la rioja

La Rioja may be one of the smallest communities in Spain, but has an abundance of historical, cultural and natural wealth.

To most people, La Rioja means wine. Vines have grown in the fertile valley of the River Ebro since Roman times and the region has many excellent wine shops and wineries that welcome visitors. But there's more to this region than bodegas.

La Rioja is the perfect destination for lovers of the great outdoors. It offers everything from horse-riding to paragliding, mountain-biking, skiing, fishing and hunting. For visitors with a thirst for something cultural, La Rioja has some glorious monasteries: the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route - also known as the Way of St. James - passes through La Rioja on its way to Santiago de Compostela and, in ages past, these edifices were built as vital stopping points.

Before even the pilgrims plodded this way, La Rioja was a popular stamping ground for dinosaurs and some of the best dinosaur traces in Europe have been found in the area. If you think you might have trouble distinguishing between the hoof prints of a T. Rex and those of a mountain goat, take a trip to the palaeontology museum in Enciso where all is explained.