Cuevas de la Lluera


Useful Information

Location: San Juan de Priorio.
A63 exit 4 Oviedo, N-634 towards Grado, turn left AS-322 to Las Caldas, trun right to San Juan de Priorio, park at church. 2 km walk, 30 minutes.
(43.334700, -5.933950)
Open: Easter, JUL to AUG Fri-Sun 10, 16.
Only after appointment.
[2022]
Fee: Adults EUR 3.13, children (7-12) EUR 1.62, Seniors (65+) EUR 1.62.
[2022]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:  
Guided tours: D=2 h, MinAge=7, Max=15.
Photography:  
Accessibility:  
Bibliography:  
Address: Cuevas de la Lluera, Tel: +34-674-800-385.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1979 Cueva de la Lluera discovered.

Description

The Cuevas de la Lluera (Rain Caves) is an important archaeological site, and as always with such sites access is restricted. However, this one is actually open to the public, just with massive restrictions. A few years ago the visits were organized by the La Ponte Ecomuséu and there was even a website for the cave. It seems this was stopped around 2016, and we have only above phone number. The name has the plural Cuevas, and actually there are two cave, which are generally called Cueva de la Lluera I and II in scietific literature. From the speleological view they are different caves and 50 m apart, the decision to name them the same was made by the archaeologist, probably because they share similar archaeological content.

The bigger cave was discovered in 1979, a huge portal with two passages and numerous engravings. They show horses, bovids, large aurochs, hinds, bisons, and a male goat. There are also two animals which could be mammoths. The second cave is much smaller, 50 m upstream, and contains 15 geometric figures. The site is the most important Paleolithic exterior art site in the Cantabrian region.