A 4-kilometre walk from Suite Curry opens up the lush Holy Valley, also known as 'Alavese Cappadocia'. It is guarded by cliffs formed in the Jurassic era. 1.300 years ago, a community of hermits settled on its walls, carving into the limestone rock to open a complex of 31 caves that they used as dwellings and spiritual retreats. Centuries later, after their abandonment, their descendants used them for their funeral rites. This is an evocative circular route of 7,6 kilometers, signposted and explained with information panels, that will immerse you in a mysterious and remote past, in the midst of exuberant nature. It starts in Laño and ends up in the same village through a gorgeous beech forest.
'Alavese Cappadocia' also extends around the village of Marquínez, 10 minutes from Suite Curry, where its panoramic views, lush beech forests, herds of horses and ancient monoliths sculpt a captivating landscape.
The village of Faido (10 minutes away by car) houses the 'cathedral' of this group of hermit caves, considered the most important in the Iberian Peninsula. It is Nuestra Señora de la Peña, the oldest hermitage in Spain where worship is still celebrated. Excavated in the living rock between the 5th and 8th centuries, it is located in a spectacular natural setting. It was declared a National Monument of the Basque Country in 1977.
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