Altamira and Cabarceno : tourist information about Santander and Cantabria

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ALTAMIRA The "Sixtine Chapel of paleolithic art".
The Altamira cave paintings are undoubtedly the most important treasure in the historical and artistic heritage of Cantabria. The cave is near Santillana del Mar and was discovered in 1879 by Marcelino Sanz de Soutuola and his daughter María.

The paintings - bison, deer, horses and boars, painted by a brilliant primitive artist some 14.000 years ago- are one of the fundamental examples of universal Palaeolithic art.

In total, there are 30 animals, concentrated on the so called "great ceiling" polychrome room", at about thirty metres from the entrance of a cave that, in total, runs for 270 metres. The pictorial quality of the paints denote a degree of sensitivity and an intellectual capacity that, at the time they were discovered, were assumed to be impossible in primitive man, and for this reason the discovery was rejected as being genuine until 1902. Declared a National Monument in 1924 and World Heritage Monument by the UNESCO in 1988, Altamira reached a point where it received up to 177.000 people in one year.

It was then detected that the massive presence of people in the cave altered the humidity and temperature conditions, causing the paintings to deteriorate, so visits were drastically restricted.

Today, Altamira's cave is closed. Instead of it people can visit the replica of the cave -known as "Neo-Cave", which is a part of a modern interactive museum, equipped with all the display and projection resources possible with modern technologies, combined with the best collection of paleolithic objects and utensils.

CABARCENO

- NATURE RESERVE -

Located in Cabárceno, just 17 km from Santander, this old mining exploitation from Roman rimes has become an original karstic landscape, with a reddish, whimsical relief, home to an animal paradise with hundreds of animals of different species, from the five continents, living in semi-wild conditions.

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There is also a complex network of routes, making it possible to become acquainted with the park on foot. A beautiful lake ideal for fishing, a reptile room and facilities including a restaurant, cafeteria and souvenir shop, add the finishing touches to this splendid are for family entertainment.

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