Santimamiñe Cave
The Santimamiñe cave preserves remains of human settlements from more than 14,000 years ago and houses almost fifty cave paintings of great beauty, representing bison, horses, a bear, a deer...
Through a renewed presentation, partly physical and partly virtual, the public will have the opportunity to get to know and enjoy the whole in a sustainable and responsible way.
The Santimamiñe Cave opens in the limestone that make up the mountain range of the Urdaibai riverbank. The complex is articulated along a main gallery in which cameras and corridors alternate. The cave presents great beauty for its stalactites and gours. The archaeological and pictorial potential is evident through the campaigns carried out by T. Aranzadi, J. M. Barandiaran and E. Eguren. The cave art is distributed in three rooms, the main one is the Old Room, arranged in two spaces: antechamber and chamber. In the room before the Old Room there is a goat and in the New Room a group of bison, a horse and a goat. Its whimsical karst formations are an added attraction for the visitor.
Location
General and/or specific data
- The Santimamiñe Cave is the most important archaeological site in Bizkaia, declared a World Heritage Site in 2008.
- To prevent their deterioration, the rooms that house the cave paintings cannot be visited, but it is possible to visit the lobby and enjoy a 3D virtual tour of the entire cave and the Palaeolithic sanctuary.
- Prior reservation is required.
Information about accessibility
A Good Idea
Without leaving the surroundings of Urdaibai, there are other tourist and natural attractions such as the Painted Forest of Oma, Basondo, the visitable wildlife refuge and other spaces of interest such as Urdaibai Bird Center, the bird watching center, the Castle of Arteaga, the beaches of Laida and Laga or the Villa de Gernika. as well as an endless number of routes, experiences and alternatives for leisure and enjoyment.
Did you know?
In Bizkaia there are other caves that can be visited, between mountains and valleys, the caves of Baltzola and Pozalagua stand as guardians of ancestral secrets, offering adventurers a unique experience of connection with nature and history.