Why this ride
A 396 km round trip from Puente Viesgo - roughly 4 h 56 in the saddle. It goes by way of El Pindal, Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion and back through El Pindal. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Monte Castillo - El Castillo and Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 396 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 56
- 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 El Pindal.
2. 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 comes up about 66 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 198 km into the recorded legs you reach Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion. Next is back through El Pindal.
4. 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
back through El Pindal, 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 El Pindal
Monte Castillo - El Castillo → El Pindal is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
El Pindal to Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion
El Pindal → Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion is 132 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion to back through El Pindal
Eglise Santa Maria de la Asuncion → back through El Pindal is 134 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through El Pindal to Monte Castillo - El Castillo
back through El Pindal → Monte Castillo - El Castillo is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.