A mysterious lake, a fabulous enchanted grotto, secret entrances to lost and forgotten tunnels in old houses, a Ferris wheel in a basement … It would seem like a story out of Indiana Jones and although the most skeptical thought it was just a children’s story, in recent times it has been shown that, like all legends, it has some truth.

How would you feel to know that Cordoba is hollow, and that under the Tendillas square, the nerve center of the city, there is a navigable subway lake, typical of Harry Potter’s stories? It is both surprising and shocking to know this, but for those of us born after the 80’s this story may sound like fantasy.

The story begins back in the 80’s when a journalist from Córdoba, Sebastián Cuevas, set out to prove the existence of a subway pond that had been speculated about since the beginning of the century, just as Heinrich Schliemann did in Troy. It was then when, together with the historian Manuel Salcines, the academic Manuel Ocaña and the then manager of the Municipal Water Company, Juan Chastang, Sebastián Cuevas managed to find what looked like a tunnel inside a basement of a house in Juan de Mena Street, confirming that there was the entrance to a large aquifer. It was when the protagonists of this discovery began to divulge to the local press the discovery of “a cave of stalactites and stalagmites, with a lake of pure, clear and transparent waters, coming from the Sierra”. However, at that time, no graphic document attesting to the discovery could be produced.

Enchanted lake live

Ten years later, a local television crew rescued that legend to prove that it was real and obtained permission to record the images of the basement where the lake supposedly flowed. For the first time, the people of Cordoba could see with their own eyes that in the basement of the aforementioned house on Juan de Mena Street there was a small well, from which a long and narrow corridor started under the waters.

Now came the tricky part, navigating or rather diving through that narrow channel to reach the mouth of the tunnel, the mysterious magical grotto that was causing such a stir and unravel once and for all that mystery.

For such a feat, the Cordoba Speleology Group was asked for help, thinking that an experienced diver would be able to enter the narrow tunnel. Unfortunately, in their dive, the divers found the remains of a landslide that had occurred some time before, which cut off the passable route. The illusion of discovering an enchanted cave under the statue of the Great Captain was fading.

Strange finding under the Colomera Palace

Ten years ago the memory of that legend was revived. Some claimed that they had been in that cave and that they had even passed through it on board a boat. According to some testimonies, another accessible entrance could be found in the old Palacio de la Colomera, in the Plaza de las Tendillas, today transformed into a luxurious Hotel. And it was during the renovation works of this same palace, a few years ago, that the workers found in the basement the remains of an old waterwheel. This finding only makes sense if its use was appropriate to the passage of a river or a canal, so it is quite conclusive evidence that under our feet, in the Plaza de las Tendillas there is something.

It seems logical to think that when the Romans chose as the site of the first stone of their patrician colony, the place near the Plaza de las Tendillas, they took into account the aquifers that came down from the mountains and knew where they flowed, choosing the site according to the same. It is curious to remember also how the different merchants near this place, suffer problems of humidities that in many cases are a mystery.

However, that the appearance of this “hidden lake” is that of a fantasy cave, seems rather the product of more or less embellished testimonies and speculations, since this type of caves and grottoes with stalactites and stalagmites only appear in more rocky soil types than the Cordovan one. No medieval stories, docked boats and walks in the dark lit by torches. What we are likely to find is an ancient aquifer.

What we know in 2020 about the enchanted lake of Cordoba

It is possible that in ancient times it was possible to descend to this mythical cavity from different accesses, but currently, due to natural earthworks or buildings, the two known entrances are obstructed.

It is possible that we will never get to see that imagined enchanted lake of the Tendillas although it is also true that it is possible that there is not much left of it after the many works over time that this place has experienced. However, if you plan to visit Cordoba and are looking for a place to stay, our tourist apartments are located right between the houses and the palace that make up this legend, with their entrances and although you can not visit this enchanted cave, in Cordoba you have many other things to discover.