Navia Historical Park

The river Navia is the backbone of its physical geography and also part of its great orographic, hydrographic and scenic wealth. The Navia Historical Park is like an enormous and powerful basin that opens up to the Cantabrian Sea, and when it reaches the ocean shore it delights us with fishing villages such as Ortigueira, in Coaña; El Porto/Viavélez, in El Franco, Navia and Puerto de Vega, in Navia, and Tapia.

All of them have in common their serene beauty, their tranquillity, their hidden and sheltered morphology, their fishing and sea atmosphere, their good cuisine and their sense of hospitality. If we go into detail, Ortigueira has an ancestral tradition of fishing, sailing and sacrifice at sea that dates back to the Middle Ages; El Porto/Viavélez stands out, apart from its seafaring tradition and its good Cantabrian cuisine, for being the birthplace of the famous writer Corín Tellado; the same happens in Navia but in this case with Ramón de Campoamor, and Puerto de Vega has been placed in history thanks to the enlightened Jovellanos, who died there. Tapia has been on the international surfing map since the sixties of the last century, and today it continues to be an important mecca for sport, leisure and summer holidays... It is clear that the coast of the Navia Historical Park can be a route of sport and culture, because there are also many beaches - Santa Gadea, Penarronda, Anguileiro, Frexulfe, etc. There are also many beaches - Santa Gadea, Penarronda, Anguileiro, Frexulfe, etc. - and estuaries - such as that of Navia - suitable for all kinds of sports and for cultural activities and references to important periods and historical figures. Among the sporting events, the Descent of the Navia estuary, which is a festival of tourist interest and a classic event for leisure and festivities in the west of Asturias, stands out.

Another cultural value in this region is the fact that the coastal municipalities are a passageway on the oldest Pilgrims' Route to Santiago de Compostela: the Coastal Pilgrimage Route to Santiago de Compostela. In this sense, they will be part of one of the great European cultural itineraries, which has regained strength in recent decades and is travelled by people from all over the world.

But the Historical Park is more than coastline, land and sea. It is the largest theme park in the world of the castreña culture, its entire territory is dotted with these constructions that allow us to chronologically date a historical period and its culture. A tour of the region takes us to such surprising places as Cuaña and Mouguías/Mohías, in Coaña; Pendia, in Boal; Cabo Blanco, in El Franco; Chao Samartin, in Grandas de Salime, or El Castelón, in Illano. All of them are true open-air 'documents' about this way of life and some, like the Chao Samartín, a very important archaeological 'data bank'.

The Navia Historical Park is also a Spanish and international reference for ethnography. The Ethnographic Museum of Grandas de Salime is a 'living' compendium of rural life in the north of the peninsula and has an equally interesting 'little brother' in the Ethnological Museum of Pesoz.

The Historical Park also knows about singularity, it has unique, very authentic enclaves such as Argul or A Paicega - both in Pesoz - , testimonies of a time or a way of life. And as a permanent witness of all this cultural diversity, the Porcía and the Navia with its tributaries, and also its reservoirs, such as those of Doiras or Arbón, which leave us pictures of different landscapes - the views of the Navia from Illano are particularly beautiful.

A world of diversity, of vestiges of the past, of hydrological richness, of paths, of coastal footpaths, of the Way of St. James, of the rough and blue sea... The Navia Historical Park.

The Navia Historical Park, located in the west of Asturias, bordering with Oscos-Eo and the Vaqueira region, includes Boal, Coaña, El Franco, Grandas de Salime, Illano, Navia, Pesoz, Tapia de Casariego and Villayón.