A Cavers Guide to

Lava Tubes of Lanzarote

Compiled by Carmen Smith

Artwork courtesy Pete Martin. Lava Benches on the Gentes to Puerta Falsa through trip.

Cavers Guide to Lava Tubes of Lanzarote

Front Cover Cueva de los Verdes show cave.

Back Page Lava formations of Lanzarote

Insert Carmen in the Covon /Chifletera connection squeeze

Above Lakes of Los Lagos

Introduction

Having family who live in Lanzarote, I've always been a regular traveller to the Island.

Several years ago I started caving there, initially inspired by information from Ed Waters and later

Javier Trujillo — one of the local cavers.

Chris and I often get requests from UK cavers going to Lanzarote, for the information to

go caving.

Thus the inspiration for this guide was born.

We hope you enjoy it, please spread the word, it is free to download

Carmen and Chris

Credits.

Designed by Carmen Smith

Photography Carmen Smith

Chris Binding

Other Javier Trujillo

Joyce Norton

Hayley Clark

Pete Martin

Hugh Penney

Paul Stilman

Pete Martin

Las Breñas GPS Coordinates UTM/UPS WGS84 0616113 3200535

Follow the string to guide you

through this network of less than

generous sized passages.

Its finest features are its variety of

passage morphology as seen from

the pictures.

Cueva Las Cueva Las BreñasBreñas

Cueva las Breñas is situated on the

outskirts of the village of Las

Breñas on the west of the Island.

It consists of 950m of small, stoop-

ing, flat out, thrutching lava tube.

Knee and elbow pads, helmets and

plenty of water are recommended.

Cueva Los Naturalistas (Las Palomas) GPS UTM/UPS WGS 84 0630552 3209974 (exit)

More easy walking passage ,followed by a series of roof col-

lapses leaves you clambering over boulders for a short distance,

before returning to easy walking passage.

Another large pillar gives the cave the effect of having a large

roundabout with many ways off. There is only one genuine con-

tinuation.

Continue ahead, you will see the daylight from the exit, however

shortly before this behind the boulder collapse, there is an easy

to miss right hand branch taking you to some more spectacular

easy walking passage.

Las Palomas is situated between the villages of

Masdache and La Vaguetta,

It is approx 1640m long with 2 entrances.

Many interesting lava formations exist in this cave,

including helictites. It is also a through trip.

As you enter the cave,go downslope and to the right

(or far side)At ground level, you are immediately

greeted with a left or right option.

Continue as far as you are comfortable along this

passage and look out for many of the lava drips,

helictities and calcium sulphate formations on the

way.

Also take time to look at some of the patterns in

the roof and floor, they are really quite stunning.

When you’ve had enough the way out is back to

the daylight exit you passed earlier.

An easy clamber out of the jameos, and a quick

look around to get your bearings, walk back across

the lava field to the road, and your car.

Turn left into a a perfectly formed circular tube,

and easy walking passage. The cave opens up

ahead ,with a daylight window on your left.

Almost immediately after you come across the

first Interesting lava tube formation. A pillar re-

mains in the middle of the passage giving the ef-

fect of two huge cats eyes seen in the photo here.

Keep an eye out for the stunning helictites in the

ceiling.

Covón/ChifleteraCovón/Chifletera Cueva Covón is Located on the west side of the island ,30

minutes walk along the coast path from the old fishing village

of El Golfo.

It is accessed from the sea cliffs and lies 300m within the

national park boundary.

Covón can be done as a through trip to Chifletera which lies

approx 350m inland, however the connection squeeze makes it

an impossibility for all but the slighter cavers out there.

The Chifletera section of the cave is so short, its not considered

worth doing as a trip in its own right, hence the more popular

Covón is generally done as a 2 way journey.

Description

Leaving the sun-lit main entrance

chamber, into some sizeable walking pas-

sage, you soon meet a large scale boulder

choke. Stick to the left.

Continue to follow the obvious way on.

Eventually the passage drops to a low flat out

sandy crawl.

Either continue along the crawl, (approx

30m) keeping an eye out above you until you

can stand and find yourself in a trench in a

chamber, or just before the sandy crawl, to

your left , is a man made boulder pile allow-

ing you access through a high level window

into same passage above.

Both routes eventually join. It is worth the journey up these

“awkward to negotiate passages” as the features in the chambers

above are quite stunning.

The way through to Chifletera is back into the trench, at the end

of the crawl, following the draft into the 2ft long restriction.

A further 20m of low crawly passage after this obstacle

eventually brings you out into the more roomier passages of

Chifletera and 40m from daylight.

Alternatively, if you wish to avoid the squeeze and flat out

crawls, the way out is back the way you came.

GPS UTM/UPS WGS 84 Covón 0613960 3208133 Chifletera 0614207 3208037

Paso/EsqueletoPaso/Esqueleto Cueva del Paso is located on the west side

of the island , 30 minutes walk along the

coast path from the old fishing village of El

Golfo. You enter here to do the through trip

to Esqueleto.

It lies approx 100m inside the national park

boundary and is accessed from a non de-

script, impossible to locate, depression,

about 300m inland from the cliffs. GPS is

thoroughly recommended.

Eventually, after negotiating some low stoops and small boulder

crawl, you will pop out into a stunning daylight passage that exits

about 10m up a cliff face with views of the sea.

Confident climbers could free climb out to the coast,

alternatively 3 rusting bolts could give you the option to pull

through abseil down the cliff.

The easiest option as ever is to just reverse your steps back out the

cave.

Description

The low stooping entrance,

quickly opens out to steeply

descending passage that spiral

down with a few tricky climbs,

before the final 10ft drop into

the top of some fine smooth

walled lava flow passage.

Follow the obvious way on.

Little help is needed with this

cave as a very noticeable draft

accompanies you through the

cave.

GPS UTM/UPS WGS 84 Esqueleto 0614258 3207919 (Via Cueva del Paso)

Monte Corona lava Tube System

Below is an Extract taken from “Caving on The Holiday Isle Of Lanzarote” by Hayley Clark and Ed Waters

The Monte Corona Lava Tube System This system surely ranks as one of the world’s clas-sic volcanic cave systems. It is nearly unique in providing an almost uninterrupted underground route right from the vent to the end of the lava flow. The tube is formed in the flows originating from an eruption of Monte Corona (“Crown Mountain”) some 3,000-4,500 years ago.

The system is made up of large to enormous passages, liberally scattered with boulders and a ubiquitous coating of white dust that seems to get thicker the further down flow one goes. Exploration is relatively easy, the only major obstacles being the pitches in Jameo los Prendes and Cueva los Lagos and the boulder choke between Jameo Gente and Jameo Puerta Falsa.

Monte Corona lava Tube System

Below is an Extract taken from “Caving on The Holiday Isle Of Lanzarote by Hayley Clark and Ed Waters

However, it should be noted that the cave temperature lies around 20°C, and the atmosphere is very humid. Though the passages are large, much of the system is floored by boulder ensuring strenuous boulder hopping progress Therefore fluid loss is an issue and plenty of water should be taken underground.

Though the cave is essentially linear with no side passages of note, in many parts there are mul-tiple levels present. Though not providing any special route finding problems, this should be borne in mind when planning a visit. It is also unknown whether all of the upper level sections have been fully explored, as they would re-quire scaling or aid climbing equipment to reach in places.

In many places there are notable small white formations. These can either appear crystalline or as “cotton wool”. The exact na-ture of this secondary mineralisa-tion is unknown, but it is likely to be gypsum based and may be at least partially formed by microbial action. End extract

There are 4 main trips of Interest to Cavers these are.

1. Jameos Prendes (Arriba) to Jameo de la Gente.

2. Jameo de la Gente to Puerta Falsa.

3. Puerta Falsa to the back of Los Verdes Show cave.

4. Los Lagos.

As a through trip Length 1170m

Starting at the top of the Monte Corona

lava tube system, pre rig the exit climb

from the Prendes entrance with a 10m

ladder, and 25m rope. (which will serve

as a long belay for the ladder and as a

lifeline.)

Then enter at the Gentes entrance and

continue up flow until at the top of a

30ft scramble you reach the 7m pitch

rigged for pull-through. Take a 20m

rope.

Pull through the rope, and after about

50m of further caving you will reach the

bottom of the ladder in the Prendes

entrance.

Prendes To Gentes

As a two way trip

No tackle required.

Start at the Gentes entrance and head up flow (left) .

Descend down the fixed wooden ladder with missing rungs.

Continue up flow until you reach the top of thepull through

pitch.

Turn around and head back the way you came.

GPS UTM/UPS WGS 84 Jameos Prendes 0649259 3228427

Gentes to Puerta Falsa As a through trip Length 1165m

Enter the jameo de la Gentes and head

down flow. (to the right)

Follow the main passage down until you

reach a boulder collapse.

At the first boulder collapse take the small

stooping tunnel around the collapse to the

left hand side.

Continue on, and at the 2nd collapse take

the small hole in the floor on the right

hand side, to bypass this obstruction.

On exiting the bypass look to your left as

you regain larger passage, and sign the log

book left for visitors to the cave.

Continue down flow until you reach the

exit of Puerta Falsa.

The walk back to collect your car is just over 1 mile if you

use the roads.

An alternative, should you have GPS, is to walk in a direct

line back to the Gentes entrance, passing the 3 impressive

jameos which make up the Jameos Cumplidos.

GPS UTM/UPS WGS 84 Jameo de la Gente 0649671 3227528

Puerta Falsa / Verdes

After approx 400m the passage is

fenced signifying the start of the Las

Verdes Show cave.

As a two way trip Length 800m

Enter at Puerta Falsa and go down-

flow. (to the right)

The passage starts as double level

before rejoining back to a single

level.

GPS UTM/UPS WGS 84 Puerta Falsa 0650653 3227151

Cueva Los Lagos

Continue ahead and slip through a narrowing to

reach the beginning of the 2nd,and more signifi-

cant lake.

For non swimmers, At low tide there is a ledge

that remains dry on the left hand side which can

be followed to the far corner, allowing a glimpse

of the next flooded chamber.

For the more adventurous swimmers or

soft ,inflatable boaters, there is the option to carry

on along the entire length of the lake until you can

go no further. Be on the look out for sharp under-

water rocks that may snag and burst the

unsuspecting vinyl boat!!!

Currently closed. Access through Dept of Envi-

ronment at the Cabildo in Arrecife.

Details pending

Length 791m

The cave has recently been gated (Dec2012)

Access is via a locked steel entrance ladder.

The cave immediately opens out into large canyon

style passage, the height varies between 15-20m

high and 3-8m wide. The passage undulates, with

lots of clambering up and down boulder piles.

Eventually The passage drops steeply and the 1st

swimmable lake develops on the left hand side of

the passage. (Approx 40m long)

The dry route continues by climbing up the right

hand wall and in through a boulder ruckle. be-

fore entering a perfectly circular tube that heads

down towards another traverse on the right hand

side of the passage over the far end of the 1st lake

End of First lake looking back Glimpse of the next flooded chamber

GPS UTM/UPS WGS 84 Los Lagos 0651853 3226501

Coutesy Peter Gerstbach - Wikipedia

CuevaCueva de los Verdesde los Verdes

Cueva de los Verdes (Spanish for "Greens' cave", because in the past its owners were the

"Verdes" family) is a lava tube located in the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands (Spain).

The cave is a protected area of the Canary Islands. The cave was created around 3,000 years

ago from a volcanic eruption in La Corona. An enormous lava stream flowed over the Malpaís

de la Corona. For a long time, the lava stream flowed which left the top part to become a cave.

In about 20 spots, the cover of the cave collapsed and formed. Cueva de los Verdes is formed

from parts of the volcanic soils and extends from 1 km to 6 kilometres of old lava streams. The

streams were once the second longest in the world.

In earlier centuries, inhabitants throughout Lanzarote hid in this cave to protect themselves

from pirates.

Opening Hours:

Daily from 10am to 18pm.

Last Trip: 17pm.

8 Euros P/P

Jameos Del Agua, is part of the Atlantida volcanic cave system formed by the erup-

tions of the Corona volcano about three to four thousand years ago.

The word 'Jameo' refers to a volcanic cave with a collapsed roof, of which there are

many in this part of Lanzarote.

The Lanzarote-born artist César Manrique has helped to create this spectacle, where

these natural 'jameos' have been turned into an Auditorium, Swimming pool, Gardens

and Restaurants, while still blending into the surrounding volcanic landscape. Jameos

del Agua was the first of the local government's Centres of Art, Culture and Tourism

and first opened its doors to the public in 1966, though the centre has seen near-

continuous additions and refurbishments since that time.

Opening hours:

Daytime 10:00 to 18:30 hrs.

Nights: Tuesday & Saturday

from 19:00 to 02:00 hrs.

Jameo del AguaJameo del Agua

Courtesy InsideLanzarote.com

Sima de Sima de TinguatónTinguatón ( del Diablo)( del Diablo)

Sima de Tinguatón (Cueva del Diablo) Is one of a group of

6 volcanic vent holes lying in the crater of Volcan Nuevo,

just south of route 67 between Tinguatón and Montanas del

Fuego.

Its is the deepest of the six, approx 95m in depth, and purely

an SRT trip.

Neighbours to Sima de Tinguatón, look for the arrow near the base of small cra-

ter that Sima de Tinguatón lies in.

Follow the markers and cairns, that guide you across Aa Aa lava fields to the

scar seen in the picture.

There is very little to this cave, however there are some interesting lava forma-

tion both above and below the ground

Pico Partido GPS UTM/UPS WGS 84 0624827 3209939

Cueva Canal de Pico PartidoCueva Canal de Pico Partido

Pico Partido arrow. Start of route

over malpais to entrance GPS UTM/

UPS WGS 84 0625263 3210936

Entrance

Exit

Cueva Covón

Esqueleto

Chifletera

Las Brenas

1

2

2

3

4

4

Park

Here

Las Breñas

Las Naturalistas (Las Palomas)

3

Sima Tinguatón

Paso

Park

Here

Lanzarote

Cave Locations

5

5

a

b c d

e

a

b

c

e

Park

Jameo Prende (Arriba)

Jameo de la Gente

Los Lagos

Cueva Los Verdes (Showcave)

d

Jameos Cumplidos

Puerta Falsa

Footpath To cave (at 1st car

passing point going downhill)

Monte Corona Lava Tube System

1

Lanzarote

Cave Locations

Las Naturalistas Above Helictites in Las Naturalista - Ed Waters

Inset Gypsum Rose - Ed Waters.

Inset Left Calcite formations in Esqueleto -Chris Binding