Nuria Val, in one of the 365 windows of the Parador de Corias, which represent the 365 days of the year.
There is **a magical place in Asturias, ** one surrounded by forests, rivers, fountains and tiny villages, where brown bears, capercaillies, wolves and chamois roam freely without fear of human presence, which –in addition to being limited– she prefers to dedicate herself to the contemplative life and to enjoying more worldly pleasures in a wonderful hotel that was once a monastery: **Welcome to Las Fuentes del Narcea! Welcome to the Parador de Corias! **
THE ENVIRONMENT
The Natural Park of Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña and Ibias, With its more than 500 km2 of land, in addition to being recognized as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, it houses one of the best preserved forests in Europe, that of Muniellos, which has the maximum protection: only 20 people can enter a day and along a certain route.
This absence of human activity guarantees that the environment in which the animals live remains intact and that both the brown bear (Asturian emblem) and the native population of wolves feel free and safe to repopulate the area.
Less populated, on the other hand, are its small mountain villages, where only a couple of families live in each one of them. This rural landscape, which hooks the visitor as soon as they set foot in the 'tierrina', was the one that caught the attention of the instagramer Nuria Val, who toured the area with her analog photo camera to immortalize her long walks through these amazing woods and her immersion in this leisurely life in which the creative director feels so comfortable.
Nuria Val toured her tiny villages and got lost in her amazing forests.
THE PARADOR OF CORIAS
Another of the great protagonists of Nuria Val's getaway to the Fuentes del Narcea was the Parador de Corias, a unique hotel that has maintained its original structure –it is an 11th century Benedictine monastery rehabilitated by the architect Jose María Pérez Peridis– but who has not hesitated to renovate all its spaces in a sophisticated and innovative way, thanks to the work of several renowned interior designers, such as Pepe Leal and Erico Navarro.
Every room and every suite is different, in fact designers had creative freedom to interpret what the Parador evoked for them: from a headboard that refers to the Asturian forests to wicker armchairs with a modern air, passing through handcrafted fabrics and lamps. A new decorative language that renews the popular –so as not to lose the essence or the context of the place– and that has managed to return the Parador de Corias to the 21st century.
All the rooms are spacious and sophisticated and in which Nuria Val stayed, Mexican-inspired.
THE EXTRAS
We were the first great header to pay attention to the Monastery of Corias, which we recognized with the Traveler award for best non-urban hotel in Spain in 2014. And since then they have not stopped receiving awards: TripAdvisor users voted it one of the 20 best hotels in Spain and the newspaper The Guardian published that its spa is one of the best in Europe, highlighting its impressive setting surrounded by vineyards, its architecture (it is known as "El Escorial Asturiano") and its peculiar swimming pool, built under the vaulted ceilings of the basement.
Nuria Val relaxed in her spa pool, under the vaults of the building's basement.
However, not only the experts have put our eyes and interest in it, since not so long ago the Friends of Paradores, the most loyal customers and authentic connoisseurs of the product, chose it as the best Parador in the entire network, among other things for its excellent gastronomy, the same one that captivated Nuria Val with its honest flavors and that Asturian savoire faire in the kitchen.
In his monumental restaurant, which occupies what was the refectory of the monastery, They offer reinvented Asturian cuisine dishes, based on the Asturian vegetable garden (verdinas, peas, beans... bought from regional producers) and nourished by the daily catches from the Bay of Biscay. In addition, in their menu they have a recommendation for you to take the food if there is something left over, because sustainability is one of the cornerstones of the Parador de Corias, which is powered by 100% renewable electricity and from which all single-use plastic has been removed from the rooms.
The dishes in his restaurant are nourished by products from the area.
On the other hand, there are many activities that can be done outdoors in the area, from relaxed walks through its vineyards and nearby forests to 4x4 routes through the Muniellos Integral Nature Reserve to see animals in freedom.
But what can never be missing in an itinerary through the Fuentes del Narcea, beyond this active tourism, is contact with those inland mountain villages that seem frozen in time and how well they look in the photo (and in the memory!), as Nuria Val was able to verify when she dedicated herself to discovering them and photographing them with her analog camera. Because there is a secret Asturias, one full of natural and rural beauty that captivates.
*CREDITS:
Photographer: Cecilia Renard.
Photo assistant: Miguel Martorell.
Talent: Nuria Val.
Producer: Cecilia Gonzalez.
Project Manager: Raquel Plaza and Rocío Segarra.
Nuria Val in one of the inland mountain villages in the region.