Cueva de los Burros

Cueva de los Burros is a small cave in the municipality of La Pernía, in the province of Palencia (Castile and León), notable for rock art that is unique in the surrounding mountains. It opens at the foot of limestone cliffs in the Híjar range, near the Peña Basa massif, directly above the village of Camasobres, at roughly 1,330 metres above sea level.

How do you get there?

The cave sits in the mountainous heart of La Pernía, among the small villages that make up the municipality, with Camasobres serving as the starting point for the shortest approach. Getting there by car means following local roads through the valley, but the final stretch has to be covered on foot, over rocky and at times steep ground leading up to the base of the limestone wall. It's worth timing a visit for good weather, since the path is unlit and not adapted for visitors with limited mobility.

What will you see?

Inside, the cave consists of a single gallery about 8 metres long, 4 metres wide and 1.5 metres high, partly divided into two chambers by a natural rock arch. It is the only cave in the Palencia Mountains where rock paintings have been found — a rare regional example of post-Palaeolithic schematic art, likely dating to the Chalcolithic period. The paintings are faint and heavily worn by erosion, showing anthropomorphic figures along with the dots and lines typical of schematic rock art.

Local shepherds knew of the cave for generations and used it occasionally as shelter while grazing livestock in the surrounding hills. It was first brought to scientific attention in 1934 by the French archaeologist Henri Breuil, one of the leading figures in the study of prehistoric art on the Iberian Peninsula. In 1985 the site was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (a protected cultural heritage asset), recognising its importance to the region's archaeological record.

When should you visit?

Given its altitude above 1,300 metres and the rugged approach, spring, summer and early autumn are the best times to go, when the trail is dry and passable. In winter, snow and ice on the steeper sections can make the walk considerably harder.

Can you go inside?

Access to the cave's interior is restricted, a measure meant to protect the fragile, already eroded paintings from further damage. A visit therefore focuses mainly on reaching the entrance and the foot of the limestone cliff, where you can take in the scale of the rock formation and the surrounding Híjar landscape.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cueva de los Burros? It's a small single-gallery cave in the municipality of La Pernía, known for rock paintings — the only ones found anywhere in the Palencia Mountains.

How old is the rock art inside the cave? The paintings follow a schematic style typical of the post-Palaeolithic period and are linked to the Chalcolithic, though erosion makes precise dating difficult.

Who discovered the paintings for science? The cave had long been known locally, but it was French prehistorian Henri Breuil who first documented it scientifically, in 1934.

Can visitors go inside the cave? Entry to the interior is restricted to protect the paintings from further deterioration, so visits are limited mostly to the area around the entrance.