Why this ride
122 km from Puente Viesgo to Puente Viesgo, about 1 h 49 of riding. On the way it passes Altamira, Chemin de la Liébana and back through Altamira. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Monte Castillo - El Castillo and Chemin de la Liébana
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 122 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 49
- 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. Monte Castillo - El Castillo
Some of the oldest paintings in Europe sit in a hill above a village best known for its hot springs. The cave of El Castillo opens in the flank of Monte Castillo, right above Puente Viesgo in the Pas valley of Cantabria, and inside it are hand stencils and a red disc that scientists dated, in 2012, to more than forty thousand years ago. That makes them contenders for the oldest cave art known on the continent, and possibly older than any made by modern humans, since Neanderthals were around at the time. UNESCO lists the Cantabrian caves, and a visit means a guided group entering in small numbers, so book ahead and expect limits on the day.
Read the complete Monte Castillo - El Castillo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monte Castillo - El Castillo is where the day begins. Next is Altamira.
2. 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 comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Chemin de la Liébana.
3. 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
about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Chemin de la Liébana. Next is back through Altamira.
4. 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
back through Altamira, late in the day. Next is Monte Castillo - El Castillo.
5. Monte Castillo - El Castillo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monte Castillo - El Castillo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Monte Castillo - El Castillo. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Monte Castillo - El Castillo to Altamira
Monte Castillo - El Castillo → Altamira is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Altamira to Chemin de la Liébana
Altamira → Chemin de la Liébana is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chemin de la Liébana to back through Altamira
Chemin de la Liébana → back through Altamira is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Altamira to Monte Castillo - El Castillo
back through Altamira → Monte Castillo - El Castillo is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.