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It is located on the northeastern slope of Mount Pando, also known as La Haza, above the El Mirón cavity, in the municipality of Ramales de la Victoria. This cave, discovered by Lorenzo Sierra and Herminio Alcalde del Río in 1903, served as a dwelling and refuge for Palaeolithic man and is the second cave discovered of Palaeolithic art on the Cantabrian coast, the first being Altamira in 1879. There are common characteristics in painting techniques found in different caves that are grouped around the basins of the rivers Nervión and Sella as well as the Asón, which seems to demonstrate a link and social communication between them. Due to the style of the paintings, they can date from about 20000 years ago, going from the Upper Palaeolithic to the beginnings of the Magdalenian. The cave of Covalanas began to be fitted out for tourist visits in the middle of the last century and was declared a World Heritage Site in 2008.
Its entrance is like a hall or, better, distributor from which two galleries come out, the one on the right is the one that houses the cave paintings, it is the Gallery of Paintings and the one on the left is the so-called Gallery of Music. The Gallery of Paintings is a straight line of just over 100 meters. The paintings that can be seen can be found from the middle of the gallery; at the beginning, and in order to set the scene, a series of dots and lines before reaching the first forms of animals, and on the right and left the reddish figures of 18 deer, a deer, a grape, a horse appear... dots, lines and symbols that envelop the visitor in the light of the guide's lantern, the only point of light that enhances and seems to give life to these stony animals. The Gallery of Music in its 85 meters can be admired, especially in its final part, beautiful karstic formations, stalactites, stalagmites ... decorate floor, ceiling and walls. All this, together with the natural conditions of the cave of Covalanas, gives the visitor a pleasant experience.
Image donated by Prehistoric Caves of Cantabria. ©Miguel de Arriba/SRECD
The entrance to the cave of Las Herramientas, as Covalanas is also known, is a splendid viewpoint from where you can admire the valleys of the rivers Calera and Gándara and the San Vicente peak in the Hornijo mountain range.
Image donated by Prehistoric Caves of Cantabria. ©Miguel de Arriba/SRECD
This cave, together with those of its surroundings, keeps echoes of stories in them lived not only in prehistory but throughout all the ages of man. They have been refuge in battles, safes where to keep money and treasures and even hideouts of outlaws.
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Ramales de la Victoria is reached by the national road N-629 that joins it on one side with Limpias, Ampuero and Colindres where the A-8 Bilbao-Santander motorway passes. On the other side, the N-629 connects it with Medina de Pomar and Trespaderne. Ramales de la Victoria is also reached by the C-216 road that goes up part of the river Asón and reaches Solares. Ramales de la Victoria has a bus service that makes the journey Ramales-Laredo. In Gibaja, a town in the municipality of Ramales de la Victoria, there is a FEVE train station that covers the Santander-Bilbao line.
From Ramales de la Victoria take the N-629, direction Burgos and a little more than 2 kilometers is located on the left the detour that leads to the parking of the cave. From here, an ascending pedestrian path leads to the mouth of the cave and to the visitor's attention point. Also from Ramales de la Victoria you can take a pleasant walk along the PR-S17 path that leads to the Interpretation Centre and the caves.
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Visitamos la Cueva de Covalanas y ya se, por que es la cueva de las ciervas rojas.
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