In 1916, a group of boys exploring a hillside in the Basque Country found paintings deep inside a cave, and Santimamiñe became one of the most important prehistoric sites in the region. The cave, near Kortezubi in the Urdaibai valley, contains Magdalenian paintings of bison, horses, goats and deer, made around fourteen thousand years ago, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of cave art of northern Spain. To protect the paintings, the cave itself is closed to the public, but a visitor centre offers a virtual tour that recreates the interior in detail, with guides explaining the art and the people who made it.
The Urdaibai estuary, a biosphere reserve, is a landscape of marshes, sandbanks, oak forests and green hills, home to many birds, especially during migration. Nearby, the painted forest of Oma, a famous art project by Agustín Ibarrola, who painted eyes, figures and geometric shapes on pine trees, became a beloved destination, though the original trees fell ill and a new version has been created nearby. Gernika, about five kilometres away, is a name that resonates around the world: the town's bombing by German and Italian aircraft in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, inspired Picasso's painting, and the oak tree of Gernika, symbol of Basque liberties, stands beside the Casa de Juntas, the assembly house of Biscay.
The riding in the Basque Country is fantastic: green, hilly, with roads that twist and turn through forests, farms and villages, and spectacular coastal roads. The road from Gernika along the Urdaibai estuary to Mundaka, famous for its surf wave, and Bermeo, a fishing town, is beautiful, as is the coast road east toward Lekeitio and Ondarroa, with cliffs, beaches and sea views. The weather is mild but rainy, so be prepared for wet roads and changing conditions. Summer is the driest season, but also the busiest.
Gernika has fuel, shops and restaurants, and Bilbao, about thirty kilometres away, has everything. Basque food is legendary: pintxos, small bites served on bread in bars, grilled fish, especially hake and bream, and the local cider and txakoli wine. The Monday market in Gernika is one of the best in the region, with farm produce and cheeses.