Playa de Gulpiyuri, Natural inland beach in Llanes, Spain.
Playa de Gulpiyuri is a stretch of sand that sits about one kilometer inland from the Asturian coast, linked to the Cantabrian Sea by hidden passages carved through limestone. The strip forms a hollow roughly 40 meters long, surrounded by low rock walls and green fields.
The natural cave feeding the shore formed thousands of years ago as erosion wore down the limestone, while the sea shaped the underground tunnels. The site gained legal status as a Natural Monument in 2001 after its geological value was formally recognized.
People in the area use the word Gulpiyuri to describe how water circulates through the opening, coming from the regional way of naming this kind of formation. The term reflects the way locals see the movement of water entering and leaving the small basin.
Access requires a marked footpath from the village of Naves through grazing land, taking roughly 15 minutes on foot. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes since the trail crosses uneven ground and can become slippery after rain.
The water in the small basin rises and falls with the tides of the Cantabrian Sea, even though no direct view of the open ocean exists. On calm days, small waves form on the sand through the underground currents.
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