Cueva de Las Palomas

Tubo Volcánico de Todoque

Useful Information

Location:	Todoque, Los Llanos de Aridane
Open:	Visitor Center: all year daily. Cave tour: After appointment. [2020]
Fee:	Visitor Center: free. Cave tour: Adults EUR 22. [2020]
Classification:	lava tube
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	Todoque I: L=560 m, A=564 m asl. Todoque II: L=157 m, A=485 m asl.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Cueva de Las Palomas, Carr. El Hoyo Todoque, 38759 Santa Cruz de Tenerife
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

08-JUL-1949	eruption of the volcano San Juan.
26-JUL-1949	end of eruption, numerous new lava tubes formed.
1987	cave surveyed and named Cueva de Todoque.
24-DEC-1994	caves declared a Natural Monument.
2009	Special Conservation Area (ZEC) of the Natura 2000 Network "Tubo Volcanico de Todoque" protected by Decree 174/2009.
2016	wrong name Cueva de Todoque corrected to Cueva de las Palomas.
2017	Centro de interpretation de las cavidades volcanicas Canos de Fuege erected.
2018	Centro de interpretation de las cavidades volcanicas Canos de Fuege opened to the public.

Description

The Cueva de las Palomas (Cave of the Pigeons) was formed in 1949 during an eruption of the volcano San Juan. The eruption produced a lava field which is 6 km by 3.5 km in size with numerous lava tubes. There are at least 12 lava tubes, but Cueva de las Palomas is the longest with more than 500 m. It was originally longer, but the construction of the road LP-211 cut it into two pieces. On the other side is another part named Cueva de Todoque II which is 150 m long the original cave was 720 m long. Still not the longest lava tube on Las Palmas, the Cueva Honda del Bejenado is the longest of over 100 lava tubes with 1,362 m.

This lava tube is very young, but it already has some history. Used for dead animals, destroyed by a road, full of pigeons, hence the name. This name seems to have been quite some problem. When the government sent surveyors in 1987, they invented names for all caves, but did not ask the locals if the caves already had a name. They named this cave Tubo Volcánico de Todoque because it was close to the village Todoque. Not being asked or heard is obviously a behaviour the locals know for years but still despise. The cave was entered into the list of Natural Monuments in 1994 with the wrong name, then declared a Special Conservation Area (ZEC) of the Natura 2000 Network in 2009, again with the wrong name. It took until 2016 when the name was finally corrected.

The newest development is the erection of the Centro de interpretation de las cavidades volcanicas Canos de Fuege Visitor Center. It was opened to the public in 2018 and offers a museum, elevated trails across the lava fields, a short lava tube named El Vidrio under the building, which can be visited. There is also a trail to the entrance of the Cueva de las Palomas and guided tours into this cave. Currently, the tours are operated by three tour operators and the number of participants is strongly restricted. Those tours are more or less cave trekking tours, although the cave does not require special skills and there is only one drop at the entrance which is equipped with a staircase. Currently, all tours are in the Spanish language. In the near future, the center will offer the cave tours directly, but the details are not published yet. If you are interested search for the tour on civitatis.com, see link below.