Cueva de Llamazares

Useful Information

Location:	45 min walk from the village Llamazares. Start and ticket office at the Museo Paleontológico. Use of car to the cave entrance possible.
Open:	JUN Sat, Sun 10-12, 16-18. JUL to AUG Thu-Sun 10-12, 16-18. SEP Sat, Sun 10-12, 16-18. [2011]
Fee:	Adults EUR 12, Children (0-9) free. Groups (5+): Adults EUR . [2011]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	A=1,475 m asl.
Guided tours:	L=700 m, VR=50 m, D=40 min, V=4,000/a
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Cueva de Llamazares, Tel: +34-617-368-625.
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

Description

The Cueva de Llamazares (cave of Llamazares) was named after the nearby village. It is also called Cueva de Coribios or Cueva de Coribos. The cave is entered through a small triangular entrance, only 2 m wide and 2 m high. The tour shows the main passage of the cave, but there is also a second, parallel passage which is smaller and not developed.

The Cueva de Llamazares is famous for an abundance of cave corals, but some descriptions seem not to distinguish between two kinds of corals. As far as we understood the cave has both. Cave Corals are speleothems which form under certain conditions and look like normal corals, hence the name. But they are not real corals, formed by living animals, which build calcite shells and thus form the reef. They are formed by calcium rich water in the cave depositing limestone in a chemical process.

But there are also an abundance of fossils in the 200 Ma old Jurassic limestones, which were formed as a sediment in an oxygene rich shallow sea which was full of life. many fossilized remaisn can be found in the limestones, but several were freed from the surrounding rock by the formation of the cave. The fossils are presented in the Museo Paleontológico (Paleontological Museum) which was created in the old school house of Llamazares. They have a great collection of over 250 spectacular items, including a 300 Ma old Lepidodendron or giant fern. Most of the local fossils are from the Triassic and Jurassic periods.

The museum is also the starting point for cave tours and the ticket office. The cave located 45 minutes walk from the village and as a result it is visited by only 4,000 people per year. It may be possible to reach the cave by car but we guess, it's either a private road or suitable only to 4WD. The cave is closed during rain, we guess the way to the cave is too dangerous during rain.