CAVES
Santillana del Mar.
9:30am–6pm Tue–Sat (to 8pm May–Oct), 9:30am–3pm Sun.
1 & 6 Jan, 1 May, 16 Sep, 24, 25 & 31 Dec.
(advance booking recommended; see website).
These caves contain some of the world’s finest examples of prehistoric art. The earliest engravings and drawings, discovered in 1879, date back to around 16,000 BC. Public entry to the caves is no longer permitted, but the on-site museum contains a replica of the caves. Similar sites that remain open to the public can be found at nearby Puente Viesgo, Ribadesella in Asturias and at Nerja in Andalusia.
One of the many paintings of bison at Altamira