Alfoz de Lloredo is sea and mountains. It’s made up of 7 villages: Cigüenza, Cóbreces, La Busta, Novales, Oreña, Rudagüera and Toñanes.

What can Alfoz offer visitors? It offers several kilometers of coastline with beaches and high cliffs where an Indian lives. It’s also got villages with well-preserved architecture and churches that you can’t even imagine. As well as delicious cheeses and thousands of lemons! Would you like to come?

Let’s start with learning where its name comes from: the word Alfoz comes from the Arabic word al-hawk which means “district.” And the word Lloredo derives from laurel. Therefore, it means “district of the laurels.”

The oldest preserved remains date back to Prehistoric times. There are several caves like Las Aguas cave in Novales, which has paintings and engravings inside; and was discovered in 1909 by H. Alcalde del Río. Also discovered around this time were Cualventi cave in Oreña and El Linar cave in La Busta. They cannot be visited.

A very important route passes through Alfoz: the Camino de Santiago, which enters via Oreña and exits through Luaña Beach towards Ruiloba. And the pilgrims may leave with a great taste in their mouths if they try the cheese that the Trappist monks make in the monastery. So if you’re a cheese lover, come try a wedge.

In Alfoz great food and music come together at the Bolao Folk Festival which takes place at the beginning of July. It’s just one more reason to visit!

Next, we’ll reveal the ESSENTIALS and EXPLORING sections: 

BOLAO CLIFFS

El Bolao is one of the most amazing and recommended places to visit on the coast. In fact, it’s been the setting for advertisements and films like Altamira, which starred Antonio Banderas. It has two access points:

1. From Toñanes you reach Pico de la Molina, the highest part of the cliff where there are SPECTACULAR panoramic views.
2. From Cóbreces you reach the middle part of the cliff where there’s an old mill and the waterfall that forms the La Presa stream.

El Bolao holds a secret: a rock shaped like the head of an Indian. Are you up to finding it?

 Although you can reach both places by car, we suggest parking in the designated areas and going on foot to avoid overcrowding.

LUAÑA BEACH

Luaña is located in the village of Cóbreces. In the middle of the beach flows La Conchuga stream, which is the natural border between Alfoz and Ruiloba. It’s the perfect place for sunbathing, swimming and surfing. To the right of the parking lot is a path that will lead you to the Luaña lookout, which is a great place for a picture! It’s common to see pilgrims among the beach goers, as the beach is right along the Camino de Santiago.

In the fall you may see seaweed called “ocle” being collected. It’s sold to pharmaceutical companies or sectors within the food industry.  This seaweed is used to make a variety of things like the lining of gel caplets for medicines, agar-agar or gelatin.

CÓBRECES

Apart from Luaña Beach and the cliff, Cóbreces has two buildings that especially stand out: San Pedro Advíncula church and Viaceli Monastery. The church is of a Gothic Revival style and it has two prominent towers. Viaceli Monastery was financed by brothers Antonio and Manuel Bernaldo de Quirós along with the agricultural institute at the beginning of the 20^th century. In Cóbreces there are other buildings of interest like the Villegas Foundation, the church cemetery (the old monastery), El Castro manor from the 18^th century and the Villegas tower house from the 17^th century.

Two interesting facts about the monastery: firstly, it was one of the first buildings in Spain to be built with reinforced concrete. Secondly, the Trappist monks that live there make amazing cheese!

NOVALES

No matter how absent-minded you may be, if you visit the capital of Alfoz, you’ll notice that there’s a tree that prevails in all the gardens: the lemon tree. In Cantabria it’s known as “the village of lemons.” That’s because thanks to its particular mircoclimate and soil composition, this citric fruit has found a good place to grow.

The best way to get to know this village is to wander around the streets and enjoy:

• The architecture which includes the Cosío house belonging to Indianos, the Isla palace from the 17^th century or the 16^th century Santa María La Mayor church.
• The path to Nacelagua, a natural spring.
• The San José mine winding tower or the monument honoring the miners, who were witnesses to the mining activity that took place in Novales.
• Los Pelambres park where you’ll find the monument in honor of the shoemakers. You’ll see a contraption that looks like a “big washing machine drum.” It’s a fulling mill that was used to tan hides. Shoemaking was so common, that in the 17^th century there was even a hide tanning factory. The name Pelambres comes from the stone wells where the hides were peeled with salt.
• And if you want to see Novales from a distance, there are two spots:

• El Vergel of Alfoz de Lloredo lookout point, on the CA- 354 road, between Novales and Golbardo.
• Los Pandos lookout point, on the CA- 353 road, between Novales and Cerrazo.

Extracted from the mines in Novales were marcasite or pyrite, lead in the form of sulfide (galena) and zinc which came in two forms: as carbonates or calamines and as sulfides or spahlerites.

Next to Los Pelambres park, there’s a promenade of lemon trees. Each one is sponsored by different hosts of the Limones Solidarios (Solidary Lemons) event. It takes place the beginning of August and it raises money for charity. For more information click on Limones Solidarios

LAS AGUAS CAVE ROUTE

This route is a simple walk that’s just over 2.5 km. You can start at the center of Novales that way you can take advantage and see the beautiful architecture. The detour to Las Aguas cave is pointed out at the town’s exit going towards Cóbreces. Taking this road, you’ll see to the side the old facilities of the San José Mine which remained active until the 1990s. Continuing along the path next to the stream, you’ll soon reach the end of the line. You’ll find a first cave which you can enter a few meters so we recommend bringing a flashlight. This cave is the point where the stream reaches the surface. From here is the access point to Las Aguas cave, although its interior is closed to the public. Inside there are Prehistoric paintings and engravings discovered by H. Alcalde del Río in 1909.

To return, take the same path back to Novales.

Technical information and recommendations:

► Starts and ends: Novales
► Length: 2,6 km
► Duration: 1 h
► Level: easy
► Type of track: linear
► Incline: +80 m./ -80 m.
► Type of path: road
► Signpost: parcial
► Drinking water: a fountain in Novales

Notes:  

1. We recommend downloading the track of the route on your phone. There’s no phone reception.
2. Wear good hiking shoes, take a walking stick and a torch.
3. Only leave your footprints on the ground: throw any trash you accumulate into the correct bin when you return.
4. Live in harmony with the environment: observe animals from a distance and respect the plants. If you walk quietly you may find some pleasant surprises.

 Download the track in the map of Alfoz de Lloredo

CIGÜENZA      

It is located 1 kilometer away from Novales. San Martín de Tours church is impressive as well as very surprising. Juan Antonio Tagle Bracho (an Indiano who earned his fortune in Lima, Peru) ordered its construction in 1743. It is of Baroque style and its floor plan is in the shape of a cross with two twin towers to the west.  The inside of the church can be visited in summer. For more information, consult the town hall. Telephone: 942 72 60 51

You’ll also see the village has some beautiful grand houses like the Allende House from the 17^th century, the House of the countess of Casa Tagle from the 20^th century and the 17^th century house where the church’s benefactor was born. As you can see, there are lots of reasons to put Cigüenza on your must-see list.

An interesting fact: the church’s construction lasted 20 years, so the benefactor didn’t live to see its completion.

CAMINO DE SANTIAGO (WAY OF ST. JAMES)

In the 9^th century, the tomb of Santiago (St. James) was discovered in what was known as Libredón forest, in the northeast of the Iberian peninsula. A church was founded which the first pilgrims began to visit. In the 11^th century it was solidified as a pilgrimage center at a European level. It’s often said that there are as many routes as there are pilgrims; although it’s true that throughout time, several main routes were developed, like the Portuguese, the Silver, the English, the French and the Northern Ways.

Within Saja Nansa, the Camino passes through the municipalities of Alfoz de Lloredo, Ruiloba, Comillas, Valdáliga, San Vicente de la Barquera and Val de San Vicente. Every year, thousands of pilgrims from all over the world pass through Saja Nansa on their way to Santiago de Compostela.

And interesting fact is the names of places, streets, fountains, hermitages or churches that bear the name of Santiago. Generally, it means that the Camino passes through or near that place.

 OREÑA

Oreña is the entrance point to Saja Nansa from Santillana del Mar. It has a little bit of everything from sea to mountains:

• On the coast is Puerto Calderón, a cove that may have been used in Roman times and served to export spahlerite minerals that were extracted from the nearby mines.
• There’s a lot of religious architecture. There are medieval buildings like San Bartolomé hermitage from the 11^th century or Nª Sª de Guía chapel from the 12^th -13^th centuries. San Pedro parochial church came later and has undergone reconstruction since the 17^th century.
• The civil architecture consists of manors like Quintana Tower, the Calderón house, the Perelada house and the González del Piélago house. 
• Christ of Oreña, located on the hill of Murios, about 2 kilometers away from the village. The sculpture was a donation by Mexican businessman Florentino Pino whose parents were natives of Oreña. This site offers fantastic views.

TOÑANES

Toñanes is the access point to Pico de la Molina, the highest point of the El Bolao cliff. There are signposts along the way so you don’t get lost, but if you do, it’s a great opportunity to come across some incredible houses like the Gómez Carandía home.

Do you remember when we mentioned seaweed? In Toñanes it’s easy to see burgundy fields of seaweed drying in the sun.

A WALK THROUGH RUDAGÜERA AND LA BUSTA

We suggest parking your car and going for a walk or cycling between the towns of La Busta and Rudagüera. In La Busta you’ll come across grand 18^th century houses like the ones belonging to the Rivero and Bustamante families, the Gutiérrez del Rivero home; or San Miguel church which was founded in the 10^th century, but has since undergone some reconstruction. In Rudagüera you’ll also see the grand Pérez Calderón family home, and the grand home of the Gutiérrez de Lloredo family, as well as the Lloredo medieval tower. You can go down to the Saja River and have a picnic or take a dip in the river if you’re feeling brave. If you want to continue on your walk, you can go to Cildad lookout point, which has panoramic views of Torrelavega and the mountains in the background.

An interesting fact: scenes from Hugh Hudson’s film Altamira, which starred Antonio Banderas, were shot in one of the caves in La Busta.