Why this ride
From Gasteiz / Vitoria it runs 440 km to Gasteiz / Vitoria; allow about 8 h 13 of riding. The stops in between: Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian, Ekain, Collégiale de Ziortza and Santimamiñe. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz and Santimamiñe
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 440 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 13
- 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
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz → Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
41 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it — speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 86 km
Basque Coast Route
For about 50 km this is Basque Coast Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 50 km
- Named road
- Basque Coast Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital of the Basque Country and possibly its most underrated city. It sits on a high plateau, the Llanada Alavesa, surrounded by low mountains and wide farmland, and its medieval old town climbs a small hill in the shape of an almond, with the old cathedral of Santa María at the top. This is the cathedral the label refers to, a Gothic church begun in the thirteenth century as both a temple and part of the town's defences.
Read the complete Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz is where the day begins. Next is Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian.
2. 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 comes up about 86 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 145 km into the recorded legs you reach Ekain. Next is Collégiale de Ziortza.
4. Collégiale de Ziortza
High on a green hillside above the village of Bolibar, in the Biscayan interior, the collegiate church of Ziortza looks out over a valley of meadows, farmhouses and eucalyptus and pine plantations. It is a tranquil, solid place, a church and cloister built of grey stone with a fortified look, and it stands on the Camino del Norte, the coastal route to Santiago, so you will often see pilgrims resting on the benches outside.
Read the complete Collégiale de Ziortza write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Collégiale de Ziortza, about halfway. Next is Santimamiñe.
5. 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 sits at 135 km, about halfway. Next is back through Collégiale de Ziortza.
6. back through Collégiale de Ziortza
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Collégiale de Ziortza write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Collégiale de Ziortza comes up about 245 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Ekain.
7. 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
about 292 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Ekain. Next is back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian.
8. back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian, late in the day. Next is Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz.
9. Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 440 km.
Leg by leg
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz to Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz → Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian is 86 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian to Ekain
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian → Ekain is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ekain to Collégiale de Ziortza
Ekain → Collégiale de Ziortza is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Collégiale de Ziortza to Santimamiñe
Collégiale de Ziortza → Santimamiñe is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Santimamiñe to back through Collégiale de Ziortza
Santimamiñe → back through Collégiale de Ziortza is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Collégiale de Ziortza to back through Ekain
back through Collégiale de Ziortza → back through Ekain is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ekain to back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
back through Ekain → back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian to Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian → Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz is 86 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.