Los Jameos del Agua

Known as a jameo, it is a geographic feature similar to a sink hole and is caused when a lava tube (an underground tunnel created by flowing magma) ceiling collapses in on itself, or as in this case, when natural gases accumulate and blow the ceiling off, opening the tunnel to the sky.

Los Jameos del Agua, or “The Water Jameo,” is a partially collapsed section of a larger volcanic tube system extending out from Montaña La Corona. The whole structure known as the “Tunnel of Atlantis” is the largest submerged volcanic tunnel in the world and Los Jameos del Agua is found near the end of the tunnel system on the north coast of the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. It prominently features two “Jameos,” or large holes in the roof structure of the volcanic tube, the larger being Jameo Grande and the smaller Jameo Chico, with a stretch of un-collapsed tunnel between the two.

In the 1960s, the Jameos del Agua was developed into a nightclub, and underground pool by Spanish artist César Manrique. Today, to enter the lava tube, one descends a large winding staircase and enters a bizarre lava tube-cum-sixties night club. Manrique added to the site by fashioning a concert hall within the cave, and a bar and restaurant built into the side of the jameo where guests can order food and drink while taking in the view.

An impressive cave system full of stalactites, stalagmites, water systems (as well as a range of low-light optical illusions), the Jameos del Agua is also home to a unique species of blind white crab that have adapted to the dark and sheltered Atlantic-fed pond.

Guests are encouraged to visit La Casa de Los Volcanes, an interactive information center about the island located on the ground level above the jameo, as well as the nearby Cueva de los Verdes which allows further exploration of the Montaña La Corona volcanic tube system.