From Bilbao: highway A-8 in the direction of Santander. Take exit 197.

From Gijon: highway A-8 in the direction of Santander. Take exit 197.

From Santander: highway A-8 in the direction of Bilbao. Take exit 197.

From Madrid: highway A-1 Madrid-Burgos-Santander.

DISCOVER THE NATURE OF RIBAMONTAN AL MAR

SOMO.

Somo, immersed in the bay of Santander and with an tremendous natural charm, year after year enthrals thousands of visitors who, attracted by its extensive and marvellous beaches of fine sand bathed by the Cantabrian Sea, enjoy a lively beach environment that encourages an endless number of activities, among which surfing is the most popular.

The town of Somo is situated to the east of the municipality of Ribamontán al Mar, which due to its proximity to Santander, the capital, and its many kilometres of beaches, has become one of the main vacation sites of Cantabria. Starting from way back in the sixties, people from Santander and residents of Madrid chose this marvellous town as a favourite recreation site during the summer season. Currently, people from many different places visit the town, attracted by its natural areas, which are outstanding due to the landscape and the opportunity of enjoying numerous outdoors activities. Somo has one of the most extensive beaches of Cantabria, the beaches of Las Quebrantas and El Puntal, which comprise four kilometres of fine golden sand that protects the bay from the strong surf of the Cantabrian Sea. The beach of Las Quebrantas, in open water, can be reached directly from the promenade, a perfect place for initiating in the sport of surfing. During the summer, lively surfing competitions are held in different modalities of this sport. At low tide, one can see the remains of a shipwreck that happened more than thirty years ago.

The beach of El Puntal, which is a sliver of sand, is ideal for those who enjoy peaceful places; the same can be accessed by boat from Santander. On the south bank, on a good beach day, scores of boats enjoy a leasant day of sailing sheltered from the Northeast winds. At the end of the beach, in front of the beach of Los Peligros, of Santander, there is a pretty spot called Punta Rabiosa, from which the city, only 700 meters away, can be photographed.

THINGS TO DO:

Practice surfing, body board, stand up paddle surfing, kite surfing.

Go on a canoe excursion on the Estuary of Cubas.

Go walking along its endless beaches.

Taste Tapas in the bars. Taste seafood in any of its restaurants.

Visit the exhibition of the history of surfing in Cantabria

SUESA.

Suesa, only a few kilometres from the beaches of Somo and Loredo, is a peaceful town with large mountain homes and a beautiful plaza that still preserves the essence of bygone eras. Situated next to the estuary of the Miera River, it is an ideal place to observe nature and to enjoy the same performing a multitude of outdoor activities.

The town of Suesa is situated next to the estuary of Cubas. This is an estuary where the fresh water of the Miera River mixes with the salt water of the Cantabrian Sea, which is one of the areas of greatest ecological interest in the Township of Ribamontán al Mar. This estuary is perfect for crossing in canoe and practising SUP (stand up paddle surfing), taking advantage of the rise and fall of the tides. Along the journey one can see the Cloister of the Trinitarias, dated from the 17th century, and among the sandy beaches and reeds there are a multitude of birds, from which the grey heron and swans can be pointed out. In the centre of the town, overlooked by the Church of Santa Eulalia, good samples can be seen of the architecture of 17th and 18th century Cantabria. Two large typical homes, that of the Cubas and the Presmanes, stand out due to their baroque coat of arms and the good condition of preservation of the same. On the wall of the large house of the Presmanes, the most ornamented baroque sundial in Cantabria can be seen.

On the highest area, on the outskirts of the town of Cubas, there is the Shrine of Tes, chapel of the bygone and today non-existent lepers’ hospital of San Lázaro. From this hill one can view a beautiful landscape of the municipality of Ribamontán al Mar.

THINGS TO DO:

Practice Stand up paddle surfing on the Estuary of Cubas.

Take a canoe tour on the Estuary of Cubas.

Go on a horseback riding excursion.

Visit the Church of Santa Eulalia.

CASTANEDO.

Castanedo, situated in the interior of the municipality of Ribamontán al Mar and a few kilometres from the beach, is a cattle farming community with extensive cornfields, narrow roads and houses spread throughout. It is essentially a peaceful place in which to relax and enjoy nature.

Castanedo, situated in the interior of the municipality of Ribamontán al Mar, is a small town with a cattle farming tradition that has learned how to adapt to the new age. By incorporating the latest technologies into its stockbreeding, it has achieved a highly competitive and profitable business. Due to the aforementioned, they have transformed the municipality of Ribamontán al Mar, which has a definite tourist nature, into

the largest dairy producer of Cantabria. The landscape of Castanedo is a rural landscape of extensive meadowland, which changes colour throughout the year, according to the crops of the land and the Friesian

cows that feed off these pastures. In this cattle farming environment, it is interesting to notice the presence of numerous silos that, next to the old stables, form part of an interesting popular architecture.

Cylindrical in shape, these were old warehouses that nowadays, for the preservation of the same and to give them another use, are covered with tiled roofs.

The Church of San Salvador, an old site on the way to Puente Agüero along the Santiago Road, is today a simple factory of whitewashed stone, in which two interesting Romanesque steeples are preserved,

the oldest remnants of the religious architecture of the municipality of Ribamontán al Mar. From the Hill of El Tirado, which can be reached by car, it is possible to view a magnificent landscape of the Trasmeran valleys and of the bay of Santander.

THINGS TO DO:

Go trekking and take bicycle routes.

Visit the Church of San Salvador.

CARRIAZO.

Carriazo, capital of the municipality of Ribamontán al Mar, is a small and peaceful rural town. The visitors to the same, fleeing the crowds of Somo and Loredo, can enjoy a pleasant walk through its irregular network of streets, observing good samples of the traditional architecture of the region and centuries old oak trees.

Carriazo, due to its historic merits, is the capital of the Township of Ribamontán al Mar, and one of the towns with the greatest charm in the municipality. It is peaceful and cosy, ideal for those who are seeking for a calm and quiet environment. Although traditionally a cattle farming area, nowadays it has become a markedly residential town. One can enjoy quiet and long walks along its peaceful streets, between large mountain homes and in the shadow of leafy oak and holm-oak trees. Among the eucalyptus plantations in surrounding forests there are still stands of oak trees and chestnut trees, a sample of the vegetation that naturally grew in the past, which is inhabited by foxes, boars and roe deer. It has an artistic heritage of great charm, among which the Palace of the 18th century of the Solano-Setién can be pointed out, with its coat of arms and chapel, as well as the simple Church of San Martín and the Shrine of San Antonio.

Magnificent views can be seen from any of its three hills: Corona, Funegra and Calobro. Towards the west there is the bay of Santander in all of its splendour, and towards the south one can admire the valley of Ribamontán al Monte, the neighbouring Township, with the forests of the San Roque valley of the Miera River as a backdrop.

THINGS TO DO:

Take a walk along its peaceful streets.

Go hiking on the mountains.

Take mountain bike routes.

Visit the church of San Martín.

GALIZANO.

Galizano, situated to the north of the municipality of Ribamontán al Mar, is a cosy town in which the tourist sector is gaining more importance all the time. With beautiful beaches and kilometres of cliffs, it is a perfect destination for those people that enjoy the sea and are in search of a place to relax.

Galizano, situated to the north of the municipality of Ribamontán al Mar, which is known for its cattle farming tradition, and whose origin goes back to the period of the Romans, has become a second home tourist town in the last decade. The beach of La Canal, of singular beauty due to the reddish golden tones of its crags, is one kilometre and a half from the city centre. It is a peaceful beach, which is centrally covered with water at high tide, becoming a large pool with minimum possibility of danger, ideal for swimming and perfect for visiting with children. From the beach to the viewing point of the cave of Cucabrera, where the cliffs and the beaches of Langre and Galizano can be viewed, several stone ledges are encountered, perfectly shaped, which are none other than old quarries of sandy rock that today make up the walls of the churches, shrines and large mountain homes of the Cantabrian region. The beach of Arenillas or Arnillas, as local residents call it, is a small cove situated between the beaches of La Grande of Langre and La Canal of Galizano. With a rocky

bottom, it is distinguished for being one of the spots of the municipality where the sea strikes with the greatest force.

On a clear day, one of the best places for viewing the municipality and surrounding bay area is from the Hill of San Pantaleón, which derives its name from the shrine located there, where the view is outlined by the Cantabrian Mountain range and the Peaks of Europe.

THINGS TO DO:

Practice surfing and body board.

Take a walk along the magnificent cliffs.

View the coast from the viewing point of the Cave of Cucabrera.

Go hiking on the mountains.

Visit the Church of Asunción.

LANGRE.

Langre is a small town, which is a model of sustainable tourism development, having one of the most beautiful spots of all the Cantabrian coast. The steep walls of the cliffs, the two marvelous beaches of La Grande and La Pequeña, the famous Pico de Langre and the wild Cantabrian sea, comprise a landscape that really impresses due to its naturalness and wins a person over due to its beauty.

Langre, with a population that barely exceeds one hundred inhabitants, is one of the few coastal towns that, fleeing urban development, maintains, almost intact, a heritage landscape of enormous beauty, made known by having one of the most beautiful beaches of the Cantabrian seaboard. The beach of Langre, shaped like a half moon and flanked by a cliff more than twentyfive metres high, is divided into two by a rocky ledge. La Pequeña, situated to the west, is a peaceful and small cove of low swells guarded by Pico de Langre, a sphinx shaped rock, which due to its beauty was chosen by the National Geographic magazine for one of its covers. La Grande, with an extension of nearly one kilometre, was one of the first nudist beaches of the region. Open to the sea and with large waves, it is visited by surfing fans throughout the entire year. Following along the coast towards Loredo, at the foot of the cliffs, there are the natural pools of Llaranza, although of difficult access, they can be reached by descending down the fishermen’s trails.

In the town, next to the Church of San Félix of the 17th century, there is a monument, the work of the Cantabrian sculptor Jesús Otero, which was dedicated to a local resident who lost his life, along with twenty sailors, after the sinking of the merchant ship Elorrio, in front of the coasts of this very lovely town.

THINGS TO DO:

Practice surfing and body board.

Take a walk along its beautiful cliffs.

Go horseback riding through prairies and cornfields.

Enjoy its marvellous beaches.

LOREDO.

Langre is a small town, which is a model of sustainable tourism development, having one of the most beautiful spots of all the Cantabrian coast. The steep walls of the cliffs, the two marvelous beaches of La Grande and La Pequeña, the famous Pico de Langre and the wild Cantabrian sea, comprise a landscape that really impresses due to its naturalness and wins a person over due to its beauty.

Langre, with a population that barely exceeds one hundred inhabitants, is one of the few coastal towns that, fleeing urban development, maintains, almost intact, a heritage landscape of enormous beauty, made known by having one of the most beautiful beaches of the Cantabrian seaboard. The beach of Langre, shaped like a half moon and flanked by a cliff more than twentyfive metres high, is divided into two by a rocky ledge. La Pequeña, situated to the west, is a peaceful and small cove of low swells guarded by Pico de Langre, a sphinx shaped rock, which due to its beauty was chosen by the National Geographic magazine for one of its covers. La Grande, with an extension of nearly one kilometre, was one of the first nudist beaches of the region. Open to the sea and with large waves, it is visited by surfing fans throughout the entire year. Following along the coast towards Loredo, at the foot of the cliffs, there are the natural pools of Llaranza, although of difficult access, they can be reached by descending down the fishermen’s trails.

In the town, next to the Church of San Félix of the 17th century, there is a monument, the work of the Cantabrian sculptor Jesús Otero, which was dedicated to a local resident who lost his life, along with twenty sailors, after the sinking of the merchant ship Elorrio, in front of the coasts of this very lovely town.

THINGS TO DO:

Practice surfing and body board.

Take a walk along its beautiful cliffs.

Go horseback riding through prairies and cornfields.

Enjoy its marvellous beaches.