Essential
Ventaniella, Arcenorio, Los Beyos Gorge
Ventaniella, Arcenorio, Los Beyos Gorge
For centuries, travelers and traders crossed the mountains of Ponga through the main natural passes, being fundamental the inns and inns located in strategic points of these roads. The innkeepers had the obligation to offer shelter and help to travelers. Ventaniella was one of these inns, which also functioned as a hospital and stood out as a farmhouse due to the quality of the surrounding pastures. This set is completed with a small hermitage of medieval origin.
Today, Ventaniella is a remote place, where the oblivion of the main roads to Castilla has given it a unique charm, like a corner stopped in time. The residents of Sobrefoz, to whose parish it belongs, are responsible for its maintenance. Although times have changed, Ventaniella retains its tradition and continues to function as a mountain inn and inn, offering an interesting destination for hikers.
Arcenorio
Another of the natural passes to Castilla is Arcenorio, traveled since ancient times. This sheepfold is accessed after crossing the forest of Peloño, finding a wide valley sheltered by the rocks Ten and Pileñes, where the scenery is simply spectacular.
At the bottom of the valley stands a small medieval hermitage, carefully preserved. In this place a cattle fair and a flea market used to be held, bringing together ponguetos, casinos and leoneses. Currently, every September 8, the feast of Our Lady of Arcenorio is commemorated, a pilgrimage that recalls the participation of the pongueto people in the battle of Pontunio (Puerto del Pontón) against the Arabs.
Arcenorio is, without a doubt, an ideal destination to enjoy a walk through the Pontunian mountains.
Beyos Gorge
The Sella River flows through the limestone terrain, creating a narrow and spectacular gorge known as the Beyos Gorge. This route, about 12 kilometers long, offers incomparable beauty, with vertical walls that frame the riverbed, adorned by a rich forest mass that seems to defy gravity as it hangs from the rocks.
In the mid-19th century, a route was opened through this canyon, although it was not one of the main passes to the Castilian plateau. Today, a narrow but safe road allows you to travel comfortably through this unique landscape.
On the left bank of the Sella are the so-called beyuscos villages, enclaves of difficult access but of great beauty. These villages have a unique architecture, such as the hórreos (granaries) with gabled roofs, as opposed to the four-sided roofs typical of the rest of Asturias.