Quintana: Circular Routes, Peat Bogs and Ancient Oak Trees

Two circular routes to help plan your trip

Quintana offers two different circular routes: the Ruta Quintana de Toranzo starts at La Pirurera and leads through the Sierra de Quintana. The Turba y turberas en la Cuera route is 15.2 kilometres long, starts and ends in Quintana, and can be completed on foot or by mountain bike. This gives you different points of reference for planning: for one route, the starting point and its course through the Sierra; for the other, a specific total distance and two possible ways to get around.

The Ruta Quintana de Toranzo passes through Atlantic wet heathland with Erica ciliaris and Erica tetralix. Its first section runs through the Cagigal de Salcedillo, a group of centuries-old oak trees listed in Cantabria’s inventory of unique trees. The route then continues through the ethnographically distinctive landscape of the Valle de Toranzo, with hay meadows and livestock sheds. Natural features and signs of livestock farming therefore shape different sections of the route.

The Turba y turberas en la Cuera route starts at the northern edge of Quintana de Toranzo, in the direction of Salcedillo. Park your vehicle near the last houses in the village centre. Check local parking arrangements before setting off. This lets you take the journey to the starting point into account when planning the tour, without confusing this circular route with the Ruta Quintana de Toranzo.

Peat bogs and other natural features

Most of the peat bogs in the Sierra de Quintana are connected, forming one large, continuous system. Different types of peat bog can be found along the Turba y turberas en la Cuera route. The Prao peat bog extends along the route for about 30 hectares; its precise boundaries are difficult to determine because of changes made in the past. The route also leads to the Linde el Corro peat bog, whose central area is relatively well preserved. For Prao, the approximate area and the difficulty of determining its boundaries are important points of reference; at Linde el Corro, the focus is on the condition of its central area.

Quintana’s natural features also include European dry heaths and Atlantic acidophilous beech forests. Holly grows in their understorey, and yew trees are occasionally found there. The peat bog plant “algodón del pantano” is another natural feature associated with Quintana. So, alongside the bogs, the landscape offers a variety of heathland and woodland habitats.

Church, prehistory and patron saint’s festival

The parish church of Santa María Magdalena is in Quintana de Toranzo. The Conjunto Tumular de Quintana de Toranzo offers a glimpse into a different historical era: it comprises burial structures in which members of Chalcolithic and Neolithic communities interred their dead. Some of these structures are more than 25 metres in diameter. This measurement gives a sense of the scale of individual structures, while their purpose links them to prehistoric burials.

Quintana de Toranzo celebrated a patron saint’s festival in honour of Saint Mary Magdalene on 22 July 2026. The celebrations included a solemn Mass; a procession carrying the image of the saint went as far as the Virgen del Carmen hermitage at the entrance to the village.

Getting to Quintana

Quintana is easily accessible by car or medium-sized bus; there is no local public transport. Check transport connections again before your trip, as services may change. When planning, take into account both your journey to the village and the specific starting points of the circular routes.

Discover more destinations: Esles, Puente Pumar, Argüébanes, Villanueva, Sollagua, Sierra De Ibio, Luriezo, Viérnoles

View the regional travel guide: Cantabria.