In Lanzarote, a jameo is the opening left when the roof of a lava tube collapses. The island is full of them. Almost all are exactly what they look like: a hole in the lava. One, on the north-east coast, became something else.

A hole in the lava

Jameos del Agua lies inside the lava tube left by the eruption of La Corona volcano, in the north of the island. As the lava cooled on the outside and kept flowing within, it left a tunnel running all the way to the sea. Where the roof fell in, large openings were left to the sky, and in one of them a saltwater lake fed by seawater filtering in from the ocean.

It was the first centre created by César Manrique. After the site was cleared in the early 1960s, the first public areas opened in 1966; the complex was completed, auditorium included, in 1977. More than a decade of work for something that, seen today, seems to have needed no intervention at all. That is precisely the achievement.

What lies inside

A stone stair leads down to the first jameo, half in shadow, with plants growing among the lava. Then the lake appears: still, clear water beneath the rock vault, with light coming in from the far end.

On the lake bed lives the jameíto (Munidopsis polymorpha), a tiny crab barely a centimetre long, albino and blind. On current evidence the species exists nowhere else. It is highly sensitive to noise, light and rust, which is why throwing coins into the water is forbidden. It is worth pausing to look for them: they are the white specks on the dark rock below.

On the other side the tube opens into a garden with a white pool Manrique designed as a clearing in the lava, and beyond it, inside the lava tube itself, an auditorium carved into the rock.

The quiet hour

Jameos is among the most visited centres on the island, and by mid-morning you feel it. The lake loses what makes it singular when the walkway is crowded. The advice is simple: arrive at opening time or in the last part of the afternoon, once the tour groups have gone.

Do not arrive in a hurry either. An unhurried visit takes about an hour, but the point is to sit by the lake or on the terrace above the garden and let the place do its work.

Fitting it into the day

Jameos is in the municipality of Haría, very close to Cueva de los Verdes, the same lava tube seen from within. Together they fill a northern morning without rushing: the cave first, at your booked time, then Jameos. In the afternoon, the Haría valley and the Mirador del Río round off the day.

To understand why this place is the way it is, it helps to have read about César Manrique and his idea of the island first.

Practical notes

  • Run by: the Cabildo de Lanzarote’s Art, Culture and Tourism Centres (CACT).
  • Hours and tickets: paid entry. Opening hours and prices are on the official CACT website (information as of October 2026; check before you go).
  • Respect: no coins or anything else in the lake, and do not touch the water. The jameíto depends on it.