The town of Haría in Lanzarote - The chasms of Jameos del Agua

The Jameos del Agua are located on the southern edge of the Malpaís de la Corona, a Maleterre formed by volcanic scoria of Monte Corona.

The top layer of the lava has solidified, while the washing continued to flow into the lower part. The depletion of the lava flow left a vacuum hose filled with volcanic gases; over the years the vault of the hose collapsed in different places, opening chasms similar karst sinkholes in limestone. The Jameos del Agua, like the Cueva de los Verdes, are sites where volcanic hose appears in the open, but other “jameos” exist upstream of the casting, such as Jameo de Puerta Falsa - where were hiding inhabitants of Lanzarote during the attacks of Barbary pirates - the Jameo Cumplido, largest, and Jameo de la Gente. The term jameo is an aboriginal term majo meaning “hole” or “mouth” of the land.

The Jameos del Agua are three in number: the Jameo Chico (Little Chasm), the downstream, the Jameo Grande (Big Pit) and Jameo Redondo (Round Pit); it is the jameos closest to the coast, at a place where the volcanic hose lies below the level of the sea. Between Jameo Chico and Jameo Grande seawater has infiltrated and formed a underground saltwater lake in the hose segment between the two gulfs. It is this phenomenon that gave their name to the Jameos del Agua (Water Abyss). This underground lake, lit at both ends by natural light plunging into the two gulfs - as well as a hole in the roof of the tube - this spectacular natural landscape.

However, the complexity of the project, combined with repeated stays of Manrique in New York during the early years of the establishment of the center, led him to delegate some of the work of the first phase of development of the volcanic tube one of his collaborators: the artist Jesús Soto, architect of the beautiful lighting and the layout of the Cueva de los Verdes.

César Manrique also designed the emblem of the Jameos del Agua as a crustacean representing the small blind lobster that lives in the lake; we can see a huge wrought iron sculpture on the center’s parking lot.

In the early 1960s cleaning work and planning had to be done because the pits had become dumps following a long period of abandonment of the natural site. The first part of the site to be converted was the Jameo Chico, which is still the entry point of the visit Jameos del Agua; the first phase was opened to the public in 1966.

One of the first visitors was the Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth who lives in the Jameos del Agua the "eighth wonder of the world." Less emphatic, César Manrique saw its creation as “the most beautiful nightclub in the world”.

It was not until 1977, after more than a decade of work, so that the general structure of the Jameos del Agua is finally over. Only at that time that the center and the auditorium were officially opened and the work was deemed complete.

Nevertheless, new facilities will be conducted later to meet specific functions like space of the museum of the " Casa de los Volcanes ". Since 1987 this center carries great scientific and didactic work on volcanology.

Since 1998, the abysses of Jameos del Agua are classified as Cultural Interest in the category of Historical Gardens.

A second staircase descends zigzagging toward the inside of volcanic gut where there are few tables grouped around a black marble dance floor: the nightclub which is behind the project of Jameos del Agua.

At the bottom of the hose extends underground lake, fed by sea water from the ocean by infiltration; the lake level rises and falls with the tides of the ocean and can be seen on the walls of the trace left by high tide.

Towards the middle of the hose a natural orifice in the roof illuminates the lake waters; it is mid-day, when the weather is sunny and the sun is at its zenith, this lighting makes the better to admire the clarity and transparency of the lake water.

The Munidopsis polymorpha lived originally in the deep waters of the ocean, several thousand meters deep. Due to the darkness of the cave crustacean has lost its pigmentation and sight; it is whitish in color and of a size not exceeding 15 mm, with a tail folded under the thorax, like a tiny lobster more than a crab. This species is only found in more than jameos.

The Munidopsis polymorpha is a highly endangered species; it only lives in the depths of Lanzarote and in particular in the Jameos del Agua. César Manrique had nicknamed “jameitos”. Health jameito is particularly threatened by the presence of metal oxides in the waters where it lives: lakeside signs prohibit throw coins into the water, because their corrosion could cause the death of these unique creatures.

The Munidopsis polymorpha is the symbol of the Jameos del Agua and the natural symbol of the island of Lanzarote, just like a plant, balsamiferous spurge (Euphorbia balsamifera).

Swimming is prohibited and they say, jokingly, that only the King of Spain has the right to swim in the pool at Jameos del Agua.

It has been to blame César Manrique side “postcard” of the lagoon of the southern seas, but there is no denying that the show is impressive.

In this room with exceptional acoustics, are organized popular Canary music concerts, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights at 19 pm. Other musical events are held regularly (information at tourist offices).

You enter the auditorium by a small staircase behind the artificial lagoon.