Ecotourist Commitment
Our planet needs us
Sustainability as a lifestyle
An area that has always been committed to sustainability. The culture, customs and traditions inherited from the people who have inhabited the Riaño Mountains have contributed to the maintenance and conservation of the natural space over time.
A tourist destination with an area of more than two thousand six hundred square kilometers, of which 60% is included in the Natura 2000 Network, the main commitment of the European Union to ensure the conservation of biodiversity in the territories of the region.This has resulted in maintaining the presence of a good representation of the mammals of the Cantabrian mountain range in Montaña de Riaño and the configuration of an attractive ecotourism offer for lovers of nature tourism.
A commitment that, thanks to the Sustainability Plans in Destinations, has been reinforced with the adhesion of the tourist destination to Soy Ecoturista, which has allowed Montaña de Riaño to become the first tourist destination in Castilla y León to join this Ecotourism product club in Spain.
Our commitment
Generation after generation, there has been a true and authentic commitment of the inhabitants of these lands to sustainability and ecotourism, through good agricultural and livestock practices such as transhumance, domestic livestock herds and grazing, which have contributed to maintaining the uniqueness of these landscapes.
This traditional way of life has been rewarded with a multitude of environmental protection figures. World Heritage beech forests, the Picos de Europa National Park, the Montaña de Riaño and Mampodre Regional Park, two Biosphere Reserves out of the seven that make up the province of León, Special Protection Areas for Birds and Sites of Geological Interest, to which the region has been added.These are in addition to the recognition by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) of the Mountains of León, of which Montaña de León is part, as a Biosphere Reserve.n, of which Montaña de Riaño is a part, with the highest distinction that identifies unique spaces that stand out for their landscape and cultural values.
Obtaining this recognition as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System(GIAHS) implies not only the recognition of unique natural landscapes, but also the recognition of agricultural practices that generate livelihoods in rural areas and that combine biodiversity, resilient ecosystems, tradition and innovation in a unique way. Recognition as a GIAHS territory is a true commitment to fundamental ecosystem services such as food production.
Montaña de Riaño is a stronghold of great importance for wildlife with a good representation of all the large mammals of the Cantabrian mountain range (wolf, wild cat, brown bear, ungulates...). The territory is one of the points of greatest diversity of breeding birds, with 130-150 nesting species, among which the community of alpine birds, mountain birds, birds of prey and forest birds stand out .
A territory of enormous entomological richness with great importance for the conservation of endangered species such as various species of floricolous and necrophagous coleoptera. It has an incredible diversity of diurnal lepidopteran species (165 species), including endemic and restricted species such as the protected and endangered dusky antbird.
The attractiveness of its avifauna, together with the beauty of the surroundings for its observation, make this destination an exceptional territory for the observation of wildlife in the wild.
Strengthening our lifestyle. Ecotourism Club.
Thanks to the Tourism Sustainability Plan in the Riaño Mountains, this commitment to the conservation of natural and cultural values has been reinforced with the adhesion of the tourist destination to the Ecotourism in Spain product club and its Soy Ecoturista (I am an Ecotourist) brand in 2023.s membership to the Ecotourism in Spain product club and its Soy Ecoturista brand in 2023, through compliance with the Ecotourism in Spain Club Requirements System, its system of quality and sustainability requirements for the destination and its companies. A commitment to the development of ecotourism to reaffirm its commitment to the preservation of the environment, surroundings and traditions.
This adhesion reinforces the commitment to sustainability and ecotourism, through the collaboration of those responsible for the management and conservation of the protected areas in the territory, the manager of the tourist destination (Montserrat Local Action Group) and the local authorities.stico (Grupo de Acción Local Montaña de Riaño), in charge of developing, managing and promoting the product Ecotourism in Spain in Montaña de Riaño.and the companies adhering to Soy Ecoturista, in charge of putting into practice the conservation of natural values, complying with the requirements for access to the product club and committing to offer ecotourism experiences and basic tourism services in protected areas that guarantee the tourist or visitor to the territory to contribute to the conservation of the biodiversity of the territory and the development of the areas they visit.
The collaboration between the managers of the protected areas and the tourism entrepreneurs of the territory adhered to the Club de Ecoturismo a Soy Ecoturista, through the nexus of union that is the Grupo de Acción Local Montaña de Riaño, has multiple benefits, since the managers of the protected areas and the tourism entrepreneurs of the territory adhere to the Club de Ecoturismo a Soy Ecoturista.The managers of the areas guarantee the best management of their public use and to be sure that the tourist activity is carried out in a way that is compatible with the conservation of natural values, contributing to sustainable local development.
Soy Ecoturista members benefit from specific training on the values and conservation objectives of protected areas, which will allow them to configure a tourist activity around the preservation of the resources that are their livelihood and allow them to better convey their value to customers.
The ecotourist who enters the territory will benefit from a better experience based on the knowledge of the natural values that are the object of his visit, and the satisfaction of contributing to their preservation.
The traditional lifestyles, the recognition of the territory with multiple figures of protection and the commitment of those responsible for the management and conservation of these protected areas and of the companies that are members of the Ecotourism Club, contribute to guarantee the conservation and long-term survival of the protected areas.The conservation and long-term survival of the natural habitats and the fauna and flora of the territory, contributing to halt the loss of biodiversity and to sustain human life and its activities. People, managers and companies are committed to good environmental practices that will allow to continue maintaining and improving a place to live and an incredible tourist destination to visit.