Bufones de Pria and Playa de Guadamia
This place is famous for more than one reason, so let’s take them one by one: first of all because Playa de Guadamia is a beautiful and rather unusual beach, second of all because it belongs to 2 municipalities (LLanes and Ribadesella) and the third reason is that the cliffs surrounding this beach are truly spectacular, hiding impressive blowholes that put on lots of “shows” during winter storms (winter storms here were pretty violent during the last few years and the summer ones not violent enough to actually blow the water sky high 20 -30 meters or so).
If the Western cliffs are the pride of Ribadesella, the Eastern ones are the pride of Llanes. The ocean sculpted the cliffs and carved tunnels through them creating the now famous Pría blowholes (Bufones de Pria) and really sharp and pointy rocks on the cliffs – a place to visit but not during the winter storms when water geysers are so powerful that are considered really dangerous for anyone on the cliffs.
At the edge of Llanes cliffs the sea not only bates with full force, but that comes in the form of jets, in spurts, like small geysers, slipping through the cracks and chimneys that form limestone. What we watch with astonished eyes are the Bufones de Pria. The air, compressed by the sea, ascends by marine potholes connecting with the surface cracks. When the sea is calm we can only hear a deep sound on the rocks. With high tide, when the sea is rough, we hear a loud roar that makes vibrate the earth. It’s an amazing show.
The Playa de Guadamia takes its name from the river that flows here into the sea but you will also find it under many more names, like for example Playa de Cuerres or Playa de Llames (from the villages that surround it).
It’s a rather small beach (80 meters long) that completely disappears with high tide.
To help you make an idea about how it looks with low tide, just imagine the sand surface extending almost till the end of the cliffs, all through the channel that opens up in the ocean. Pretty impressive, but only lasting for a few hours.
Playa de Guadamia is extremely popular in the summer months for having fine, golden sand and attracting tourists visiting both Ribadesella and Llanes. Being accessible for people with limited mobility is another strong point in its favor.
It has a tiny, tiny parking (actually none at all, you will park wherever you find a little space, which is not much), no amenities and no lifeguard. Our advice is to walk to the beach and leave the car in the picnic area located on the cliffs (towards West, let’s call them “Ribadesella-cliffs”) right where the picnic area is located.
The river and the beach are good fishing and surfing spots, a lot of people practicing here standup paddle.
Video supplied by Objetivo Drone
Article by AsturPlaya: AsturPlaya Blog
AsturPlaya ghaters all asturian beaches in one APP and offers you all the information to love them even more. Photo galleries, maps, descriptions & much more in one APP only.
If you want more information contact Where is Asturias at info@whereisasturias.com