Places

Villaviciosa

5 Km by car Interest Area

Apple orchards and cider, vegetable garden and sea, Rodiles and Tazones, Romanesque in Amandi and Pre-Romanesque in Valdediós, the historic center of Villaviciosa, surfing, fishing and birds in the largest estuary of Asturias ... All this and more is Villaviciosa, in Spain.

The meaning of its name is linked to the concept of fertility, and the fact is that this town lives up to the etymology of its name. Fertile land, watered by the largest estuary of Asturias, Villaviciosa is space for apple orchards which held every two years through its Apple Festival, declared of Regional Tourist interest. It is also a tasty orchard of 'fabes', good cider and the quality of its fish is legendary. In the historic port of Tazones - in which landed Carlos V when he stepped on Spanish soil for the first time – the best seafood and fish of Bay of Biscay are tasted in a fishing port atmosphere with its “hanging” houses over the sea which give to the place a romantic and hidden air.

The city council, Villaviciosa, embrace one of the oldest Holy Week of Asturias. With an splendid old town, where you can see ancient palaces and centenary houses. This town has interesting examples of Romanesque, like Santa María de la Oliva, San Juan de Amandi or Santa Maria de Lugás, and Pre-Romanesque like San Salvador de Valdediós, an impressive set of church and monastery. Among the natural beauties highlights the estuary where it is common to see practice canoeing, a great tradition in this area, and where you can also practice all kinds of water sports based in the port of El Puntal, as well as bird watching and observation of biodiversity. A tour of the river leads to the boarding pontoons Cider Factory “El Gaitero”, one of the oldest in Asturias and along with many other wineries (llagares) in the the municipality is visitable. Rodiles beach - surf icon - Sietes village with its old barns, or Camino de Santiago, are other attractions for tourists who visit this cider’s region.

Valdediós Monastery Complex

17 Km by car Interest Area

Dedicated to Salvador and popularly known as the " Conventín ", this small temple has a basilica with three naves, a header with three chapels –being the central one dedicated to Salvador and the others are dedicated to James Zebedee and John the Baptist-. The complex is completed with the chapel of the bishops and a porch.

Valdediós Monastery was founded in 1200 by the king Alfonso IX of Leon and Berenguela of Castile. In the valley was already rising a church known as San Salvador, built by Alfonso III the Great (king of Asturias) during the ninth century. This is the Conventín, beautifully preserved by the monastery, and considered an authentic jewel of Pre-Romanesque Asturian art .

The first monks who inhabited this Asturian lush green valley, christened with the name of Valdediós , "Valley of God." Currently it is occupied by friars of the Community of Saint John. The monastery also serves a small inn that gives accommodation to pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.

The Estuary of Villaviciosa

7 Km by car Interest Area

Villaviciosa estuary is one of the best preserved and most environmental value of the Cantabrian coast estuaries. Based on the importance of the ecological processes that take place inside, this space has consolidated its status of protection by declaring Partial Natural Reserve in 1995, becoming part of the Network of Protected Natural Areas of Asturias. At European level, it has recognized its importance by declaring Space Protection Area (SPA) and Site of Community Interest (SCI), being included in the Natura 2000 network. It has recently been added to the List of Wetlands of International Importance (RAMSAR) .

Because of its permanent connection to the Cantabrian Sea, the river presents a diverse community of fish. Its distribution is mainly concentrated in its mouth, but during high tide water is introduced inside. Some of the most representative species are sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), gilt-head bream (Sparus aurata ) and bream (Diplodus sargus). Among the flatfish highlights plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) and sole (Solea solea). Other species, such as eel (Anguilla anguilla), are distributed throughout the estuary to present a wide range of salinity tolerance.

Villaviciosa’s river is also a strategic place for refreshment and relaxation of thousands of waterfowl that travel along a migratory route known as "Eastern Atlantic route”. Here are the quiet and the food they need to continue their migration to their wintering grounds in southern Spain or Africa. In addition , many of these birds use the estuary as a wintering, staying in the estuary until the end of this period or the beginning of spring, when they return to northern Europe to breed.

Of all the groups of waterfowl that are present in this space, it highlights the waders . These birds feed preferably during low tides , scavenging invertebrates in the mud flats . Clear curlews (Numenius arquata ) , redshank (Tringa totanus ) and ( Tringa nebularia ) , gray plovers ( black-bellied plover ), large plovers ( Charadrius hiaticula ) and common sandpiper ( Calidris alpina ) are some of the most representative interior species the marsh. Others, such as the European lapwing ( Vanellus vanellus ) , the golden plover ( Pluvialis apricaria ) or poor curlew ( Burhinus oedicnemus ) have more terrestrial habits than before, choosing the land reclaimed from the marsh or "porreos" with a estuarine little or no influence, during migration and wintering .