The Cueva del Llano Cave

A visit to the Cueva del Llano in Villaverde provides the opportunity of entering deep into the earth, but also of finding out about the animals that populated the Island thousands of years ago or how this volcanic tube was formed.  All this through a guided tour of the depths of Fuerteventura.

The Cueva del Llano was formed after the eruption of the Escanfraga Mountain volcano, the antiquity of which exceeds 800.000 years. The length surveyed to-date is 648 metres although the last 200 are difficult to explore.  In some parts the height exceeds some six metres.

Prior to entering the depths of the cave, visitors can visit the interpretation centre and find out about the entire geological variety of Fuerteventura, the oldest island of the whole Canary archipelago. There is also information on the wealth of its soil and visitors will be surprised to know that Maxorata is one of the few places in the world in which plutonic rock can be found on the surface.

In the gallery, geology lovers will see the different layers of sediment and fossils which over thousands of years have been deposited along the tube.  Geological stages during which Fuerteventura went from being a more humid island to the desert land we know it to be today.

In its interior the cave has an interesting collection of fossils, some of which belong to extinct species such as the lava mouse or malpaisomys, very common some two thousand years ago but which became extinct with the arrival of man and the common mouse. Remains have also been found of the Canary Islands Quail, a species similar to the common quail which disappeared due to its elimination by predators introduced by man. As a curiosity, we can tell you that there are fossil molluscs more than 15.000 years old which correspond to the cave’s initial formation period.

And yet the cave still retains hidden animal species within its interior.  This tube has an exceptional inhabitant: the invertebrate harvestman (Maiorerus randoi), similar to the spider and exclusive to the Cueva del Llano in being the only cave in Fuerteventura with the appropriate environmental conditions. This species is one of the seven arthropods which are in danger of extinction on the Canary Islands.   Undoubtedly all these curiosities will encourage you to visit the Cueva de Villaverde. Fossils await you.  Come and discover them.

Opening hours: From Tuesday to Saturday from 10.00 to 18.00 hours.

Cueva del Llano Interpretation Centre: 928.17.59.28

Museums Office : 928.85.89.98 / 928.85.28.89 / [email protected]