You’ve probably heard of the Paleolithic cave art in the southern areas of Europe and Islands off north Africa. There is a 2016 movie, “Finding Altamira“, starring Antonio Banderas that tells the story of a girl and her father who brought one cave to light in the 1880’s, but this post is not about the movie. It is about finding your own Altamira.
The paintings were first discredited as forgeries as no historian could believe that they could be so detailed and accurate and be from a time before recorded humans. Now we know these paintings are at least 20,000 years old and there is evidence they could go back 34,000 years.
Caves are common over parts of Europe from the Karst regions of Slovenia to the Pyrenees areas of France and over many areas in Spain. It makes perfect sense in a time when the land was filled with large animals that ancient humanoid hunters would find caves and use them for shelter. What is remarkable is that they must have spent long periods in the caves because they left many records of their world in the form of cave paintings and petroglyphs which you can see and experience yourself today. There are excellent articles on Altamira and other cave art from the Ancient Art Archive website where this photo is displayed. I recommend having a read of this site.
We asked the question: how would a person go about exploring this region on a holiday? The cave is not open to the general public except by special limited access. In the nearby village of Santillana there is a perfect replica of the cave in an interpretive site called the Neo Cueva (New Cave) To explore this site and region you have some options and we have a few great itineraries available for download on request.
The region here is called Cantabria and runs along to Asturias, Basque Country and the border of France to the east. They have a well known seafaring and fishing history, beautiful coastal scenery and swimming beaches and today are a culinary hotspot. Many people visit these coastal cities like San Sebastian and the old fishing villages for the tapas bars and seafood alone. Altamira is also nearby the Camino de Santiago for anyone wanting to add it to your pilgrimage.
Prices are not fixed as your cost would depend on the availability and demand so please just contact us and we’ll source out a quote for you. (See how our pricing works for quote based programs.)
Would you like to learn more about traveling in Spain? Schedule a phone or video meeting or contact us by email here.
Discover more from TourWorld Travel Company
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.