Why this ride
209 km from San Vicente de la Barquera to San Vicente de la Barquera, about 3 h 42 of riding. The stops in between: Chemin de la Liébana, Altamira, Hornos de la Peña and Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
El Pindal and Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 209 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 42
- 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. El Pindal
On the coast of eastern Asturias, near the village of Pimiango, a cave opens in the cliffs above the sea, and inside, Palaeolithic artists painted and engraved animals on the walls: a mammoth, horses, a bison, a fish, and many red dots and signs. El Pindal is one of the caves included in the World Heritage listing of the Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain, and its location, with the sea pounding the rocks below and the Picos de Europa rising inland, is spectacular. Visits are limited and guided, to protect the paintings.
Read the complete El Pindal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
El Pindal is where the day begins. Next is Chemin de la Liébana.
2. Chemin de la Liébana
San Vicente de la Barquera is where the Camino Lebaniego begins, the old pilgrim route that leaves the Cantabrian coast and climbs south into the mountains of Liébana to the monastery of Santo Toribio. The town sits on a pair of estuaries, with a long medieval bridge carrying the road across the water, a castle and the Gothic church of Santa María above the harbour, and on clear days the snowy peaks of the Picos de Europa rising behind the marshes like a stage set.
Read the complete Chemin de la Liébana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chemin de la Liébana comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Altamira.
3. 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
about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Altamira. Next is Hornos de la Peña.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art.
5. Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art
In 1879 a little girl lost interest in her father's digging and wandered further into a cave in Cantabria. She looked up and saw bulls on the ceiling. The father, Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, a local landowner and amateur archaeologist, was digging in the floor of Altamira, a cave a hunter had stumbled on some years earlier. When he announced that the paintings were of the Ice Age, the experts of Europe laughed at him, and it was not until 1902, after similar paintings turned up in France, that the leading sceptic published a famous apology. Sautuola died long before that.
Read the complete Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art sits at 86 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hornos de la Peña.
6. 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 comes up about 125 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Altamira.
7. back through 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
about 148 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Altamira. Next is back through Chemin de la Liébana.
8. back through Chemin de la Liébana
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chemin de la Liébana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Chemin de la Liébana, late in the day. Next is El Pindal.
9. El Pindal
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete El Pindal 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 209 km.
Leg by leg
El Pindal to Chemin de la Liébana
El Pindal → Chemin de la Liébana is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chemin de la Liébana to Altamira
Chemin de la Liébana → Altamira is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art
Hornos de la Peña → Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art to back through Hornos de la Peña
Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art → back through Hornos de la Peña is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hornos de la Peña to back through Altamira
back through Hornos de la Peña → back through Altamira is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Altamira to back through Chemin de la Liébana
back through Altamira → back through Chemin de la Liébana is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chemin de la Liébana to El Pindal
back through Chemin de la Liébana → El Pindal is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Covaciella and Covalanas · 348 km
- Hornos de la Peña and Chufín · 292 km
- Chufín and Hornos de la Peña · 220 km
- El Pindal and Altamira · 118 km