UNESCO's World Heritage Committee meeting in Quebec on Monday added the Basque Paleolithic caves of Santimamiñe (Kortezubi), Ekain (Deba-Zestoa) and Altxerri (Aia) to its list of World Heritage sites.
The richness of their Prehistoric paintings is a ‘gift’ the past has given us. Santimamiñe, discovered in 1916, has wonderful paintings of horses and bisons; in Ekain (1939), red and black horses can be found; and in Altxerri (1956) there are beautiful paintings of bisons
Although the caves of Santimamiñe, Ekain and Altxerri are closed to the public in order to protect and preserve their Paleolithic paintings, there is a virtual tour available to visit the cave of Santimamiñe, and a new replica of the cave of Ekain has been opened recently. This replica, will let you admire one of the most important temples with the most noteworthy cave art of the Old Continent, shows the first painting of a horse head found in Ekain. And if that is not good enough, the tour displays 70 paintings by the cave inhabitants 14,000 years ago. Most part of them are bison, horses and deer. To conclude the tour, an audiovisual screening explains the characteristics of the original archaeological site. Moreover, the visitors will be allowed to carry out a second tour across the cavern. This way, they will be back inside the cave with a major knowledge of its features. Ekainberri also consists of an exhibition room focusing on the Palaeolithic art in the Basque Country
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