Lanzarote & Museo Atlántico · Spain · Cave & cavern · Wall
Cueva de las Gambas
A cave full of narwhal shrimp on a wall with a 40 m foot
Area photo: Julien Renoult · CC BY 4.0
One of the best known dives in Puerto del Carmen, named for the cave that shelters swarms of narwhal shrimp. The foot of the wall is around 40 metres deep and the site is listed as suitable for expert divers only, so the shrimp cave is a deep objective on a face that has plenty of shallower rock above it.
Where it is and how deep
28.9182° N, 13.6699° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive is the wall. Its foot is around 40 metres down, and the catalogue is clear that the site is only suitable for expert divers, which is a matter of the depth rather than of any difficulty in the conditions. The cave that gives the site its name is on that face; how deep it sits is not published, so the depth of the objective is settled with the guide before the dive.
Inside, the cave shelters swarms of narwhal shrimp, and they are what the dive is for: a mass of small animals packed into shadow that only reads properly with a torch on them. Time in and around the cave is short at this kind of depth, so most groups look, hold position and leave rather than working the space.
The return is up the wall. There is a lot of shallower rock above, so the ascent has structure to follow the whole way and the stop is made against the face rather than in open water. That is the practical reason the site works despite its depth: the objective is small and quickly done, and everything after it is spent climbing a wall that gets easier the higher you go.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Lanzarote & Museo Atlántico: Divable all year in 18–24°C water; Jun–Oct is warmest and calmest, and angel sharks are most reliably seen Nov–Mar.
Know before you go
- The cave is an overhead environment on a wall whose foot is around 40 metres, so the time available inside is short and the exit has to be identified before entering.
- The foot of the wall is the deepest part of the site and the catalogue restricts it to expert divers, which makes depth discipline the main requirement here.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Cueva de las Gambas?+
The foot of the wall is around 40 metres. The cave's own depth is not published, so the profile depends on where on the face it sits; the site is listed for expert divers only.
What is inside the shrimp cave in Lanzarote?+
Swarms of narwhal shrimp, which is where the name comes from. They sit in shadow, so a torch is needed to see the mass of them properly.
Sources
- Cueva de las Gambas dive site — Scubago
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