Description of the route:

This is one of the most well known climbs of Cantabria, as it is usually covered at Vuelta a España (Spain’s equivalent to the Tour de France), where it is considered a Category 1 climb. The description of our route is the climb from Santander to Alisas, but at Vuelta a España it is usually done from Arredondo to La Cavada, which is the opposite direction of our description. It's also a mandatory stage at Rally Caja Cantabria, probably one of the most spectacular stages of this rally.

This route is a bit longer than 70 km (roundtrip from Santander), so you should take the first kilometers as a warm up, or you will probably be hitting the bonk on the way back.

The first part of the route is exactly the same as the one described for the climb to Peña Cabarga. We take the N-623 road that goes from Santander to Burgos. After passing the Carrefour mall at Peñacastillo we take a left to the N-635 road at Muriedas, which is the road to Astillero. After this town, we will take the old Santander - Bilbao road, N-635, and after passing Heras we continue to the town of Solares (20 km from Santander).

After Solares, we leave the N-635 road and we take the road CA-161 / S-533 to the town of La Cavada (at Solares, you will arrive at a stop before a crossing and La Cavada is the road just across you). Soon we arrive to the Bimbo factory and after arriving at La Cavada (6 km from Solares) we continue the same road (CA-261 / S-531) towards Arredondo. After 4 km and after passing a series of ups and downs, the climb to Puerto de Alisas begins, which is 8 km long. The hardest past is the end, especially the area where the road describes 3 or 4 quite pronounced "paellas" (in Spanish, a curve in the road that has more than 90 degrees).

When you reach the summit, there is a viewpoint where you can enjoy a beautiful view of Eastern Cantabria on a sunny day, and you might even see Picos de Europa on your left hand side. The viewpoint has a description of what you are watching from different directions. To return to Santander we will do the same way back.


Finally, I will give you some tips for those who have never climbed Alisas and want to give it a try:

• You should take the climb as a test to know if you are in a good shape and if it's possible or not for you to climb Peña Cabarga, which is much harder than Alisas.
  
  

• In case of extreme fatigue you can take the train back to Santander at La Cavada, although the train schedule is limited. Or better, you can go to Solares, which has a train to Santander almost every hour.
  
  

• Bring enough water with you, because there are no fountains on the way up the climb. You will only be able to get or buy water on your way down in the different towns you will pass by.
  
  

• Be careful going down Alisas, although is a low traffic road, you might find some cars on your way. Be especially careful during weekends when the traffic increases.