Why this ride
478 km from Entrambasaguas to Entrambasaguas, about 7 h 30 of riding. On the way it passes Covalanas, Vizcaya Bridge, Santimamiñe and Ekain. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
La Garma and Ekain
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 478 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 30
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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 42 km this is Basque Coast Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 42 km
- Named road
- Basque Coast Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. La Garma
La Garma is a low limestone hill a few kilometres inland from the Bay of Santander, green with meadows and oak scrub, the sort of rounded Cantabrian hump you might ride past without a second glance. Inside it lies one of the most important prehistoric caves in Europe. Found by chance in the 1990s, the cave of La Garma contains not just paintings but preserved living floors from the Palaeolithic: hearths, bones, tools and the outlines of shelters left exactly as they were when a rockfall sealed the entrance thousands of years ago. It forms part of the UNESCO site of the Cave of Altamira and Palaeolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain.
Read the complete La Garma write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Garma is where the day begins. Next is Covalanas.
2. Covalanas
Covalanas is known as the cave of the red deer. Its walls carry red ochre paintings of hinds, drawn in a distinctive dotted technique, and they are among the finest Palaeolithic paintings in the Cantabrian region. The cave sits on a steep, wooded hillside above Ramales de la Victoria, in eastern Cantabria, and it was one of the first painted caves to be recognised in Spain, in the early twentieth century. It is part of the UNESCO-listed Cave of Altamira and Palaeolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain, and visits are limited to small groups, so booking ahead is advisable.
Read the complete Covalanas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Covalanas comes up 42 km in. Next is Vizcaya Bridge.
3. Vizcaya Bridge
Few riders get the chance to cross a river hanging from a bridge, but at Portugalete you can. The Vizcaya Bridge, opened in 1893 across the mouth of the Nervión just downstream of Bilbao, is the oldest transporter bridge in the world: a tall iron structure from which a gondola, suspended on cables, glides from one bank to the other carrying cars, motorcycles, bikes and pedestrians in a couple of minutes. It was designed by the Basque architect Alberto de Palacio, often described as a disciple of Gustave Eiffel, to let tall ships pass beneath while still linking the two towns, and UNESCO listed it in 2006.
Read the complete Vizcaya Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
85 km in you reach Vizcaya Bridge. Next is Santimamiñe.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Ekain.
5. 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
Ekain sits at 170 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 212 km in. Next is back through Vizcaya Bridge.
7. back through Vizcaya Bridge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vizcaya Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
254 km in you reach back through Vizcaya Bridge. Next is back through Covalanas.
8. back through Covalanas
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Covalanas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Covalanas, late in the day. Next is La Garma.
9. La Garma
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La Garma 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 478 km.
Leg by leg
La Garma to Covalanas
La Garma → Covalanas is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Covalanas to Vizcaya Bridge
Covalanas → Vizcaya Bridge is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vizcaya Bridge to Santimamiñe
Vizcaya Bridge → Santimamiñe is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Santimamiñe to Ekain
Santimamiñe → Ekain is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ekain to back through Santimamiñe
Ekain → back through Santimamiñe is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Santimamiñe to back through Vizcaya Bridge
back through Santimamiñe → back through Vizcaya Bridge is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vizcaya Bridge to back through Covalanas
back through Vizcaya Bridge → back through Covalanas is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Covalanas to La Garma
back through Covalanas → La Garma is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.