Santillana del Mar (Cuevas de Altamira)

Bus from San Sebastián to Santander

–BUS COMPANY: ALSA www.alsa.es

–ADDRESS: Pasadizo de Egia

-PRICE: 14€

-Timetable: 7:30 / 8:40 / 9:45 / 14:10 / 15:55 / 16:40 / 20:45

It takes about 40 min to get there

You can double check PRICES and SCHEDULE at the following address:

http://www.alsa.es/en/

Bus station

Bus from Santander to Santillana del Mar (at the same bus station)

–BUS COMPANY: AUTOBUSES LA CANTÁBRICA ( http://www.lacantabrica.net/)

-BUS LINE: SANTANDER-SAN VICENTE

-Timetable:

CUEVAS DE ALTAMIRA

The Cave of Altamira” has the privilege of being the first place in the world where the existence of rock art from the Upper Palaeolithic age was identified. Its uniqueness and quality, the stunning conservation, and the freshness of its pigments meant its acceptance would be delayed by a quarter of a century. At the time, it was a scientific anomaly, a discovery that constituted a giant leap and not an incremental step, and the phenomenon was difficult to understand for the society of the nineteenth century, gripped by extremely scientific and rigid propositions.

Bison, horses, deer, hands, and mysterious signs were painted or engraved over the 9,000 years during which the cave of Altamira was inhabited (22,00013,000 before the present). These representations extend for a length of more than 270 meters throughout the cave although the best known are the famous polychrome paintings. Conserving their excellent condition is a challenge for science and heritage management and is the priority and raison dêtre of the Museum of Altamira.

From 2002, access to the cave of Altamira has been restricted to a small number of people in the fields of conservation and research, and visitors are no longer admitted to the cave. The Altamira National Museum and Research Centre Trust agreed, in 2010, to maintain these access restrictions and keep the cave closed to all visitors. It also agreed to conduct a research programme with an emphasis on preventive conservation, studying the possibility of establishing a system to allow public access in a way compatible with the conservation of the Palaeolithic cave paintings.

However, you can discover the museum and visit a reproduction of the real cave.

HOW TO GET THERE ONCE IN SANTILLANA DEL MAR

Once you have arrived to Santillana, the easiest way to get to «Cuevas de Altamira» is just to go walking from the bus stop to Cuevas de Altamira (weather conditions permitting). Just follow the instructions! It is approximately 25 minutes walking.

If the weather does not permit you to go walking, you can take a taxi.