16:45, all year, 365 days. The departure interval is not something the operator publishes at all, which matters because you do not choose it – you are admitted at the time on your ticket. An English page that tells you the cave is open until six or seven in the evening is describing a cave that shut two hours earlier, and an afternoon drive north on that basis ends at a locked gate.
History in brief
- The tube was left behind by an eruption of the La Corona volcano; ages given for it range from about 3,000–5,000 years to roughly 21,000, depending on which source you read.
- 16th and 17th centuries: islanders sheltered in the Cueva de los Verdes from pirate raids launched out of North Africa.
- 1964: the Cueva de los Verdes opened to visitors, after Jesús Soto had designed its paths, lighting and sound for the island council.
- 1966: the first parts of the Jameos del Agua became accessible according to Wikipedia; the operator dates its first centre to 1968, with the site completed in 1977.
- 1968–1988: César Manrique lived in the house above the lava bubbles at Tahíche; it became the seat of the Fundación César Manrique in 1992.
- 1987: the Lanzarote Geodynamic Laboratory installed measuring stations inside the lava tube.
- 1983–2008: around ten diving expeditions explored the Túnel de la Atlántida.
- 2001–2009: the auditorium at the Jameos del Agua was closed for safety works, reopening in February 2009.
Frequent questions
How much are tickets to Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua in 2026?
Both charge exactly the same: €17 (about $19.48) for adults and €8.50 (about $9.74) for children aged 7 to 12, with under-7s free, as of September 2026. The Jameos with the Casa de los Volcanes museum is €22.40 (about $25.67). Canary Islands residents pay €13.60 and Lanzarote residents €2, at the desk only and with the original document. English guides quoting €9, €10, €14 or €20 are all out of date.
Do you need to book Cueva de los Verdes tickets in advance?
Yes, and this is not optional. The Cueva sells online only, with a fixed date and a fixed time, and there is no ticket desk selling admissions on the day. Be there 15 minutes before your slot. There are no changes and no refunds, so book the day rather than the holiday. Jameos del Agua is the opposite: buy at the door if you like, and the ticket has no date and stays valid for three months.
Is there a combined ticket for both caves?
No. The multi-centre passes CACT used to sell have been discontinued – its FAQ says so – and the ticket shop now sells single admissions only. Two caves means two tickets at €17 each. The only real combined ticket in this part of the island belongs to a different organisation: the Fundación César Manrique at Tahíche plus the Casa-Museo at Haría for €17 (about $19.48).
Cueva de los Verdes or Jameos del Agua – which is worth it?
They are two sections of the same lava tube, 2 km apart, at the same price, and they are not the same experience. The Cueva is the cave: a guided kilometre through raw tube on several levels, with something at the end the operator refuses to describe. The Jameos is César Manrique's first designed centre – a lake with endemic blind crabs, a white pool, an auditorium in the rock – and it is architecture as much as geology. Most people do both in one morning, which is the right answer.
How long does a visit take?
The Cueva de los Verdes tour is about 50 minutes over roughly a kilometre. For the Jameos del Agua the operator suggests around an hour, or two with the Casa de los Volcanes. Allowing for the drive north, the 15 minutes you must arrive early, and the 2 km between the two sites, both caves together are a comfortable half day.
Can you visit Jameos del Agua without a tour?
Yes. The Jameos has no guide and no time slot: you walk it at your own pace, in whatever order you like. The Cueva de los Verdes is the reverse – the only way through is the guided group walk, with the commentary given in Spanish and English simultaneously. The one guided option at the Jameos is the Insólita small-group tour at 09:45 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, €41.20 (about $47.22), which includes the Casa de los Volcanes and the Jameo de la Cazuela.
Can you swim in the lake or the pool at Jameos del Agua?
No. The operator states that bathing or entering the lake and the pool is not permitted. The white pool is there to be looked at, and the lake is the only home in the world of Munidopsis polymorpha, a blind albino squat lobster 2–3 cm long. Do not throw coins in either: the operator asks visitors in writing not to put coins or other objects into the water, because metal and disturbance kill the animals.
What are the blind white crabs in Jameos del Agua?
Munidopsis polymorpha, known locally as the jameíto – a blind, unpigmented squat lobster 2 to 3 cm long that occurs nowhere on earth except this lava tube, and the animal symbol of Lanzarote. They are light-sensitive and react badly to any change in the water, which is why coins, sun cream and touching are all out. The white specks you can see on the black rock at the bottom of the lake are the whole species.
How many steps are there, and is it wheelchair accessible?
Neither cave is. The operator's FAQ says that because they are volcanic tubes, the Cueva de los Verdes and the Jameos del Agua present great accessibility challenges for people with reduced mobility, and the Jameos page adds that the shape of the tube, the level changes and the stone paving limit accessibility along the route. The Cueva de los Verdes is stairs and uneven rock throughout, over several levels. The only adaptation anywhere is a stairlift platform to the auditorium seating in the Jameos. Pushchairs are banned in both, with nowhere to leave one at the Cueva – bring a carrier.
How do you get to the caves from Puerto del Carmen or Costa Teguise?
By car it is about 42 km and 37 minutes from Puerto del Carmen and about 23 km and 22 minutes from Costa Teguise. By bus, both require a change in Arrecife onto intercity line 9 towards Órzola, which runs only a few times a day and does not always stop at the Jameos del Agua, turning the trip into roughly two hours each way. From the nearest stop to the Cueva de los Verdes it is a further 2 km on a road with no pavement. Without a hire car, a coach excursion with pick-up is usually easier.
How far are the caves from Lanzarote airport?
Arrecife airport (ACE) is about 34 km from the Jameos del Agua, roughly 30 minutes by hire car, with a taxi quoted at €35–50 (about $40–57). There is no direct bus: the public route is line 22 into Arrecife bus station and then line 9 north, about two hours. Most visitors pick the car up at the airport, which is also what makes seeing both caves in one morning realistic.
Is Túnel de la Atlántida the longest lava tube in the world, and can you dive it?
It is the longest known submarine lava tube – the longest that runs beneath the sea – at about 1.5 to 1.6 km, not the longest lava tube overall; that is Kazumura Cave on Hawai'i at 65.5 km. And no, you cannot dive it. Between 1983 and 2008 about ten scientific expeditions explored it, finding at least 36 endemic species. Visitors see only where it begins, from inside the Jameos del Agua.
How cold is it inside – do you need a jacket?
No. The Cueva de los Verdes stays at about 20 °C (68 °F) all year, which is cooler than an August afternoon outside and warmer than a January evening. What matters is closed shoes with grip for damp, uneven rock and a lot of steps. Parts of the Jameos del Agua are open to the sky, so pack sun protection instead.
Are the caves suitable for children?
Under-7s are free. The Jameos del Agua is the easy one for families: no fixed pace, a lake to peer into, a pool, open sky. The Cueva de los Verdes is 50 minutes of group walking in the dark with narrow, low stretches, which unsettles some small children and thrills school-age ones. Pushchairs are not allowed in either cave, so bring a carrier.
Where is the artist's cave house on Lanzarote?
That is a third place, not either of the caves: the Fundación César Manrique at Tahíche, the house Manrique lived in from 1968 to 1988, whose lower floor is five natural lava bubbles joined by passages cut through the rock. Open daily 10:00–17:30, €10 (about $11.46), no guide required and no time slot. It is a few kilometres north of Arrecife, directly on the drive up to the caves. Some English pages use the phrase for the Jameos del Agua instead, which Manrique designed but never lived in.
Sources
Show 46 sources – every figure on this page is sourced
- cactlanzarote.com/en/visit/cueva-de-los-verdes – Cueva: opening hours 09:30–16:45, 50 minutes, €17, online only with a fixed time, guided in Spanish and English, name from a family who kept livestock nearby, height warning over 1.80 m, no pushchairs, assistance dogs only, the undisclosed surprise at the end
- ventaonline.cactlanzarote.com/en/tickets/cueva-de-los-verdes-ticket – Cueva: full tariff list, about 20 °C, almost 8 km of tube, no ticket desk, car park for ticket holders only, LZ-205 one-way in summer
- cactlanzarote.com/en/visit/jameos-del-agua – Jameos: 10:00–18:00 with last admission 17:15, 60–120 minutes, from €17, Munidopsis polymorpha endemic and adapted to darkness, "do not throw coins or other objects into the water", "Bathing or entering the lake and pool is not permitted", spring tides over the walkway, auditorium, accessibility limits and the auditorium stairlift
- ventaonline.cactlanzarote.com/en/tickets/jameos-del-agua-ticket – Jameos: tariffs including the Casa de los Volcanes, ticket valid three months, crab size 2–3 cm, Casa de los Volcanes 2,500 m²
- cactlanzarote.com/en/horarios-y-tarifas – Overview of opening hours and prices for all CACT centres, and the documents required for resident rates
- cactlanzarote.com/en/frequently-asked-questions – FAQ: "Unfortunately, we no longer offer multi-entry passes for access to several Centres", no changes or refunds, open 365 days, "Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua: Because they are volcanic tubes, these spaces present great accessibility challenges for people with reduced mobility", parking at all centres, pets not allowed except assistance dogs, intercity bus advice
- cactlanzarote.com/en/events/noches-de-jameos – Noches de Jameos: Fridays, dinner 18:30–20:30, concert 22:30–23:15, open until midnight, menu prices
- ventaonline.cactlanzarote.com/en/tickets-and-vouchers – Ticket shop: single admissions only, no bonos on sale
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cueva_de_los_Verdes – Cueva: coordinates, 6 km plus 1.5 km under the sea, auditorium seating up to 500
- de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cueva_de_los_Verdes – Cueva: origin of the name, 7 km, geodynamic laboratory since 1987, auditorium 300 seats, opened 1964
- es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cueva_de_los_Verdes – Cueva: age of 21,000 years, the Verdes family, the named chambers, the geodynamic station
- es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tubo_volc%C3%A1nico_de_La_Corona – The lava tube: formation, sections, diameter up to 25 m
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jameos_del_Agua – Jameos: first sections 1966, officially opened 1977, Jameo Chico, Jameo Grande and Jameo de la Cazuela
- de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jameos_del_Agua – Jameos: auditorium about 600 seats, closed 2001–2009, Túnel de la Atlántida expeditions 1983–2008
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_de_la_Atlantida – Túnel de la Atlántida: described as the longest known submarine lava tube, 1.5 km
- es.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BAnel_de_la_Atl%C3%A1ntida – Túnel de la Atlántida: length 1,600 m, depths, at least 36 endemic species
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazumura_Cave – The longest lava tube in the world for comparison: "40.7 miles (65.5 kilometers) long and 3,614 feet (1,102 meters) deep", "making it the longest and deepest lava tube in the world"
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munidopsis_polymorpha – The albino squat lobster: endemic to Lanzarote, blind and pale, animal symbol of the island
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munidopsis – The genus Munidopsis: predominantly deep-sea species
- www.barcelo.com/guia-turismo/en/spain/lanzarote/things-to-do/cu… – Correct English account used as counter-evidence: the present-day appearance of the cave is the work of Jesús Soto, commissioned by the island council in the 1960s, and "The cave acquired the name 'los Verdes' from the local family who used to keep their livestock inside it"
- fcmanrique.org/en/casas-museo-visitas/ – Fundación César Manrique and the Casa-Museo at Haría: opening hours, prices, combined ticket, five lava bubbles
- fcmanrique.org/en/casas-museo-visitas/fundacion-cesar-manrique-… – Fundación: lived in 1968–1988, built into the 1730–1736 lava flow, about 3,000 m²
- es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundaci%C3%B3n_C%C3%A9sar_Manrique – Fundación: opened 1992, rooms inside the lava bubbles
- www.lagomarlanzarote.com/ – LagOmar: a quarry with caves, tunnels and a cocktail bar inside the rock
- www.disfrutalanzarote.com/museo-lagomar – LagOmar: prices, opening hours, the Manrique and Soto circle, the Omar Sharif anecdote
- arrecifebus.com/lineas/9-arrecife-orzola/ – Intercity line 9: departure times, services that do not stop at the Jameos del Agua
- www.rome2rio.com/s/Lanzarote-Airport-ACE/Jameos-del-Agua – Arrecife airport to the Jameos del Agua: about 34 km, roughly 30 minutes by car, taxi €35–50, public route line 22 plus line 9 in about two hours
- www.rome2rio.com/s/Costa-Teguise/Jameos-del-Agua – Costa Teguise to the Jameos del Agua: about 23 km and 22 minutes by car; by bus line 3 into Arrecife then line 9, about two hours
- www.rome2rio.com/s/Puerto-del-Carmen/Cueva-de-los-Verdes – Puerto del Carmen to the Cueva de los Verdes: about 42 km and 37 minutes by car; no direct bus, about 2 hours 20 minutes with a change
- lamaletainquieta.com/cueva-de-los-verdes/ – Cueva: about 27 km from Arrecife, bus stop 2 km away
- geoparquelanzarote.org/en/geositio/lz29-cueva-de-los-naturalistas-2/ – Cueva de los Naturalistas: 1,640 m, from the Timanfaya eruptions of 1730–1736
- capturetheatlas.com/jameos-del-agua/ – English error: "The entrance fee for Jameos del Agua is €14 for adults and €5 for kids aged 7 to 12" and "Every Wednesday and Friday during the summer, you're invited to their special show: Jameos Nights from 7 p.m. to midnight"; correctly states that swimming is off-limits in both the lagoon and the pool
- capturetheatlas.com/cueva-de-los-verdes/ – English error: "The entrance fee to Cueva de los Verdes is €10 for adults and €5 for children aged 7 to 12 years old" and "open to visitors from Monday to Sunday between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m."; correctly states the ticket is online-only with a time slot
- www.guidetocanaryislands.com/jameos-del-agua-lanzarote/ – English error: "The individual ticket is 9 euros for adults; children, 7-12 years, 4,50 Euro", "Opening hours: 10:00 to 18:30 h", "it's said that only the King of Spain has the right to swim in the pool inside Jameos del Agua" and "You can also buy the multi-tickets available at each center"
- www.guidetocanaryislands.com/cueva-de-los-verdes-lanzarote/ – English error: "Adults, 9 Euro; children, 7-12 years, 4,50 Euro", "daily from 10:00 to 18:00 (during the summer, until the end of September, it is open until 19:00 h)" and a tour that "takes 1 hour"
- www.solosophie.com/jameos-del-agua-lanzarote/ – English error: "both cost €10 each to visit" and "a combination ticket for the Cuevea de los Verdes, the Jameos del Agua, and the Jardín de Cactus" saving "up to €5"; correctly reports that bathing is not allowed and that coins must not be thrown in
- www.solosophie.com/cueva-de-los-verdes-lanzarote/ – English error: bonos and combination tickets presented as current, tour length "40-45 minutes"; correctly notes that the name is a family name and "the caves are not green"
- lanzaroteinformation.co.uk/jameos-del-agua/ – English error: "The opening hours are from 10am to 5.15pm. Entry is €20 per adult and €10 per child (aged 7-12)" and crabs "at most 1cm in size"
- lanzaroteinformation.co.uk/cueva-de-los-verdes-the-green-caves/ – English error: "Entry is €16 per adult and €8.50 per child (aged 7-12)", "09:30 to 16:30" and a tour that "lasts about an hour", under the title "The Green Caves"; correctly credits Jesús Soto with the lighting
- www.introducinglanzarote.com/cueva-verdes – English error: "Adults: € 16. Children between 7 and 12 years old: € 8", "Every day from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.", "Jesús Soto and César Manrique" credited jointly, and "especially as you save money when booking both together!"
- www.firstminute-transfer.com/blog/en/what-you-need-to-know-abou… – English error: "it is called 'green' for the colour seen inside and its walls, which have green algae", 10 euros adult admission, open "daily at 10 AM, closing at 6 PM during winter and 7 PM in summer", "tours every 20 minutes", Soto working with "local architect and artist César Manrique"
- canariaslovers.com/en/green-caves-lanzarote-cueva-de-los-verdes/ – English error: "€16", "9.30am to 4.15pm", "The tour lasts 1 hour" and the cave described as included in the CACT pass, under a heading and URL calling it the green caves; correctly states that no tickets are sold on site
- www.fascinatingspain.com/articulo/what-to-see-in-canary-islands… – English error: the headline "Atlantis tunnel, the longest volcanic tube in the world" over a text that says "the largest underwater volcanic tube in the world", with the tunnel "1618 meters long" and "64 kilometers deep"
- www.spain-lanzarote.com/en/places/north/jameos-agua.html – English error: "Jameos del Agua open daily from 10.00 to 18.30 hrs", "Restaurant: on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 19.30 to 23.30 hrs" and "2nd Bar: Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 19.00 to 02.00 hrs"
- www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1190068-d1830144-r53348927… – English error: a review of the Jameos del Agua published under the title "The kings pool", repeating the story that the king may swim in the pool
- www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_and_exchange_rates/euro_referenc… – Exchange rate behind every dollar figure on this page: ECB euro reference rate, 18 September 2026, €1 = $1.1460