Hey Guys i'm off to tenerife soon as part of a field trip and was wondering if people had any info on lave tubes out there, i've heard they exist but thats it.

If my (failing!) memory serves me right, I know someone who was furtling around there a couple of years back.  I don't think they had much success, but I'll quizz them report back.

Z!

Lots of tubes in Tenerife, where are you going to be staying?
Some very extensive systems on the North side of the Island.
More info available if you want
Les

Don't get pissed on by any rats. 

Im staying near puerto de santiago on the west of the island

Will you have transport? The lava tubes are mostly near Icod de los Vinos and above Santiago del Teide, on the edge of the caldera national park. The best tubes are the complex above Icod de los Vinos but they are gated and require a guide. It is possible to get into one the lower entrances of Cueva del Viento and also into Cueva Candeleria (both in Icod)

There are a couple of good tubes in the cliffs above Puerto de San Marcos to the North of Icod on the coast as well with no known access restrictions except knowing where they are. These are well worth a visit. 
There is also an entrance at the side of the main road on the bypass to Icod, this tube is quite complex and also open.

There are some short sections of tubes near the road at Samara (at the side of the main road from Chio to the summit (TF 38)).

I can get you detailed descriptions and good GPS co-ordinates if you need them. 

Hi dpegg,

You have a PM 

Les

Have been in a number of tubes both on the side of Teide and down around San Marcos. Can give directions if interested. PM me. I did write an article for Descent years ago as well. Old shepton journals also will help. I believe San Marcos Cave is now gated at one end making the through trip unlikely but is probably accessible from the sea cliffs above San Marcos beach.

Thanks Les really good useful stuff

No problems,
If you know which caves you are going to visit I can give you precise instructions on how to find them (it's not always obvious even when you are right by them). 

Les W said:

No problems,
If you know which caves you are going to visit I can give you precise instructions on how to find them (it's not always obvious even when you are right by them). 

Click to expand...

Right, like when I parked outside Cueva del Viento and asked where the cave was and they looked at me kind of funny, parted the bushes beside the car and showed me the entrance!

Repeat if you want directions to San Marcos Cave I have done the through trip and, if the top end is close, some detailed directions to the seaward end would be handy. Basically you come out by a water tank with goldfish in it. I am sure Les will remember that.

Yep. I spent a day poking various tubes on the side of Mt Teide. Well worth doing, especially if you haven't been in lava tubes before. Very pointy - take some kneepads! Sounds like you already have good access info; mine is some 15yrs out of date.

mrodoc said:

Les W said:

No problems,
If you know which caves you are going to visit I can give you precise instructions on how to find them (it's not always obvious even when you are right by them). 

Click to expand...

Right, like when I parked outside Cueva del Viento and asked where the cave was and they looked at me kind of funny, parted the bushes beside the car and showed me the entrance!

Repeat if you want directions to San Marcos Cave I have done the through trip and, if the top end is close, some detailed directions to the seaward end would be handy. Basically you come out by a water tank with goldfish in it. I am sure Les will remember that.

Click to expand...

The water tank is empty in the summer (when I've been there  ). The second entrance is closed and is in the middle of a banana plantation - no access. The lower entrance is accessed from near the water tank, in fact it is water from the cave/tube that feeds into the tank. The cave itself is very extensive, not sure how long but at least a couple of km and with several passage choices. Very photogenic and well worth the visit.

Just up the hill from San Marcos is a tube complex (Hoya San Filipe) accessed via an improbable hole in the gutter at the side of Icod bypass. again quite extensive and very complex. There is a whole up flow complex that is very difficult to find but once located you will be treated to some very large passage and the skeleton of a now extinct giant lizard.

All the tubes around Icod are part of the same complex of tubes that includes Cueva del Viento, the tubes are almost connected to each other and extend all the way from the flanks of Teide all the way to the sea. The other main series of tubes can be found on the Western flanks of Teide down towards Chio. A lot more fragmented and less extensive, mostly in the Pinar forest. There are some tubes in the Caldera National Park as well but beware, the access rules are particularly harsh and involve fines of up to ?6,000. 

If you are up Cueva del Viento way then you must end your trip in the Tabern de Cueva del Viento (very near the entrance). 

Just resurrecting this old thread as I'm off to Tenerife for a few days in April. I'd be really interested in getting hold of any info/descriptions/locations of lava tubes there as I've not found so much on Google yet. Never been before so open to recommendations for which tubes to have a look at (and any other nice walks/canyons/swimming spots people know of)! Probably be stayig to the north of the island but not sure yet.

Thanks!

What Les said.

Also, to whet your appetite, here's a sho fillum wot got made.

Lava caves of Tenerife

Wow Chris is that an optical or really the size of that sloping ledge at 2.17? Nice viddy by the way!

It's real - no photo effects at all; it's in Cueva de San Marcos.... I think. Les'll know. Thanks for the big-up!

As Chris says, it's Cueva San Marcos.
When we were there last year there were cliff stabalisation works which prevented access (although some people were able to get in).
Hopefully the works have been completed but this is Spain...


Lurker, if it's Lava Tubes you want then you ought to locate in the North West, Icod, San Marcos, Los Silos, Buena Vista, etc. As I have already pointed out, most of the tubes are in the area around Icod. It takes a long time to get around the interior of the island so it's handy to be relatively near. There is lots of relatively cheap accomodation around the area in April.
I can pass on more info if you want...

Les

Thanks for the replies - very useful. The video looks great, I can't wait! Those names should be plenty to get us started.
Lurker

If you like Tenerife you'd LOVE Lanzarote! Make a diary note.