Santa Cueva

Picos de Europa

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. Weekends and summers see long queues of the faithful and curious lining up to enter. Of the cave's two tombs, one is claimed to contain the remains of Pelayo himself and his wife Gaudiosa and his sister; the other, Pelayo's daughter Ermesinda and her husband Alfonso I.

The Fuente de los Siete Caños spring, beside the waterfall and pool below the cave, promises marriage within one year to women who drink from it.

Suggest an edit to this attraction

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa
14.87 MILES
Founded in 1918 as one of Spain's first two national parks, the 646-square-kilometre Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa encompasses some of Europe's…
Cueva de Tito Bustillo
10.62 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,…
Teleférico de Fuente Dé
16.6 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…
Playa de Torimbia
13.81 MILES
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…
Monasterio de Santo Toribio de Liébana
22.89 MILES
Christian refugees, fleeing to Liébana from Muslim-occupied Spain in the 8th century, brought with them the Lígnum Crucis, purportedly the single biggest…
Museo de la Emigración
26.35 MILES
The small town of Colombres, 21km east of Llanes, has a particularly fine collection of indiano architecture –florid buildings of eclectic styles…
Playa de Toranda
14.22 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…
Iglesia de Santa María de Lebeña
24.22 MILES
The fascinating Lebeña church, 9km northeast of Potes, dates back to the 9th or 10th century. The horseshoe arches are a telltale sign of its Mozarabic…

View more attractions

Nearby Picos de Europa attractions

1. Basílica de Covadonga

0.13 MILES

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…

2. Museo de Covadonga

0.15 MILES

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…

3. Puente Romano

4.94 MILES

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…

4. Capilla de Santa Cruz

4.98 MILES

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…

5. Centro de Arte Rupestre Tito Bustillo

10.44 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…

6. Cueva de Tito Bustillo

10.62 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,…

7. Cueva del Queso de Cabrales

11.85 MILES

Learn all about and sample the fine smelly Cabrales cheese at Arenas' Cueva de Cabrales, a cheese-cave museum 500m south of the centre on the Poncebos…

8. Playa de Vega

12.71 MILES

The broad, 1.5km-long sands of Playa de Vega, 8km west of Ribadesella, are among the least known of northern Spain's finest beaches. There are three or…

View more attractions