La Rioja first became important during the Roman Empire due to Calahorra, Varea or Tricio. Santa María la Real de Nájera monastery was, for centuries, the pantheon of the kings of Navarre, and its rise lasted until the Renaissance. Cañas abbey is a fine example of French gothic. And we must not forget the monastery of Valvanera, Patron of La Rioja. All of these jewels will give the visitor a clear idea of La Rioja and its history.
The cradle of Spanish. We are in San Millán de la Cogolla, where the two monasteries, Suso and Yuso, provide us with a historical and monumental whole of outstanding importance. It was within the walls of Suso that the Spanish language was written down for the first time, in the document known as the 'Glosas emilianenses'.
Dinosaur tracks. The county of Alhama Linares offers us a route that takes us, by way of Arnedillo and Enciso, to the Dinosaur Park, a group of villages that still conserves many fossil tracks left by these creatures.
Santa María de San Salvador Monastery (Cañas), - this Cistercian abbey is one of the first to be founded in Spain. In 1170, Don Lope Díaz de Haro, IX Lord of Biscay and his wife, Doña Aldonza Ruiz de Castro, gave the villages of Cañas and Canillas to the nuns of Hayuela nunnery for them to found an abbey on this site
