The César Manrique route in Lanzarote: Jameos, Cueva de los Verdes, Mirador del Río and his house

What to see of César Manrique in Lanzarote fits into one sentence: a lava tube with a concert hall (Jameos del Agua), a viewpoint carved into a cliff (Mirador del Río), a quarry full of cacti and the house he built over lava bubbles (Tahíche). With a car, the north takes a day; Tahíche, the Campesino and Castillo de San José need another half day.

What has changed most is the price. Older guides talk about three-, four- or six-centre passes: they're no longer sold.

Our pick

1

The real Manrique, in a day

Jardín de Cactus, Mirador del Río, the Campesino, Jameos and the Fundación in Tahíche: the artist's own works, without Soto's cave.

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide8 hours

Lanzarote: Legacy of César Manrique Guided Tour

4.6 (223 reviews)

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2

The north, premium version

Cueva de los Verdes, Jameos del Agua and Mirador del Río in 9 hours, with one of the highest ratings in the catalogue.

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide9 hours

Premium North Lanzarote: Cueva de los Verdes, Jameos Agua, Mirador del Río

4.8 (103 reviews)

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3

Just the two caves, in half a day

Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua in 5 hours, for anyone who doesn't want a whole day on a coach.

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide5 hours

Lanzarote: Cueva de los Verdes & Jameos del Agua – Half-day tour

4.4 (407 reviews)

from €63Check availability

4

The north with tickets included

Cave, Jameos and viewpoint in 5 hours; the listing says tickets are included, which saves hassle with the Cueva's timed entry.

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide5 hours

North Lanzarote: Cave, Jameos del Agua and Viewpoint

4.6 (157 reviews)

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Who César Manrique was and what he did in Lanzarote

César Manrique was born in Arrecife on 24 April 1919. He lived in New York from 1964 and came back to Lanzarote in 1966; the years that followed produced Jameos (1968), Mirador del Río (1973), the MIAC (1976) and, much later, Jardín de Cactus (1989). He died on 25 September 1992 in a car accident as he drove out of his Fundación. The airport bears his name.

His works that you can visit have two owners, hence the confusion over tickets:

• The island council (Cabildo), through the CACT: Jameos del Agua, Cueva de los Verdes (by Jesús Soto), Mirador del Río, Jardín de Cactus, Casa Museo del Campesino, Castillo de San José (MIAC) and Montañas del Fuego in Timanfaya, where Manrique designed the Ruta de los Volcanes and El Diablo restaurant.
• The Fundación César Manrique, a private foundation: his house in Tahíche and the Casa-Museo in Haría.

Tickets and prices, centre by centre

Official CACT prices, every day of the year. Children aged 0 to 6 go free at every centre.

The six paid centres add up to €87.40 per adult; leave out the MIAC and the big five come to €82. A couple doing Jameos, Cueva, Mirador and Jardín de Cactus in one day, plus the two Fundación houses, pays €138 before setting foot in Timanfaya.

Before you buy in the CACT shop:

• Untimed tickets (Jameos, Cactus, Mirador, MIAC) are valid for one visit within three months of purchase.
• No changes or refunds on any of them.
• Reduced rates require the original document at the ticket office; without it, the ticket is cancelled with no refund.

What each centre is and how long it takes

Jameos del Agua

A section of the La Corona lava tube that Manrique, together with Jesús Soto, turned into the first CACT centre (1968–1977). Its lake is home to a blind albino crab just 2–3 cm long: no throwing coins and no swimming. At spring tides the water can cover the path and you'll have to take your shoes off. Pushchairs aren't allowed and the restaurant doesn't take bookings.

On Fridays, Noches de Jameos combine a visit, dinner and a concert. To see inside the auditorium there's the Insólita visit (€46.97, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 09:45).

Cueva de los Verdes

The same lava tube, 1 km from Jameos, but here the work is by Jesús Soto, not Manrique. It opened in 1964. The guided tour, in Spanish and English, lasts about 50 minutes and covers 1 km of a tube more than 7 km long that continues under the sea as the Túnel de la Atlántida. In the 16th and 17th centuries it was a refuge from pirates.

It isn't accessible for people with reduced mobility or suitable if you're claustrophobic, and if you're over 1.80 m you'll be ducking your head. Tickets are sold online only, with a time slot.

Mirador del Río

Carved into the Risco de Famara and opened in 1973, it looks straight across El Río, the strait in front of La Graciosa. 45 minutes is enough; no bus goes there. If the view tempts you, the ferry leaves from Órzola: La Graciosa in a day.

Jardín de Cactus

In Guatiza, an old quarry once used as a rubbish tip, where Manrique's team planted the first cactus on 18 January 1989, with a restored gofio mill above it. An hour is enough; bus 9 stops there.

Casa Museo del Campesino and Castillo de San José

The Campesino, in Mozaga (San Bartolomé), was begun in 1968, has the Fecundidad sculpture and is free. The MIAC occupies an 18th-century fortress in Arrecife that became a contemporary art museum on 8 December 1976, at Manrique's initiative. It costs €5.40 and opens 11:00–18:00.

LagOmar

In Nazaret there's a house-museum that many people attribute to Manrique, but it's private and has nothing to do with either the CACT or the Fundación (tickets from €10). The story that Omar Sharif owned it for 48 hours and lost it at bridge gets told a lot, but with no document to back it up: treat it as legend.

The Fundación César Manrique: Tahíche and Haría

These are the artist's two homes, run by the Fundación with its own ticket office. Information and opening hours at fcmanrique.org.

Both close on 1 January and allow no changes or refunds.

Tahíche was his home from 1968 to 1988: 3,000 m² built over a 1730–1736 lava flow, on a 30,000 m² plot. The ground floor makes use of five volcanic bubbles linked by tunnels. It's only partly accessible. Haría is the country house he rebuilt from 1986 onwards and where he lived until 1992; it opened to the public in 2013 and keeps his studio just as he left it. If you can only see one, Tahíche explains his architecture better and Haría the man.

The César Manrique route: a day in the north

With a car and Cueva de los Verdes booked for around midday, the north can be done in one go. The Fundación in Tahíche, the Campesino and the MIAC are for another half day.

How to do the route: car, bus or tour

By car is the way it works best. By bus, line 9 Arrecife–Órzola stops at Guatiza and Jameos, but it only runs five times a day, the first and last in each direction don't stop at Jameos and it doesn't go to the Mirador. Timetables at arrecifebus.com.

On a tour, do the maths before booking: Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos alone come to €34 in tickets, and the Fundación, Jameos, the Campesino and Jardín de Cactus to €36. Check each listing to see whether they're included.

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide9 hours

Lanzarote: Timanfaya Park, Jameos del Agua, & Cueva de los Verdes Tour

4.5 (2,866 reviews)

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Lanzarote

GetYourGuide8 hours

Lanzarote: Timanfaya Park and Jameos del Agua Full-Day Tour

4.5 (2,053 reviews)

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Lanzarote: César Manrique Full-Day Tour

4.6 (458 reviews)

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Lanzarote: Jameos del Agua & North Island for Cruise Guests

4.5 (503 reviews)

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Lanzarote: Lagomar Museum Entry Ticket

4.7 (1,256 reviews)

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Lanzarote

GetYourGuide5 hours

Lanzarote: Cueva de los Verdes & Jameos del Agua – Half-day tour

4.4 (407 reviews)

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See all options on GetYourGuide →Prices checked on 2 October 2026

The Ruta de los Volcanes and El Diablo are covered in Timanfaya; lava tubes on the other islands in Canary Islands volcanoes; the rest of the island in things to do in Lanzarote.

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