Quintana’s two circular routes offer contrasting highlights: the Ruta Quintana de Toranzo passes through the Sierra de Quintana, while hay meadows and livestock huts shape the landscape of the Valle de Toranzo. Different types of peat bog can be found along the 15.2-kilometre circular route “Turba y turberas en la Cuera.” Wet heathland, peat bogs, and beech forest add to the natural landscape. An 18th-century parish church and prehistoric burial structures point to the cultural history of the area.
Circular Routes and Their Landscapes
The Ruta Quintana de Toranzo is a circular route that starts near La Pirurera. The first section passes through the Cagigal de Salcedillo, a group of centuries-old oak trees listed in the Inventory of Unique Trees of Cantabria. The route passes through the Sierra de Quintana and the ethnographically distinctive landscape of the Valle de Toranzo. Hay meadows and livestock huts are part of the scenery there. The route also includes Atlantic wet heathland with Erica ciliaris and Erica tetralix.
“Turba y turberas en la Cuera” is a 15.2-kilometre circular route that starts and ends in Quintana de Toranzo. It can be completed on foot or by mountain bike. The trailhead is at the northern edge of the village, in the direction of Salcedillo; park near the last houses in the village centre.
Peat Bogs and Other Natural Features
Most of the peat bogs in the Sierra de Quintana are interconnected, forming one large, continuous system. Different types of peat bog can be found along the route. The Prao peat bog extends for about 30 hectares along the route; its precise boundaries are difficult to determine because of past changes. The route also leads to the Linde el Corro peat bog, whose central area is relatively well preserved.
Quintana’s natural features also include European dry heaths and Atlantic acidophilous beech forests, with holly and occasional yew trees in the undergrowth. The peat bog plant “algodón del pantano” is another part of the area’s natural landscape.
Church, Prehistory, and Patron Saint’s Festival
Quintana de Toranzo is home to the 18th-century parish church of Santa María Magdalena. Another link to the past reaches back to prehistoric times: the Conjunto Tumular de Quintana de Toranzo comprises burial structures where members of Chalcolithic and Neolithic communities were laid to rest. Some of these structures are more than 25 metres in diameter.
The festival in honour of Saint Mary Magdalene was held in Quintana de Toranzo on 22 July 2026. A solemn Mass took place as part of the celebration; a procession bearing the image of Saint Mary Magdalene also went to the Virgen del Carmen hermitage at the entrance to the village.
Getting There
Quintana is easily accessible by car or medium-sized bus; there is no public transport. As transport options may change, check your route again before setting off.
Discover more destinations: Cuchia, Nates, Celis, Puente Pumar, Totero, Quijano, Cabanzón, Roiz.
View the full travel guide: Cantabria.
