RAmales de la Victoria is one of the entrance gateways to Spain's Cultural Routes. In this quaint Cantabrian village, two of our routes converge: the cave-dwelling essences of the Routes of Rock Art and Prehistory, and the Renaissance aromas of the Routes of Emperor Charles V.
Why choose between travelling to one historical period or another when you can experience both in the same (and charming) place?

1. Brief guide to branches

Ramales is born at an important crossroads where The paths linking the Cantabrian Sea with the plateau coincide with those connecting Bilbao and Santander. This is why its main street serves as a road. On either side of it, you can discover the village's main identifying features: An architecture midway between the sea and the mountains, characterised by wooden and glass viewpoints, and noble stone mansions. Also, here and there, scattered throughout the municipality, there is an unusual number of palm trees which indicate that the house they shade, very probably, belonged to a neighbour who went to America, amassed a small fortune and, upon returning to his homeland, built a house (‘de indiano’ they are called) and planted this tropical tree in remembrance of his journey.

2. What not to miss in Ramales

None of these houses manage to cast a shadow on the town's great monumental landmark, the The Palacio de Revillagigedo, with origins in the 16th century, rebuilt in Baroque style and almost destroyed during the Carlist Wars of the 19th century. The building is not at its best but it is still possible to delight in the noble stone of its turrets and its large coats of arms. The other heritage attraction of Ramales is hidden Inside Saint Peter's Church: a (very) ornate and (very) ostentatious 18th-century Churrigueresque altarpiece, which is well worth the visit.

3. Emperor Charles V passed this way

Ramales knows a lot (actually, quite a lot) about historical events. The surname ‘de la Victoria’ comes from an important battle that took place here during the Carlist Wars, in the 19th century, in which Espartero's liberal troops were victorious. Four centuries before that, His Imperial Majesty Charles V passed along this very Royal Road after disembarking in Laredo. This data is important because Charles V governed Spain from Flanders, meaning he didn't set foot in many Spanish towns (and the ones he did visit are listed in the The Emperor Charles V's RoutesThe monarch was not at his best as he was heading to Extremadura for his retirement. Many, many centuries before all that has been said, Ramales hosted one of the most important artistic communities in the Old Continent: it happened in prehistoric times, but we will discuss it in the following paragraph...

4. Red deer hinds of prehistory

Let's travel back around 20,000 years, to when primitive humans left their mark in the Covalanas cave, sheltered by one of the massifs that protect the village, Mount Pando. We are faced with what was the second cave of Palaeolithic art discovered in Spain after Altamira and one of the most fascinating, not only for what it conceals but for how the visit unfolds. In darkness, only aided by the light of a few torches and contemplating the cave paintings – relief horses, its famous red deer… – at mere centimetres, the visit to Covalanas is a unique, revealing and tremendously instructive experience. By the way, Covalanas Cave is one of the essential stops on the route. Prehistoric Rock Art Trails. 

5. Cullalvera, the show cave

Something similar (but very different) happens with the Cullavera cave, located barely half a kilometre from Ramales and hidden by a forest at the foot of Mount Pando. Visits to this one present no difficulty as it is perfectly equipped to receive visitors. Cullalvera's dimensions are (very) surprising, and how little you have to walk before the grotto overwhelms you: the cavity has an entrance 40 metres high and 30 metres wide. Inside, the dimensions are not contained and the cave becomes an immense tunnel carved by nature with the help of water action and the passage of time. Its size and secrecy did not go unnoticed during the Civil War, when the grotto was used as a refuge for trucks and militiamen, safe from attacks and bombings. Its large entrance hall narrows as you delve deeper into its interior, making it impossible to see firsthand the cave paintings that our ancestors (or rather, hid) inside.

6. The waterfalls an emperor saw

We recall again Charles V, yes, the emperor of that empire which, so immense was it, the sun never set. Because Charles V arrived at Ramales from the north and departed towards the south, heading for the Alto de la Hoz and the Portillo de la Sía, the two great walls that separate Cantabria from Burgos. We remind you that we will follow in your footsteps in search of the birth of two rivers that arise very close to each other (the Gándara and the Asón), separate their paths and meet again in Ramales. To see the first one, simply go to the Queen's viewpoint, located after passing La Gándara, at the right time of year: winter and spring, for example.
To reach the second, you must cross the Collado del Asón and a couple of kilometres of descent down the road will be enough to glimpse, in the distance, the karst wall down which the source waterfall tumbles. This is a beautiful aquatic waterfall, over fifty metres high, which on sunny days looks like a factory of beautiful rainbows. Unlike the source of the Gándara, the Asón's can be viewed from very close up, right at the point where the waters of the cascade spill forth.

Did you know that near Ramales de la Victoria you can find one of the few square bullrings in the world? It is in Rasines, another of the villages in the The Emperor Charles V's Routes. If you want to know more details about her, travel Here.