«It is very important to know the natural spaces of Canary Islands in order to keep them. It has given us a glimpse of what cavities are like in Tenerife and the species they harbor. Says Elena, one of the visitors who yesterday was able to enjoy the Cueva del Viento, in Icod de los Vinos. It is the largest volcanic tube in Europe and, with its more than 18 kilometers surveyed, also the sixth longest in the world, only behind formations located in Hawaii. Today, after the stoppage of activity caused by the pandemic, the space is facing new challenges: the Cabildo de Tenerife, which is in charge of its management, seeks to expand the visitor center, as well as the implementation of other improvements that allow people to enjoy in a more comfortable way of this unique place, while the City Council of the City of Drago asks to open new areas to visitors.
The island councilor of the Education, Youth, Museums and Sports Area of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Concepción Rivero (Cs), confirms to EL DÍA that the island administration is working to expand the visitor center, for which it has already proposed to the Icod City Council the purchase of the entire building that houses the current facilities, in the neighborhood of Los Piquetes. «We have been trying to acquire the property where the visitor center is now located for two years. We have launched this proposal to the Consistory because it has become too small for us. Now we are in a local on the ground floor and we want to take advantage of all the space in the cultural center on the top floor, which is underused. Of course, we have proposed an alternative location for this neighborhood space”, details Rivero.
This operation has encountered three obstacles. Two bureaucratic procedures almost resolved and a third pending negotiation between the two institutions. «The problem is that the property did not appear in the municipal inventory, a matter already resolved, and it was not regularized in the Property Registry either. A management that we know is underway. The main drawback is that the Cabildo made an appraisal that is far from the one made by the City Council. We have money reserved to acquire it in the insular budget, but an agreement must be reached regarding the appraisal », he warns.
Specifically, Rivero points out that in this appraisal “the age of the property and its state of conservation must be taken into account” and “the investments that the Cabildo has made in recent years to improve it.” Despite the discrepancies, the island councilor stressed that “we have all the will in the world to reach an agreement, but the technicians are the ones who set a fair price.”
24,368
Total visitors
The Cueva del Viento closed 2022 with 24,368 visitors despite the limitations due to the pandemic at the beginning of the year. It is the equivalent of a municipality like Tacoronte.
4,092
canarian hikers
This volcanic tube in the subsoil of Icod is mainly visited by tourists. So much so that of the 24,368 people who visited it last year, only 4,092 were Canaries.
404
Students on school routes
This cavity also had students among its visitors. Specifically, 404 toured its interior to learn a little more about its history and biodiversity.
1,773
total routes
The total number of routes through the cave during the past year amounts to 1,773, of which 940 were in Spanish; 476, in English; 255, in German, and 102 in French.
91.6%
Visitor occupancy
Another relevant data is the occupancy of visits: 91.6%. Satisfaction surveys are also positive: 9.5 scored by Spaniards; 9.6, the English, and 9.9, the Germans.
Both the expansion of the visitor center and the incorporation of new routes are old demands with which it is intended to enrich the experience in an enclave that was formed 27,000 years ago with the lavas of the first eruption of the Pico Viejo volcano and that houses nothing less than 92 known species, most of them invertebrates, of which 15 were new discoveries for science in their day. These and other attributes explain why it is one of the main natural attractions of the Canary Islands and why it was visited in 2022 by 24,368 people, of whom only 4,092 resided on the Islands.
That the locals are in a minority was made clear in the excursion in which this newspaper was present on the morning of this Sunday. The meeting point for these routes is that visitor center that is now being expanded. Getting there requires going up the Los Piquetes path –the scene of the novel Panza de Burro, by Andrea Abreu–, from which it seems that one could touch The Teide. Subsequently, the participants are transferred in vans to the Cave. Before entering the cavity you have to follow a previous path. This barely lasts a few minutes and has a point where you can see a fence and some bars. It is the so-called Sima de la Vieja, in which, already inside, the visitable area of the enclosure culminates.
This last place is key in order to offer more possibilities to locals and tourists who are encouraged to enter this volcanic tube. In this regard, the mayor of Icod de los Vinos, Francis González (DC), considers it a priority to open new areas that can be visited in other accesses so that simultaneous routes can increase. However, on this circumstance the opinions of the Consistory and the insular institution clash. And it is that, for Concepción Rivero, the possibility of opening new areas to visits “is not now a priority”, since it considers essential “to guarantee the protection of this unique ecosystem” and to solve some of the problems that affect sections that cannot be visited, such as illegal dumping of wastewater.
Old chasm
The option to expand the visiting area in the Sima de la Vieja involves replacing an old staircase in order to access the lower levels of this labyrinthine complex. “In any case, it is not something that is being considered at this time because it would require very complicated procedures due to the level of protection of this space,” warns Rivero.
In this scenario, the environmental protection of the Cueva del Viento seems, at least at the moment, incompatible with the opening of new areas that can be visited beyond the 250 meters currently open. If the discharge problems in the lower areas of the labyrinthine complex are resolved, which Rivero considers to be a municipal responsibility, the door would be opened for the recovery of another area of the volcanic tube for public visits.
While the future is elucidated, those who have not traveled the enclosure enjoy the part that can be traveled. Or, even, there are those who repeat it and show it to their friends. This is the case of the visitor Elena, who knows the space inside out. At the entrance is the group of which she is a part with another that ends; one is directed by the guide Eneida and the second, Francisco. They, along with her partner Lucía, made an effort yesterday so that the visitors would take away a satisfactory experience with a dose of history, biology, curiosities…
Another aspect to take into account is that the year just ended already left some small improvements in the Cueva del Viento. This is the case of the acquisition of new helmets and headlamps, a portable defibrillator and a stretcher for emergencies, as well as two new vans in which visitors are transported. Added to the above is the implementation of a new reserve program with greater benefits, the carrying out of a self-protection and drill plan, and the execution of a geotechnical study. Also noteworthy in the balance sheet is obtaining the best annual economic result for the space.
