Jameos del Agua was referred to by Rita Heyworth, of Hollywood movie fame, as the eight wonder of the world. Even artist and architect Cesar Manrique described it as the most beautiful nightclub in the world. Although these days it’s an auditorium with a swimming pool, garden and restaurants albeit blended into the landscape. Along with the spectacular Mirador del Rio, Jameos del Agua (in the North East of Lanzarote) is probably the greatest example of Cesar Manrique’s work. The Jameos del Agua, and nearby Cueva De Los Verdes, are part of a 6 kilometre long lava tube.
Both were formed when the Montaña La Corona volcano erupted 4,000 years ago. When the molten lava hardened, it formed the tubes which lead down to the Atlantic. The large openings at each end of the tube at Jameos del Agua appeared when parts of the roof collapsed. Cesar Manrique used this as a centrepiece for the attraction although the appeal has to be the incredible turquoise pool. When you arrive at Jameos del Agua, you head down to some stone steps. There you’ll find a fairly large area with a bar, tables and chairs. Six year old POD even found her own stage for a spot of impromptu dancing! From there you just head down a few more steps to reach the salt water lagoon. This is where you can find the Munidopsis Polimorpha which is a species of lobster endemic to Lanzarote. They are tiny, blind and white so easy to spot on the dark rock beneath the surface.
This section of Jameos del Agua is dark although you can find your way along the path due to the outdoor light at the other end of the cave. There you are greeted by the most beautiful looking volcanic landscape and winding paths with steps leading upward. It felt quite mysterious in that you weren’t quite sure what to expect next. While we knew what was at Jameos del Agua, nothing could have prepared us for what we saw when we reached the top of the steps.
The turquoise colour of the El Jameo Grande just took our breath away, there was a resounding “wow” from everyone that reached the top of the steps. POD has never seen anything like it before and was so excited we had to stop her wandering in wearing her trainers! It wasn’t just the pool either, how the surrounding landscape had been used is just spectacular. The far end is even home to an underground auditorium with nearly 600 seats which is used for concerts, events and meetings. The acoustics are said to be outstanding. There’s even an underground restaurant and bar.
All the space around Jameos del Agua has been utilised so it’s no wonder it’s such a popular location. There is ample seating, the gardens and beautiful and there are some wonderful touches, like this bar with its pebble bar stools. POD loved it in here so spent a good while pretending to serve drinks!
From this area, you can zig zag your way to the top where you will find a café. There’s also the Casa de los Volcanes which is a small scientific museum with an exhibition about volcanoes. For us it was all about taking in those wonderful views of the El Jameo Grande one last time before we left. We would have loved to have stayed around longer but we were due at the airport later that day. So glad we made it though, it really was quite astounding.
The Cueva De Los Verdes (or Green Caves) are situated just five minutes drive from the Jameos del Agua. It is one of the longest volcanic tunnels in the world and proved to be an excellent place for locals to hide when under attack from pirates. Inside there’s even a tunnel known as “The Refuge” as it was used so often. We didn’t get time to visit on this occasion but it’s certainly on our list of places to see in Lanzarote.
