Just 25 minutes from Chalet RIO CUBAS, along national 634, passing through Solares just before reaching Vargas, we find the town of Castañeda with an impressive Romanesque Collegiate Church that we have to visit, in Vargas we take the direction Burgos, and we arrive at the town from Puente Viesgo, where Monte Castillo is located, with its famous caves. In the center of the town we turn right, the climb to the caves parking lot is indicated. At the reception center they will give us information and the group will be formed since all visits are guided by experts.
In Cantabria there are 62 caves with cave paintings and archaeological remains, of all of them, Altamira is the best known, since in 1985 it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In 2008, nine other caves in Cantabria obtained the same distinction, turning our Region into a world reference for the quantity and quality of its cave paintings, among them are four of the Monte Castillo caves.
Since prehistoric times, the Pas River modeled a set of caves on Monte Castillo, which have turned this conical elevation into a true Gruyere cheese, which was used by humans since prehistoric times. Of the existing cavities, 5 caves stand out for their Paleolithic cave manifestations, four of them, El Castillo, Las Monedas, La Pasiega and Las Chimeneas, have been declared a World Heritage Site.
Among these caves, the El Castillo cave stands out, discovered by H. Alcalde del Río in 1903, where numerous archaeological works have been carried out. Thanks to them it is possible to have knowledge of the environmental conditions, the flora and fauna, the human anatomy of Homo Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens and the social behavior of the last 150,000 years.
The interior of the cavity, with a visit route of 275 m. with high galleries that remind us of a great cathedral, its walls with grooves etched by the waters of the Pas river that in prehistoric times had its course here, it contains one of the most unique and important complexes in the Prehistory of Europe, With 275 figures, all corresponding to the dawn of the presence of Homo sapiens in Europe, they present the way of life of those first humans, with different techniques of expression, brushes, hands, and various paints such as charcoal or earth of different colors, to show us the animals that lived with them, horses, deer, mammoth, goats, etc. in the Upper Paleolithic from 36,000 to 10,000 BC
About 675 meters from the El Castillo cave, following the path that borders the mountain, the LAS MONEDAS cave opens, the longest one, and which, like the Castillo cave, can be visited.
At the time of its discovery, in 1952, it was called Bear Cave. Soon imprints of a boot with three nails in the heel were observed in different rooms. Following the footprints, they were located in a 23 m chasm. deep, a batch of 20 coins from the time of the Catholic Monarchs, the discovery of these coins gave the name that today calls this Cave.
Of the 800 meters it has, about 160 meters are visited. The route is impressive, a true spectacle. Stalactites, stalagmites, discs, columns, hanging terraces and colored flows, due to the varied mineralogical composition of the rock, describe an incomparable geological tour.
The figures are concentrated in a small room, a few meters from the entrance area. The set is very homogeneous, a black drawing drawn with charcoal, it is made up of at least 17 animal figures and various forms of signs that are difficult to interpret. Above all horses, reindeer, goats, bison, a bear and some other indeterminate animal, they make up a varied bestiary. The C14 dating certifies the creation of the figures during a glacial phase that occurred around 10,000 BC.
For visiting hours and prices call 942598425. Guided tours. All year
Once we have seen the caves, we can take a walk along the river bank, near the spa, the Pas, which here has one of the most salmon wells. Puente Viesgo is a quiet town, with a beautiful old town to walk and enjoy the nature. As we are in the Pasiega area, we can take the opportunity to eat in any of these Pasiego towns, which have a very varied and quality traditional cuisine, dishes such as ragut, mountain stew, goat from these mountains, fried milk, quesada or sobaos. They can configure a good menu for the most demanding diners.
To complete the day, we recommend traveling through the Toranzo valley on the banks of the Pas until reaching the Vega de Pas, the Pasiego landscape par excellence, with its steep slopes, its small meadows bordered by stone walls, here they have always known how to work on the quality of milk cows and that due to their isolation in past times gave rise to a closed and very particular society. We recommend visiting the Ethnographic Museum of the Villas Pasiegas, very interesting to understand the way of life and peculiarities of the Pasiegas people.
From here we return to the Chalet Rio Cubas, being able to visit Selaya, San Roque de Río Miera or Lierganes on the way.