This tiny chapel was built in the mid-20th century to replace its 8th-century predecessor (erected by Pelayo's son Favila), which was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. The 1940s rebuilders discovered that the mound the chapel sits on was an artificial one containing a 5000-year-old megalithic tomb; it's now visible beneath the chapel's floor. Visits are semi-guided in Spanish, English or French; enquire at the tourist office.
Capilla de Santa Cruz
Picos de Europa
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa
19.85 MILES
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8.09 MILES
Some of Spain’s finest cave art, including superb horse paintings probably done around 15,000 to 10,000 BCE, is within this World Heritage–listed cave,…
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21.57 MILES
In less than four minutes, this spine-tingling cable car whisks visitors up from the valley floor to the top of the 600m-high sheer southern wall of the…
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A beautiful, gold-blonde crescent bounded by rocky headlands and a bowl of green hills, 9km west of Llanes, Torimbia is truly spectacular. Turn off the…
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Monasterio de Santo Toribio de Liébana
27.8 MILES
Christian refugees, fleeing to Liébana from Muslim-occupied Spain in the 8th century, brought with them the Lígnum Crucis, purportedly the single biggest…
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29.82 MILES
The small town of Colombres, 21km east of Llanes, has a particularly fine collection of indiano architecture –florid buildings of eclectic styles…
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15.86 MILES
About 8km west of Llanes, the 250m-long sands of Playa de Toranda are backed by green fields and a forested headland. Snorkellers should see a good…
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4.98 MILES
This cave, now with a chapel installed, is where the Virgin supposedly appeared to Pelayo's warriors before their 722 CE victory over the Muslims…
Nearby Picos de Europa attractions
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Arching like a cat in fright, the so-called 'Roman Bridge' spanning the Río Sella was actually built in the 13th century, but is no less beautiful for its…
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A few steps from Covadonga's basilica is the extensive Museo de Covadonga, devoted to Covadonga's history and extraordinary gifts from the faithful. Among…
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Covadonga's original wooden church burnt down in 1777 and landslides destroyed much of the settlement in the 19th century. The main church, the Basílica…
4.98 MILES
This cave, now with a chapel installed, is where the Virgin supposedly appeared to Pelayo's warriors before their 722 CE victory over the Muslims…
5. Centro de Arte Rupestre Tito Bustillo
7.93 MILES
Some of Spain’s best cave art, including superb horse paintings probably done around 15,000 to 10,000 BCE, lie inside the World Heritage–listed Cueva de…
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8.87 MILES
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8. Museo del Jurásico de Asturias
12.54 MILES
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