Why this ride
223 km from Tresviso to Tresviso, about 4 h 05 of riding. It goes by way of Chufín, El Pindal, Chemin de la Liébana and Altamira. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Llonín and Altamira
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 223 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 05
- 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. Llonín
The cave of Llonín is not one you can walk into. It sits in the valley of the river Cares in Peñamellera Alta, in the far east of Asturias, and it is one of the decorated Palaeolithic caves of northern Spain listed by UNESCO alongside Altamira. Its walls hold engravings and paintings of deer, goats and other animals, and the cave has been studied by archaeologists for decades, but access is restricted to protect the art. What you get instead is the landscape that sheltered those artists, and that is very much worth the trip.
Read the complete Llonín write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Llonín is where the day begins. Next is Chufín.
2. Chufín
The Nansa is one of the shortest and wildest rivers in Cantabria, running from the high mountains on the edge of the Picos de Europa to the Bay of Biscay, and halfway along its course, near the hamlet of Riclones, a cave opens in the limestone above the water. This is the Cueva de Chufín, where Palaeolithic people engraved and painted animals, signs and symbols on the walls thousands of years ago. It is one of the caves of the Cantabrian coast included in the World Heritage site of Altamira and Palaeolithic cave art of northern Spain.
Read the complete Chufín write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chufín comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is El Pindal.
3. 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
about 53 km into the recorded legs you reach El Pindal. Next is Chemin de la Liébana.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Altamira.
5. 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
Altamira sits at 85 km, about halfway. Next is back through Chemin de la Liébana.
6. 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 comes up about 150 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through El Pindal.
7. back through 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
about 172 km into the recorded legs you reach back through El Pindal. Next is back through Chufín.
8. back through Chufín
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chufín write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Chufín, late in the day. Next is Llonín.
9. Llonín
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Llonín 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 223 km.
Leg by leg
Llonín to Chufín
Llonín → Chufín is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chufín to El Pindal
Chufín → El Pindal is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Altamira to back through Chemin de la Liébana
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 back through El Pindal
back through Chemin de la Liébana → back through El Pindal is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through El Pindal to back through Chufín
back through El Pindal → back through Chufín is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chufín to Llonín
back through Chufín → Llonín is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Chufín and Chemin de la Liébana · 100 km
- Hayedos de Picos de Europa - Canal de Asot and La Garma · 396 km
- Chemin de la Liébana and Covaciella · 200 km
- Altamira and Covaciella · 187 km