Why this ride
351 km from Bilbao to Bilbao, about 6 h 20 of riding. It goes by way of Santimamiñe, Ekain, Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian and back through Ekain. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre and Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian starting at Bilbao
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 351 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 20
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Basque Coast Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 40 km this is Basque Coast Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 40 km
- Named road
- Basque Coast Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre
Down in the Casco Viejo of Bilbao, where the old streets run in a tight grid beside the Nervión, the cathedral of Santiago stands at the heart of the Siete Calles, the seven original streets of the medieval town. It is a Gothic church, rebuilt after a fire in the sixteenth century, with a neo-Gothic façade and spire added later, and it sits so snugly among the tall houses that you often see it only when you are standing right in front of it.
Read the complete Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre is where the day begins. Next is Santimamiñe.
2. Santimamiñe
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.
Read the complete Santimamiñe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Santimamiñe comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ekain.
3. Ekain
In 1969 two young men exploring a hillside above the Sastarrain valley near Zestoa crawled into a narrow opening and found themselves in a gallery of painted horses. Ekain is one of the finest Palaeolithic painted caves in Europe, its walls covered with images of horses, bison and other animals made some fourteen thousand years ago with remarkable skill. The horses in particular are famous, drawn with shaggy manes and round bellies, so lively that they seem about to move.
Read the complete Ekain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 115 km into the recorded legs you reach Ekain. Next is Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian.
4. Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Imagine a mountain with a hole through it, and a medieval road running straight through the hole. The tunnel of San Adrián is a natural cave passage near the crest of the Aizkorri range, on the border of Gipuzkoa and Álava, and for centuries it carried one of the main routes between the Castilian plateau and the Basque coast. Pilgrims on the inland Camino de Santiago, merchants, armies and kings all passed through it, and a small chapel was built inside the cave. The old paved road leading up to it survives in sections, worn smooth by centuries of hooves and boots.
Read the complete Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian, about halfway. Next is back through Ekain.
5. back through Ekain
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ekain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ekain sits at 163 km, about halfway. Next is back through Santimamiñe.
6. back through Santimamiñe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Santimamiñe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Santimamiñe comes up about 313 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre.
7. Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre closes the day.
Leg by leg
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre to Santimamiñe
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre → Santimamiñe is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Santimamiñe to Ekain
Santimamiñe → Ekain is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ekain to Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Ekain → Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian to back through Ekain
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian → back through Ekain is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ekain to back through Santimamiñe
back through Ekain → back through Santimamiñe is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Santimamiñe to Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre
back through Santimamiñe → Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.