Lanzarote · North-east coast
Jameos del Agua
A sea lake inside a volcano
Jameos del Agua is a stretch of the La Corona lava tube, about 5,000 years old, where seawater seeps in to form a lake lit through the collapsed roof. César Manrique opened it as his first art and tourism centre in 1968.
Photo: Enric, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
- Come for
- A volcanic tube, its tidal lake and César Manrique's design
- Make time for
- Half a day, planned around line 9
- By bus
- Reached by a published bus line or ferry
The journey is part of the day
Getting to Jameos del Agua
Intercity line 9 runs from Arrecife to Órzola through Tahiche, Guatiza, Mala, Arrieta and Punta Mujeres, and calls at the Jameos del Agua stop on the way. Not every departure serves it: the line 9 page says the Jameos del Agua stop is not served at some departure times in each direction and lists them. Check that your bus calls at Jameos del Agua before you board.
Checked Sources: Intercity Lanzarote
Bus guides
Lines from this site’s guides. Times are in this page’s timetable.
Before you settle in
Keep the way home in mind.
For Arrecife, take line 9 back from the Jameos del Agua stop and pick a departure from the board on this page: it lists only the trips that call there, because not every departure towards Arrecife serves the stop.
See the next busesA little introduction
Get to know Jameos del Agua.
Jameos del Agua forms part of the La Corona volcanic tube, an underground conduit that runs from the base of the cone to beyond the coastline; partial collapses of its roof opened the jameos, a word of Guanche origin for these natural openings. Inside, a lake forms as seawater filters through fissures in the tube, and its level follows the tides. In 1968 the first Centre of Art, Culture and Tourism created by César Manrique opened here, with paths, platforms and gardens that keep rock, water and light at the centre of the visit. The lake and the pool are there to look at: the Centres do not allow bathing in, or entering, either of them, nor touching the volcanic formations. Check opening and tickets on the Centres' own page before you travel.
Why go
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A lake that follows the tide
Seawater filters through the rock, so the lake rises and falls with the tides.
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Where Manrique began
The first of his centres, finished in 1977, keeps rock, water and light at the centre of the route.
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An auditorium in a volcano
The chamber itself supplies the walls, the vault and the acoustics.
Checked – Oct 2026 Sources: Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo de Lanzarote, Turismo Lanzarote
Make a day of it
What to do in Jameos del Agua
- Sight Don’t miss
Look for the blind crab
The small white dots on the lake bed are Munidopsis polymorpha, an endemic species adapted to darkness. To protect its habitat, do not throw coins or other objects into the water.
- Sight Don’t miss
Walk out into the Jameo Grande
The darkness of the cave opens onto an outdoor garden with palm trees, fig trees and cacti, where a white pool and a leaning palm show how the design adapts to the basalt. The pool is for looking at, not for swimming: bathing in it, or entering it, is not permitted.
- Culture Don’t miss
See the auditorium in the rock
In the auditorium the volcanic chamber provides the walls, the vault and the acoustics, and the seats follow the natural slope of the ground.
- Culture
Casa de los Volcanes
A museum inside Jameos with immersive rooms on the La Corona tube and the geopark, and a room on Manrique; allow about an hour.
Show all 6 Show fewer
- Food & drink
Friday nights at Jameos
Noches de Jameos pairs an evening visit with dinner and a concert beside the lake every Friday. There is no bus plan for the night: arrange the way back first.
Days of the week it is held
- M Monday
- T Tuesday
- W Wednesday
- T Thursday
- F Friday: held
- S Saturday
- S Sunday
- Sight
Look at the furniture
Chairs, tables and lamps are part of the design; some lamps are old buoys and fishing traps.
Checked – Oct 2026 Sources: Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo de Lanzarote
A day here
How a day in Jameos del Agua feels
A plan built on the buses this guide already names. The departure times are in the board on this page; choose your bus back before you set out.
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Morning
Line 9 up the coast
Take line 9 from Arrecife and check that your departure calls at Jameos del Agua: not every one does.
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Middle of the day
Into the tube
Go down through the Jameo Chico to the lake, then out into the light of the Jameo Grande and its white pool, which you look at but may not enter.
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Afternoon
Back on line 9
Take line 9 back towards Arrecife from the Jameos del Agua stop, again checking that your departure calls there.
Checked Sources: Intercity Lanzarote, Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo de Lanzarote
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about Jameos del Agua
Which bus goes to Jameos del Agua?
Intercity line 9, Arrecife to Órzola, calls at the Jameos del Agua stop, but not on every departure: the line 9 page lists the times that skip it. The board on this page shows only the trips that call there.
How do I get back to Arrecife from Jameos del Agua?
Take line 9 back from the Jameos del Agua stop on a departure from the board on this page: it lists only the trips that call there, because not every departure towards Arrecife serves the stop.
Checked Sources: Intercity Lanzarote
Good to know
Small details. Better days.
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Spring tides reach the walkway
The lake's level follows the tides and can reach the access walkway during spring tides; the Centres say water can then cover part of the passage and you may have to take your shoes off to cross.
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With children: no swimming, no pushchair
Leave the swimwear for the beach: bathing in, or entering, the lake and the pool is not permitted, and neither is throwing coins into the lake. Pushchairs cannot go in, so bring a baby carrier; the toilets, with a changing table, are outside the cave. The tube's slopes and stone paving limit access on the general route, so ask the Centres before a visit with a wheelchair.
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One line for the north-east coast
Line 9 links Arrecife, the Jardín de Cactus stop in Guatiza, Jameos del Agua and Órzola, so one timetable covers several places in a day; plan each stop against the published departures rather than assuming a regular interval.
Checked – Oct 2026 Sources: Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo de Lanzarote, Intercity Lanzarote
Photos and film
Jameos del Agua in pictures
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Watch before you go
CACT Lanzarote Plays through YouTube’s privacy-enhanced player; nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. -
The auditorium in the rock. Line 9 calls at Jameos del Agua, but not on every departure. Photo: MiljenkoSuljic, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons -
The pool in the Jameo Grande. Check that your line 9 bus back calls at the Jameos del Agua stop. Photo: Edmundo Sáez, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
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There’s more around the corner
Where next?
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Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga) / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 -
H. Zell / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Dguendel / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
Guide checked · How we check · Suggest a correction
Sources for this page
The sources this page cites, each with the date we checked it. Two dates mean the facts that cite it were checked on different days.
Intercity Lanzarote
- Line 9: Arrecife – Órzola (route and stops) Checked – Oct 2026
Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo de Lanzarote
- Jameos del Agua Checked – Oct 2026
- Jameos del Agua: visit information and rules Checked – Oct 2026
Turismo Lanzarote
- Haría Checked
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