Why this ride
From Araia it runs 358 km to Araia; allow about 5 h 45 of riding. It goes by way of Santimamiñe, Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion and back through Santimamiñe. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian and Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 358 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 45
- 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 73 km this is Basque Coast Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 73 km
- Named road
- Basque Coast Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 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 106 km into the recorded legs. Next is Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion.
3. Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion
Castro-Urdiales has one of the best harbour fronts on the whole Cantabrian coast, and it knows it. The Gothic church of Santa María de la Asunción stands on a rocky headland above the old port, its buttresses and pinnacles silhouetted against the sea, flanked by the remains of a castle that now holds a lighthouse and by a medieval bridge leading to a little chapel on a rock. Built from the thirteenth century onward, the church is one of the finest Gothic buildings in northern Spain, and it lies on the coastal route of the Way of Saint James, which is part of a UNESCO listing that covers the pilgrimage roads of the north.
Read the complete Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 179 km into the recorded legs you reach Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion. Next is back through Santimamiñe.
4. 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, late in the day. Next is Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian.
5. 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 at Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian to Santimamiñe
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian → Santimamiñe is 106 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Santimamiñe to Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion
Santimamiñe → Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion to back through Santimamiñe
Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion → back through Santimamiñe is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Santimamiñe to Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
back through Santimamiñe → Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian is 107 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.