Why this ride
From Reocín it runs 103 km to Reocín; allow about 2 h 19 of riding. On the way it passes Hornos de la Peña, El Pendo and back through Hornos de la Peña. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Altamira and El Pendo
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 103 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 19
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Altamira
In 1879 a nine-year-old girl named María was exploring a cave near Santillana del Mar with her father, Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, an amateur archaeologist. While he dug in the floor, she looked up at the ceiling and saw painted animals. The bison of Altamira, painted in red and black on the uneven rock so that their bodies seem to swell and move in the flickering light, are among the greatest works of prehistoric art in the world. When Sautuola published his discovery, most experts refused to believe that cavemen could have produced such sophisticated paintings, and he was accused of fraud. He died before he was vindicated; only after similar paintings were found in France did the leading sceptic, Émile Cartailhac, publish a famous apology. Altamira was listed by UNESCO in 1985.
Read the complete Altamira write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Altamira is where the day begins. Next is Hornos de la Peña.
2. Hornos de la Peña
Above the village of San Felices de Buelna, on a limestone hillside in the Besaya valley of Cantabria, a cave called Hornos de la Peña holds engravings made by Palaeolithic hunters. The most famous is the outline of a horse, scratched into the rock thousands of years ago, along with other animals and signs that take time and a good guide to pick out. The cave is one of the seventeen in northern Spain listed by UNESCO alongside Altamira, and visits are limited and guided, so check ahead rather than simply turning up.
Read the complete Hornos de la Peña write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hornos de la Peña comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is El Pendo.
3. El Pendo
In 1997, in a cave that people had been visiting for over a century, a group of researchers noticed paintings that everyone had walked past: a frieze of red figures, deer, horses and goats, high on a wall in the main chamber. El Pendo, in the municipality of Camargo just south of Santander, had long been known for its deep layers of Stone Age occupation, but the frieze made it one of the important painted caves of Cantabria, and in 2008 it joined the World Heritage listing of the Paleolithic cave art of northern Spain alongside Altamira.
Read the complete El Pendo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 51 km into the recorded legs you reach El Pendo. Next is back through Hornos de la Peña.
4. back through Hornos de la Peña
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hornos de la Peña write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hornos de la Peña, late in the day. Next is Altamira.
5. Altamira
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Altamira write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Altamira. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Altamira to Hornos de la Peña
Altamira → Hornos de la Peña is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hornos de la Peña to El Pendo
Hornos de la Peña → El Pendo is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
El Pendo to back through Hornos de la Peña
El Pendo → back through Hornos de la Peña is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hornos de la Peña to Altamira
back through Hornos de la Peña → Altamira is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.