These caves are not green! (Cueva de los Verdes (Green's Caves))

Member Name: taylor72

Product:	Cueva de los Verdes (Green's Caves)
Date:	01/10/08 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The formations from the lava are fascinating

Disadvantages: No good for anyone with walking difficulties, back pain, agraphobia....

The caves are situated at the North of the Island and are easy to find by car, they are also included in many of the day tours available - you will be given daily leaflets on all tours if you walk anywhere in Lanzarote!

The name is not what it seems!

These caves are not green! They take their name from one of the families called Verdes who used to hide in there trying to escape from pirates. Pirates would often not just rape and pilage but take families to sell on for slavery.

History

The caves were formed around 3000 to 4000 years ago when the Corono volcano erupted and are actually lava tubes - it forms one of the longest lava tunnels in the world. When you first arrive the entrance to the caves is extremely impressive in size and formation and this was caused during a gas explosion whereupon the land collapsed.

The transformation

Jesus Soto was a Venezualen artist who died aged 81 in 2005. He is probably more well known for his moveable structures such as the Soto sphere. In 1964 he was commissioned to help make this a workable tourist attraction. Determined not to spoil the natural beauty of the caves, he set about working on around 2km, with very subtle lighting effects which, far from detracting, actually enhance the different textures and colours of the caves.

Events throughout the year

In the depths of the caves is an auditorium which has seating for around 500 people, the piano is a permanent fixture - it would not be easy lugging this up and down every few months! - and there are often concerts held there. A demonstration during the tour shows exactly why this is the perfect setting for a classical concert. The acoustics are amazing and the atmosphere for such a musical event would be electric - it is one of the things i plan do go to next year as it is an experience I am sure I would enjoy. Just listening to the piano and some set music being played whilst there for a brief moment was enough to give me a few goose pimples so i cant begin to imagine the wonder of it were a full orchestra playing.

The tours

There is a small kiosk before the entrance to the caves where you pay your fee of around 8 euros. It is worth noting here that unlike England, most of the tours in Lanzarote charge a much smaller fee if any for children of 13 years or younger.

So ticket in hand you wait for your place on the next tour. The tours are very regular and you normally get onto the next available one so waiting times are not excessive. You are summoned to the caves and as you start the descent you hand over ticket and thank the Lord you remembered to wear sensible footware - unless, like me, your thinking cap got misplaced that morning and you have turned up in some gorgeous but rather unsuitable strappy sandals and spend a lot of time holding on to your husband or son to avoid an embarrassing and painful slip!

The tour itself lasts around an hour but this is mainly due to the fact that there are around 100 people per tour and it is very slow moving - in parts you have to bend almost in half to move to the next part of the tunnel as it is very low at times so i would not recomend this to anyone suffering from back trouble or agraphobia! The formations in the caves are stunning - smooth lava flows and jagged rocks. As you move from place to place the guide gives you historical information in English, German and Spanish - this is another reason the tour is an hour long. They do use microphones but it is not always easy to hear them which is a shame because some of their facts are quite fascinating.

As you go deeper in you can see what look like stalagmites and stalactites in the tunnels, well this was to my untrained eye anyway! - but they are formed from the lava cooling and you can see the moment the lava finally cooled as at times it looks like the ceiling is made up of hundreds of drips of lava.

You do need to be careful as the lighting is subtle and at times virtually non existant - the steps are not exactly even and though there are a fair few handrails, this did not stop me coliding with one poor unsuspecting tourist in front of me!

I was told the best bit of the tour would be at the end but unfortunately when we got to the last part I guessed what was going to happen - however not many people did and there were lots of gasps and wows when the demonstration occured.

Im not into spoilers so I wont tell you what happens - I can say that even though I guessed what was coming, this didn't detract from it and was well worth seeing - I will say no more on it tho!

Summary

Not expensive and well worth it if you enjoy seeing the effects of what 12000 degrees of molten rock can do to the earth we walk on!

Do not attempt this if you have any walking difficutys at all as it is not geared for anyone who cannot fairly easily climb up and down quite a few uneven steps.


These are definately not the best caves I have visited - Cheddar Gorge is in my opinion far more spectacular, but I believe it is worth seeing it for its very unaltered state and to soak in the atmosphere that seems to surround it.

There are toilets near the cave exit and an extremely large carpark but no cafe or restaurant to quench your thirst, however it is very near the mirador - another beauty spot, which is also reasonably priced and worth a visit, where you can sit, admire the view, and enjoy a coffee, cold beer, or in my case a rather nice glass of el grifo wine! - Buts that another story..............

Summary: Mostly unspoilt nature