Wild pleasure in the Redes Natural Park
REMOTE ASTURIAS
Distance, sometimes, is not an absolute magnitude that measures distance. Sometimes it just means leaving the highway behind and going up a river until the road deteriorates, the shoulders disappear and the path ends up merging with the forest . This is the process that leads to the border with this park, a route that leaves behind the mining basin, the heroic towers and ethnographic museums following the riverbed of the Nalón until the towns stop ruling the valley to only stain it with their gray roofs. Here, next to the splendid reservoirs with which the flow is managed, appears the entrance door, the sign with which the arrival at Redes is announced and with which doubts begin about what it is and how the hell it has been there for so long without anyone knowing.
It is a Natural Park that in 2001 was cataloged as Biosphere Reserve , a protection that it shares with five other Asturian landscapes. Its extension is not very large (377 km2), which makes it a perfect destination to visit without being reckless, practicing a relaxed, restful and silent tourism with which to reconcile with Mother Earth without having to travel thousands of kilometers. An affordable distance, still virgin and booming.
The Redes Natural Park is listed as a Biosphere Reserve
ULTIMATE ECOTOURISM
In this idyllic environment, the appearance of the ecotourism complex land of water It has had a cathartic but not revolutionary impact. In other words, this set of rural apartments do not disturb the landscape, but rather help to interpret it while its wooden houses and its Nordic-inspired design pairs perfectly with the mountainous environment . Its location, at the top of the little town of Caleao , allows you to be part of its streets but also its outskirts in perfect integration. That is why it is not strange to see the villagers having an aperitif at the bar or even celebrating popular festivals in their facilities. Nor is it an attack to see how the small Avellero stream has been taken over by colorful hammocks in which to take a nap when the summer heat sets in.
All this communion also translates into a different enjoyment of nature. In addition to offering the visual therapy of its impressive landscapes, Tierra del Agua has a spa, a Nordic bath in the middle of the meadow and a viewpoint from which to enjoy the starry nights. In addition, they have made mindfulness a religion thanks to the Yoga classes , the ayurvedic treatments , the massages in front of a waterfall , the walks in silence and the horse routes in which the trees and the mountains play an essential purifying role. An eco philosophy that is also transferred to the facilities since the entire premises are heated with geothermal energy and each paper that is printed is recycled.
Let the silence transport you in Tierra del Agua
A PATH THAT IS A WORLD
Although getting out of Caleao is not easy due to the magnetic and restorative effect of Tierra del Agua, a trail is to blame for boots dusting and sticks turning into natural canes. Is about The Arrudos , a route with a certain local tradition that proposes a journey through the homonymous stream and gorge until reaching the Lake Ubales and from there go down to Felguerina. The complete route adds up to 22 kilometers and requires more than 10 hours of walking , although the most popular is to do stretches or, directly, go back and forth until the body and awareness of the possibilities of each alert. Beyond the technical sheet, the little adventure serves to reconcile with this sport while leaving behind wooden bridges, meadows of cows and cowbells and climbing the mountain by steps that the passage of man has been forging and propping up. Further up, natural springs and leafy beech forests await at this time of year they decide to exemplify what a dreamy autumn landscape is.
Path of the route of Los Arrudos
THE WATER SHOW
The action of this element goes far beyond drawing the line along which this popular trail runs. It is also a reason to make small expeditions that lead to the enjoyment of its shrillness . The first stop should be tans , a town that had to be partially moved stone by stone in order to build the reservoir of the same name and that offers spectacular views from the collegiate church of Santa María in which the pool of water acts as a mirror for the peaks. The next aquatic essential is Devoyu cave , a section in which the Nalón decides to dig and make a large cavity that invites speleology. For the less daring, it is enough just to admire its immense exit hole with absorbed calm, as if facing the end of the world or an alien invasion. Finally, the path that leads to the Tabayón waterfall It is a good alternative to Los Arrudos, more affordable and with a reward in the form of a waterfall with which to end a walk among beech trees and fallen leaves.
Be water, my friend (in the Redes Natural Park)
THE RURAL ROUTE
In this natural spectacle, man has little intervened. And when he has done it, his coming-out has been in the form of charming, shy little towns, made of stone and firewood and in which no pokestop appears . Today they resist as a redoubt and this survival exercise is their main attraction. Walking through them is flooding with rurality, tranquility, everyday scenes and photographs in which granaries and laundries become protagonists. the same Caleao proposes a water route to follow its sources and troughs. In addition to these finds, the different elevated warehouses and the altar of the Church of Santa Cruz la Real are your essential curious.
Starting from this base camp, the Natural Park hides other small towns such as buspriz either Felguerina , the best balcony in the entire region. In tans , in addition to the views, it is a must to enter its collegiate church for its majesty and then turn and go up to Prieres, Bueres and Govezanes a trio of almost lost villages in which small rural accommodations invite you to get back in touch with your roots and return to the town without modernities.
The rural resort Tierra del Agua
SLOW FOOD WITHOUT ANGLICISMS
Asturian cuisine has not forgotten this corner, far from it. In fact, **this is where Casín cheese is produced**, one of the four varieties of the Principality that have a Denomination of Origin and one of the products that is being revalued the most in the kitchens of the entire region due to its intense and particular flavor . But, beyond products in which cider and chestnuts have an important place, this natural park is also a small foodie paradise full of honesty. Without really knowing what it is, Slow food has always been practiced here with seasonal dishes made with the tasty ingredients that nature offers.
Under this influence but adding a more modern and international recipe, the Tierra del Agua restaurant has taken a step forward in the hands of Manuel Espina , a consecrated chef in the kitchen of some of the best Asturian establishments. Their tasting menu combines the homage to the well-prepared product with the originality of some dishes such as its sandwich timbale or the hake bonbon stuffed with spider crab. However, the gastronomic exhibition of the Park does not end or start here. In Caleao itself – a town that has its three restaurants with a 5/5 on Trip Advisor – the homemade food and affordable prices of Casa Zulima and L’Oteru stand out.
Not far away, as if it were a Castilian inn, La Encruceyada appears on the road and forces every regional foodie to stop thanks to its little pig trotters. However, the Oscar for the most homely, surprising and delicious inn goes to Casa Juanín , a restaurant in Pendones in which the beans are sublimated accompanied by wild boar and the veno becomes a delicacy of the gods. And all in an authentic winch environment where there is no menu or any stuffy dress code.
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Surprise yourself with the creativity of Manuel Espiña