Discover San Martín De Elines: Romanesque architecture and the Ebro Gorge

San Martín De Elines is home to the Colegiata de San Martín de Elines, one of Cantabria’s four Romanesque collegiate churches.

Culture and history

The building stands on the remains of a Mozarabic church from the 10th century. Its square cloister displays pieces from the collegiate church and surrounding churches.

If time allows, the church can be visited in the village square. On La Lora, the “Lanchahincada” menhir bears witness to human presence in the area since the Bronze Age.

In the courtyard of La Granja del Abuelo, a tour through the cellar or barn, oven and forge illustrates traditional crafts. At the working farm, La Granja del Abuelo enables visitors to learn through direct experience and discover how animals are cared for.

Nature

On its side facing the Ebro Valley, Peña Camesía has an almost 150-metre-high sheer rock face used by vultures for nesting.

The Cañones del Ebro y El Tobazo route passes through San Martín De Elines, crossing the Ebro there on a bridge before continuing towards Arroyuelos. It includes the Tobazo waterfall, a tufa formation where, during the rainy season, the water falls into pools that shimmer blue.

The route first passes through riverside woodland dominated by alders and poplars, and later through stands of holm oaks and subrupicolous beeches.

Trails and landscapes

Stage 4 of the Camino Natural del Ebro leads from Polientes via Arenillas de Ebro to San Martín De Elines. The Camino Natural del Ebro approaches the Ebro Gorge, whose narrowness is revealed by the enclosing rock faces.

The hiking route to Páramo de la Lora begins in Barrio de Arriba in San Martín De Elines, on a square next to the Romanesque collegiate church. It climbs beneath the cliffs of the Páramo and reaches El Tez at an altitude of around 955 metres.

For planning purposes, you can consider a stage between villages, a route with an Ebro crossing and riverside woodland, and an ascent with an indicated elevation as different types of trail side by side. For your planning, you can compare the trail types described according to landscape and activity theme.

If you are considering a holiday apartment in San Martín De Elines, first compare the travel dates, room category and cancellation policies on the accommodation pages. You can weigh this information against the destination’s different cultural, nature and event themes without narrowing your decision to a single experience.

Events

The Cine y Zona festival includes screenings, meetings, workshops, gastronomy and discussions about rural life and rural culture.

From 25 to 29 August 2026, short films about rural life, its people, its silence, its beauty and its challenges will be shown in San Martín De Elines.

Other places

Another place in the same higher-level area is Polientes.

To the higher-level travel overview: Valderredible.