Things to see and do Candamo

The cave was severely damaged after its discovery in 1914, in particular by the work of development resulting from its tourist attendance. In order to preserve what could still be, the Peña remained closed to the public between 1979 and 1994, and opened its doors only for a well defined and limited number of visitors. Access to the large hall, by a biscornue gallery, is not easy and is discouraged for children under the age of 7.

The large painting hall has six panels dated Gravettien (from -31 000 to -22 000 years) in Magdalénien (-17 000 to -12 000 years). The most notable, with its fifty superimposed engravings, is reproduced at the Interprétation interpretation centre. But the cave is known mainly for the "camarín": a cavity in height, very difficult to access, decorated with horses and cattle. If you take care, you will notice that the silhouettes appear as if they were faced, while they are located much higher than we. The artist played with the prospect to give this effect and, very closely, animals would appear disproportionate. Moreover, the layout and the shape of the rock give the impression of watching a theatre scene or a movie screen, which speaks volumes about the taste and art of staging in our ancestors!

The cultural centre of Candamo, housed in a former palace, houses the centre of interpretation of the cave where you can observe a small scale reproduction of the Peña. It is interesting to go there before the visit in situ, because the original paintings are damaged and difficult to discern in the cave itself, while the colours have obviously been accentuated on the reproduction. You can thus exercise your eye and do nothing. The most important panel consists of over 50 figures, the oldest of which is more than 30 000 years old, that is, a age comparable to the paintings of the cave of Chauvet. The most recent bulls are 10 000 years old. At the top left of the panel, anthropomorphic figures are noted.

Two other rooms exhibit photographs of the other caves in the region as well as a reproduction of the main panel of the Grotte cave.