🏠 Fundación César Manrique – Find the House Hidden in the Lava
Can you live inside solidified lava? César Manrique proved that you can. He built his home on a black lava field, and when he discovered natural volcanic chambers beneath it, he transformed them into extraordinary rooms.
So as you explore, do not just look at the house. Try to uncover all its volcanic secrets.
🔗 Find out more on the page: Fundación César Manrique
🫧 Count the Volcanic Rooms
As you go underground, look out for the enormous spaces hidden within the lava.
❓ Ask your child:
How many natural volcanic “rooms” can you find?
💡 Tip for parents:
The house was built above five natural volcanic bubbles. Manrique adapted them for use and connected them with small passages carved through the solidified lava.
🌳 Find the Tree Growing Inside the House
❓ Ask your child:
How did César discover that there were enormous empty spaces beneath the black lava? Look among the plants for a clue.
💡 Tip for parents:
According to the Foundation, while Manrique was walking across the lava field, he noticed a fig tree growing out of the lava. He approached it and, climbing down along its branches, discovered a large natural chamber.
⚪🔴⚫🟡 Discover the Colourful Bubbles
As you move from one underground space to another, pay attention to the colours.
❓ Ask your child:
Can you find the white, red, black and yellow spaces?
💡 Tip for parents:
The individual volcanic chambers were decorated using distinctive colours. The Foundation refers to them as, among others, the White Bubble, Red Bubble, Black Bubble and Yellow Bubble.
🌋 Play “House or Volcano?”
Look around and choose different things you can see:
Were they created by the volcano 🌋 or by César 👨🎨?
The rock?
The passage?
The stairs?
The volcanic bubble?
The sofa?
The opening in the ceiling?
The swimming pool?
Some of the answers may not be as obvious as they seem.
💡 Tip for parents:
Manrique used the natural lava formations, adapting them for living and combining them with architecture of his own design. This blending of nature and architecture is one of the most distinctive features of the house.
🏊 Find the Swimming Pool in the Volcano
As you explore the underground part of the house, look for something you probably would not expect to find among black volcanic rocks.
❓ Ask your child:
Can you create a place for swimming and relaxing among volcanic rocks?
💡 Tip for parents:
In the central jameo, Manrique created a recreational area with a swimming pool, plants, a small dance floor, an oven and a barbecue area.
🌿 Track Down the Plants Growing Inside the House
Look for places where greenery seems to grow directly between white walls and black lava.
❓ Ask your child:
How many plants can you find inside the house?
💡 Tip for parents:
Vegetation was an integral part of Manrique’s design. It appears not only in the gardens and underground spaces – even the bathroom was integrated with lush greenery.
👨🎨 Find the Place Where César Painted
Finally, look for the space where Manrique worked.
❓ Ask your child:
Do you think an artist living in a house like this could avoid being inspired by volcanoes?
💡 Tip for parents:
The final part of the route leads through Manrique’s former studio. Today, it is used as an exhibition space displaying his paintings or temporary exhibitions.
🔭 Mirador del Río – Find the Island Across the Sea
Stand in front of the enormous windows of Mirador del Río and look far into the distance. There, on the other side of the blue stretch of water, lies another island. It is La Graciosa – but that is only where the fun begins.
Look carefully, search for islands, volcanoes and beaches, and while you are there, try to discover why Mirador del Río itself is so difficult to spot from the outside.
🔗 Find out more on the page: Mirador del Río
🏝️ Find La Graciosa
Look through the huge windows or from the terrace. The largest island directly in front of you is La Graciosa.
❓ Ask your child:
Do you think we could walk there if we wanted to reach the island?
💡 Tip for parents:
Lanzarote and La Graciosa are separated by a strait called El Río, meaning “the river”. Despite its name, it is not a river but a stretch of ocean.
🔭 Look for Islands Beyond the Island
If visibility is good, do not stop at La Graciosa. Look even farther into the distance.
❓ Ask your child:
Can you see any more land beyond La Graciosa?
💡 Tip for parents:
La Graciosa is not alone. It is part of the Chinijo Archipelago. From Mirador del Río, you can also see other islands and islets belonging to the archipelago, including Montaña Clara and Alegranza – provided, of course, that the weather and visibility are good enough.
🌋 Count the Volcanoes on La Graciosa
Take a close look at the shape of the island.
❓ Ask your child:
How many volcanic cones can you spot?
You can count them separately and then compare your answers. Who can find the most?
🏖️ Spot the Beach Below Your Feet
Now, instead of looking into the distance, look down below Risco de Famara.
❓ Ask your child:
Can you find the small beach at the foot of the enormous cliff?
💡 Tip for parents:
The viewpoint sits high on Risco de Famara, and from its terraces you can see not only La Graciosa but also the coastline far below.
👀 Find the “Eyes” of the Mirador
Look at the two enormous windows.
❓ Ask your child:
Why do you think César Manrique placed them here and pointed them in exactly this direction?
💡 Tip for parents:
The two curved windows are known as the “eyes of the Mirador”. Manrique designed the interior to guide visitors’ eyes towards El Río and La Graciosa.
🪨 Try to Find the Building That Hides in the Landscape
Before entering or after leaving, walk a little farther away and look back at the hillside.
❓ Ask your child:
Where exactly is the building we were just inside? Why is it so difficult to see?
💡 Tip for parents:
Mirador del Río was built into the terrain and covered with volcanic stone, allowing it to blend into the landscape when viewed from outside. It is one of the best examples of the way César Manrique combined architecture with nature.
🐟🦅 Decode the Sculpture
There is one more puzzle waiting at the entrance. Take a close look at Manrique’s metal sculpture.
❓ Ask your child:
Which two animals are hidden in it?
💡 Tip for parents:
The sculpture represents a fish and a bird – symbols of the two elements that dominate this place: water and air.
🍇 La Geria – Why Do Grapevines Grow in Hollows?
In La Geria, the fields look completely different from ordinary vineyards. Each grapevine grows in its own hollow, surrounded by a stone wall, while the ground is covered with black volcanic gravel. Did someone really go to all this trouble just to make the fields look unusual?
Become vineyard detectives and try to discover how the people of Lanzarote learned to grow grapevines on an island where it hardly ever rains.
🔗 Find out more on the page: La Geria
🕳️ Solve the Mystery of the Hollows
Take a close look at the grapevines. Each one grows lower than the surrounding ground.
❓ Ask your child:
Why do farmers plant grapevines in hollows instead of on a flat field?
💡 Tip for parents:
After the eruptions of the 18th century, fertile soil was covered by a thick layer of volcanic material. Farmers began digging hollows to get closer to the old soil and create better growing conditions for the vines.
💧 Find the Invisible Watering Can
Look around. There are no rivers here, and rain is very rare.
❓ Ask your child:
Who waters thousands of grapevines?
💡 Tip for parents:
The porous volcanic material, known on Lanzarote as picón or rofe, absorbs moisture from rain and humid air and helps reduce evaporation. This allows water to reach the plants’ roots despite the island’s very dry climate.
🌬️ Discover Why a Grapevine Needs a Wall
Take a closer look at the stone walls. They usually do not form a complete circle around the hollow.
❓ Ask your child:
What could such a low wall protect the plant from?
💡 Tip for parents:
It protects the vine from strong winds, one of the biggest challenges for farming on Lanzarote. The semicircular walls, known as zocos, shelter the delicate grapevine shoots.
🧭 Work Out Which Way the Wind Blows
Stand still for a moment and feel the wind on your face. Then look at the stone walls.
❓ Ask your child:
Can you work out which direction the wind usually comes from just by looking at the position of the stone shelters?
💡 Tip for parents:
The walls were built to protect the plants from the prevailing winds. This is a great opportunity for children to see that their shape and position are not accidental.
🖤 Find Out Why the Fields Are Black
Take a closer look at the ground around the grapevines. It looks nothing like ordinary garden soil.
❓ Ask your child:
Does this black layer help the plants, or does it simply cover the soil?
💡 Tip for parents:
The layer of picón reduces moisture loss from the soil, while its porous structure helps retain water. What initially seemed like a disaster for the islanders after the eruptions eventually became something they learned to use to their advantage in agriculture.
🍇 Spot the Grapes
If you visit La Geria at the right time of year, look for bunches of grapes hidden among the leaves.
❓ Ask your child:
What will be made from the grapes growing in these unusual hollows?
💡 Tip for parents:
La Geria is Lanzarote’s most important wine-growing region. One variety particularly characteristic of the island is Malvasía Volcánica, a grape variety closely associated with Lanzarote.
🔢 Count the Hollows
Choose a section of the hillside and try to count all the hollows with grapevines that you can see.
❓ Ask your child:
Can you count them all?
You will probably soon discover that... there are simply far too many. 😄
💡 Tip for parents:
Each of these hollows was prepared for a single grapevine. It is only when you look across an entire hillside that you begin to realise just how much work went into creating this extraordinary landscape.
🟢 The Green Lagoon – Why Is It Green?
Green water, a black beach, red rocks and the blue ocean – the Green Lagoon looks a little like a painting created with extraordinary colours. But none of them are here by chance.
Become volcanic detectives for a moment. Take a close look at the landscape and try to discover why the lagoon is green and what happened to the volcano that once stood here.
🔗 Find out more on the page: The Green Lagoon
🟢 Solve the Mystery of the Green Water
Look at the lagoon. Its water really is an intense shade of green.
❓ Ask your child:
What do you think turned the water green – green rocks, plants, or perhaps something so tiny that we cannot see it?
💡 Tip for parents:
The distinctive colour comes from microorganisms living in the highly saline water, including microalgae. Depending on the light and conditions, the colour of the lagoon may appear more or less intense.
🌋 Look for Half a Volcano
Look at the high rocky walls surrounding the lagoon. Try to imagine that they once formed part of a volcanic crater.
❓ Ask your child:
What happened to the other half?
💡 Tip for parents:
The crater formed during the volcanic eruptions of the 18th century, right beside the coast. Over time, the Atlantic eroded its walls and part of the crater was swallowed by the ocean. What we see today is the remains of the former volcanic cone.
🌈 Count the Colours of the Volcano
Try to find as many colours as possible in the landscape. There is the green of the lagoon, the black volcanic sand and the blue of the ocean, but the rocks hide many more.
❓ Ask your child:
How many colours can you find without moving from where you are?
💡 Tip for parents:
The reds, browns, yellows and blacks in the rocks are linked, among other things, to their mineral composition and to processes that took place during and after the eruption. This is why Lanzarote’s volcanic landscape is far from being simply black.
💧 Solve the Mystery of a Lagoon Without a River
Look around. You will not see a river or stream flowing into the lagoon.
❓ Ask your child:
So where does its water come from?
💡 Tip for parents:
Charco de los Clicos is separated from the Atlantic by a strip of beach, but seawater seeps into it through the permeable volcanic ground. This is why the lagoon exists even though no river or stream flows into it.
💎 Search for Volcanic Treasure
On the black beaches in the area, you can sometimes spot tiny greenish crystals.
❓ Ask your child:
Can a volcano create “precious stones”?
💡 Tip for parents:
This is olivine – a mineral found in Lanzarote’s volcanic rocks. Its crystals have a distinctive olive-green colour.
💙 Important
Olivine is one of Lanzarote’s volcanic treasures – look for it, but leave it where you find it. Stay on the designated paths and do not take stones away as souvenirs.
🌊 Find Three Different Kinds of Water
Look at the landscape and try to spot:
🟢 water trapped inside the crater,
🌊 the waters of the Atlantic,
☁️ water hidden in... the clouds.
❓ Ask your child:
Which of them is salty?
🦀 Jameos del Agua – Find the Tiny White Crabs
At Jameos del Agua, it is not enough to simply look straight ahead. The most fascinating things may be tiny, hidden beneath the water or high above your head. This is part of the same lava tube as Cueva de los Verdes, but here the underground world looks completely different.
👀 Look carefully into the water – tiny white crabs live here and they are easy to miss. Try to find and count them. Who will be the first to spot a crab?
🤫 Approach quietly – do not throw anything into the water or try to touch its inhabitants. This is their home, and you are the guests.
🔗 Find out more on the page: Jameos del Aqua
Now see how many of Jameos del Agua’s secrets you can discover.
🦀 Find the White Crabs
Look closely at the bottom of the saltwater lake. The tiny pale dots you can see may start to move. Try to count the first ten crabs.
❓ Ask your child:
Why do you think the crabs living in a dark cave are white?
💡 Tip for parents:
These are Munidopsis polymorpha, a small species of crustacean found naturally only on Lanzarote. They live in the dark environment of the underground water system. Their lack of pigmentation gives their bodies a very pale appearance.
🌊 Look for the Ocean Underground
Look at the water in the lake. Now think about where the Atlantic Ocean is. Could this underground lake somehow be connected to it?
❓ Ask your child:
If we are inside a cave, where did all this salt water come from?
💡 Tip for parents:
Jameos del Agua lies within the lava tube formed by La Corona volcano. Its lowest sections are below sea level and connected to the waters of the Atlantic. This is why there is a saltwater lake underground.
☀️ Find the Place Where the Roof Collapsed
Look around when you reach the open section of Jameos. Try to work out why you can suddenly see the sky from inside the tunnel.
💡 Tip for parents:
The word jameo refers to a natural opening created when part of the roof of a lava tube collapses. These openings provide access to the interior of the tunnel.
🌿 Count the Colours of Jameos
Look around and try to find: black, white, green and blue. Which colour can you see the most?
💡 Tip for parents:
The contrast between these colours is one of the characteristic features of Jameos del Agua. César Manrique used the natural black volcanic rock and combined it with white architecture, green plants and blue water. Instead of hiding the volcanic surroundings, he made them part of the entire design.
🏠 Play “Nature or Human-Made?”
As you walk, choose different things you can see and guess:
🌋 Was it created by nature or by 👨🎨 people?
The cave?
The lake?
The steps?
The rocks?
The plants?
The swimming pool?
The openings in the roof?
💡 Tip for parents:
César Manrique did not want architecture to replace nature. He worked with the existing lava tube, rocks and natural hollows, adding steps, paths, vegetation and architectural elements. At Jameos, you sometimes really do have to look closely to see where nature ends and human design begins.
🎶 Listen to the Inside of the Volcano
When you reach the auditorium, look at the walls and ceiling. They certainly do not resemble an ordinary concert hall.
❓ Ask your child:
Can you build a concert hall inside a volcanic tunnel?
💡 Tip for parents:
The auditorium makes use of a natural chamber within the lava tube. Volcanic rock forms the walls and ceiling of the hall, once again bringing architecture and the natural interior together.
🧭 The Lanzarote Explorer Guide for children aged 6–10 is on its way!
Instead of long descriptions, it will be filled with puzzles, rebuses, colouring pages, comics and observation challenges. Your child will search for clues, spot hidden details and discover Lanzarote through play.
🕳️ Cueva de los Verdes – Become an Explorer of the Underground World
Cueva de los Verdes is a perfect place to turn an ordinary sightseeing visit into a real expedition of discovery. Underground, you will find tunnels formed by flowing lava, enormous chambers, low passages, extraordinary rock colours and places where light can trick your eyes.
🔗 Find out more on the page: Cueva de los Verdes
🔦 Give your child a small torch – even if it is not needed to light the way, holding a torch makes it much easier to feel like an explorer of the underground world. You can use it to take a closer look at the rocks and search for interesting details.
🧥 Bring a sweatshirt or light jacket – it is cooler underground than outside, so it is worth having an extra layer of clothing, especially for children.
And once you go underground, you do not have to simply follow the guide. Look, listen, search and try to unravel the mysteries of Cueva de los Verdes together.
🔎 Look for Traces of Flowing Lava
Take a close look at the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. Can you find places where the rock looks as though it once flowed?
💡 Tip for parents:
Cueva de los Verdes is part of an enormous lava tube formed during the eruption of La Corona volcano. The surface of the lava cooled and solidified while molten lava continued to flow underneath. When the lava drained away, it left an empty tunnel behind.
🎨 Track Down the Colours Hidden Underground
The cave may seem dark, but look carefully at the rocks. How many different colours can you find?
💡 Tip for parents:
The walls reveal shades of black, brown, red, ochre, grey and, in some places, white. Some of these colours come from minerals in the rocks, while carefully positioned lighting helps to reveal them.
👂 Listen to How the Cave Sounds
When you reach the auditorium, listen carefully. Does the guide’s voice sound the same here as it does in a narrow passage?
💡 Tip for parents:
One of the large natural chambers inside the lava tube has been transformed into an auditorium. The shape of the rocky interior creates excellent acoustic conditions, and concerts are held here.
☠️ Find a Hiding Place from Pirates
Imagine that you are not tourists, but inhabitants of Lanzarote several hundred years ago. Look around as you walk. Could you find a place here where you could hide without being seen by someone outside?
💡 Tip for parents:
The natural system of underground tunnels was used by Lanzarote’s inhabitants as a refuge during pirate raids. The maze of dark passages allowed people and their belongings to be hidden away from the coast.
🤫 Let the Cave Trick You
There is a place in Cueva de los Verdes where your eyes tell you something completely different from reality. Do not tell your child what the secret is beforehand. Let them try to work out for themselves what is not quite right.
💡 Tip for parents:
This is one of the biggest highlights of the entire tour, so it is best not to look at photos or videos that reveal the solution beforehand. The surprise is the most important part of this challenge.
💡 Discover What Light Can Do
As you walk through the cave, pay attention to the illuminated sections of rock. Try to imagine exactly the same place without any lights. What would you no longer be able to see?
💡 Tip for parents:
The lighting in Cueva de los Verdes was designed by Jesús Soto. The aim was not to illuminate the cave evenly. Instead, the light was used to reveal the natural shapes, textures and colours of the lava while leaving other areas in shadow.
Lanzarote with Children – How to Make Exploring the Island Fun?
Can a volcano, a cave, a viewpoint or even a vineyard be interesting for a child? Absolutely – you just need to show it to them a little differently than you would to an adult.
👨👩👧 Lanzarote has many places that were not created specifically for children, yet they can still become real adventures for young explorers. I suggest what might capture a child’s interest in Timanfaya, what to look for inside a lava tube, where to spot tiny white crabs and what questions to ask while sightseeing to turn visiting yet another attraction into an adventure of discovery.
If, on the other hand, you are looking for water parks, Rancho Texas, the Aquarium, go-karting and other places designed especially for families, visit:
👉 Lanzarote with Children – Attractions for Kids and the Whole Family
🎒 Young Lanzarote Explorer
For children aged 6–10, I have created the Lanzarote Explorer Guide (available from December 2026), which lets them discover the island a little differently from adults. It is filled with fascinating facts, puzzles, activities and things to find while exploring Lanzarote.
🌋 Timanfaya – Find Out if the Volcano Is Really Sleeping
Timanfaya may look like a motionless landscape of solidified lava, but temperatures beneath the surface are still extremely high. Instead of simply looking at the volcanoes, turn your visit into a little expedition for young explorers.
👀 Think about it: where does the steam come from?
During the geothermal demonstration, a member of staff pours water into a hole in the ground. Moments later, a tall jet of steam shoots forcefully into the air.
❓ Ask your child:
Why do you think the water disappears underground and then comes back as steam a moment later?
💡 Tip for parents:
Just a few metres below the surface, temperatures can reach several hundred degrees Celsius. The water poured into the hole heats up extremely quickly and turns into steam, which then bursts back to the surface.
🎨 Count the Colours of the Volcanoes
During the drive along the Ruta de los Volcanes, try to spot as many colours as possible in the volcanic landscape. Are all the volcanoes black?
💡 Tip for parents:
Timanfaya’s volcanoes are not only black. You can also see red, brown, orange and yellowish rocks. These colours are caused by different minerals and by the intense heat that altered the rocks during the eruptions.
🔎 Look for Different Shapes of Lava
As you travel through Timanfaya, take a closer look at the solidified lava. Does it look the same everywhere? Try to spot rough, jagged lava as well as smoother lava that looks like frozen waves or coils of rope.
💡 Tip for parents:
Volcanologists call these two types of lava ʻAʻā and pāhoehoe. Both names come from Hawaiian. ʻAʻā has a rough, jagged surface, while pāhoehoe is smoother and often forms distinctive wavy or rope-like patterns.
🌱 Track Down Life on the Lava
Look closely at the dark rocks and think about this: is there really nothing living on such young volcanic ground? Try to find small pale or greyish patches on the surface of the lava.
💡 Tip for parents:
Those pale or greyish patches on the rocks are vegetation. These organisms can survive in extremely harsh conditions and are among the first forms of life to colonise bare volcanic rock.
🔗 Find out more about Timanfaya on the page: Timanfaya on Lanzarote
Want to know what the visit is like, where to park, how much tickets cost, when to arrive and what else to look out for?
👉 I have created the guidebook: Lanzarote with César Manrique
🧭 And This Is Only the Beginning of Exploring Lanzarote!
I am currently creating the Lanzarote Explorer Guide, designed especially for children aged 6–10. It will not be an ordinary guidebook filled with long descriptions. Children will be able to discover Lanzarote through puzzles, rebuses, colouring pages, observation challenges, comics and short stories. I will also hide plenty of information in the illustrations, encouraging children to find it for themselves, notice small details and discover the island through play.
Because an island is not something you can only see. You can track down its secrets, solve its mysteries and discover it for yourself.
🌵 Jardín de Cactus – Find the Strangest Cactus
At Jardín de Cactus, thousands of cacti are waiting to be discovered – tiny and enormous, round, flat, hairy, spiky and some that look as though they have come from another planet. Instead of looking at them one by one, turn your visit into your own cactus hunt.
👀 Look carefully – some of the most fascinating specimens are not necessarily the biggest. And at the end, choose the strangest cactus in the entire garden together.
🔗 Find out more on the page: Jardín de Cactus
🏆 Organise a Cactus Competition
Everyone chooses their own winners. Try to find:
- 🌵 the tallest,
- ⚽ the roundest,
- 🦔 the spikiest,
- 🧸 the “hairiest”,
- 👽 the strangest.
At the end, compare your favourites. Did you choose the same plants?
🔎 Find a Cactus Without Leaves
Take a close look at the cacti. Most of them do not have leaves like the plants you know from home or the park.
❓ Ask your child:
Why are spines more useful to a cactus than large green leaves?
💡 Tip for parents:
In most cacti, the leaves have evolved into spines. This helps the plant lose much less water. The spines can also protect it from animals. The green stem takes over the job of photosynthesis.
💧 Find the Water Stores
Look for cacti with thick, fleshy stems.
❓ Ask your child:
Where does a cactus store its water when everything around it is so dry?
💡 Tip for parents:
Cacti can store water in their fleshy tissues and use it over long periods. This is one of the adaptations that allows them to survive in places where rain is very rare.
🔵 Find a Cactus Shaped Like a Ball and One Shaped Like a Column
Try to find cacti with completely different shapes: round, tall and slender, flattened, branching or resembling enormous candelabras.
❓ Ask your child:
Which cactus shape can you see most often in the garden?
💡 Tip for parents:
Cacti belong to many different species and have adapted to different conditions. This is why they can vary so much in size, shape, type of spines and growth habit.
🌸 Spot a Flower Among the Spines
See if you can find a cactus that is flowering. Its flower may be tiny or surprisingly spectacular.
❓ Ask your child:
Can a plant covered in sharp spines have delicate, colourful flowers?
💡 Tip for parents:
Cacti are flowering plants. Their flowers come in many different colours and sizes, although not all species flower at the same time.
👨🎨 Look for César Manrique’s Touch
Do not look only at the cacti. Search for black volcanic rock, white architectural elements, green plants and the blue sky.
❓ Ask your child:
What here was created by nature, and what was designed by people?
💡 Tip for parents:
Jardín de Cactus was the last major work created by César Manrique on Lanzarote. He transformed a former quarry, combining the volcanic landscape with architecture and vegetation.
🌬️ Find the Great Windmill
Finally, ask your child to spot the white windmill overlooking the garden.
❓ Ask your child:
What do you think windmills like this were once used for on Lanzarote?
💡 Tip for parents:
Traditional windmills used Lanzarote’s strong winds to power mechanisms that ground grain into flour. The flour was used, among other things, to make gofio – one of the traditional foods of the Canary Islands.
🧭 Lanzarote Explorer Guide
This is just a small taste of the puzzles and activities that will be included in the Lanzarote Explorer Guide for children aged 6–10.
📖 With its hard cover and a set of coloured pencils included, children will be able to complete the activities while exploring – just find a place to sit among the cacti and start discovering!