Caños de Fuego - Centro de Interpretación de las Cavidades Volcánicas

Caños de Fuego is the interpretation centre for the volcanic cavities of La Palma, set in the Todoque area within the municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane. The visit explains how a lava tube is born: the surface of a flow cools and forms a crust while the lava keeps running underneath, and once that stream drains away the gallery remains. Alongside the exhibition, visitors reach a real section of that underground system and see at close range the shapes rock leaves as it cools, from grooved walls to petrified drips on the ceiling.

The place gains meaning from the landscape around it, reshaped by the Tajogaite eruption of 2021, with recent flows in plain sight and a territory still rearranging itself. Visits are made with prior booking. Inside, the floor of a lava tube is uneven and often damp, so closed shoes with a good sole and clothing you do not mind brushing against rock are the sensible choice. Anyone with reduced mobility or an uneasy relationship with enclosed spaces should weigh it up beforehand, because the route runs underground.

The tubes were formed by the 1949 San Juan eruption, not the recent one, and the cavity open to visitors is the Cueva de las Palomas, across the road from the main building. The centre itself takes about an hour to walk through, with an exhibition area, an audiovisual room and a panoramic viewpoint, and from there a system of floating walkways runs out over the lava with a glass-floored section. Going down into the cave is a separate guided activity, booked in advance, in groups of up to fourteen with a qualified guide; the helmet and lamp are provided. The main building has ramps and a lift, but the cave requires closed shoes and is limited to ages five to seventy-five.