Barayo Partial Nature Reserve

The geographical area to be protected includes the coastal stretch, straddling the municipalities of Valdés and Navia. At its mouth, the river Barayo forms an estuary complex of high natural value and landscape quality.

At European level, the Barayo Partial Nature Reserve is included in the Natural Network 2000, as it has been declared a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA).

Despite its short course, barely 12 km, the river has carved out a narrow valley with steep slopes, at the mouth of which it forms an estuary with several meanders.

The river approaches the beach area on the eastern side, although it flows into the western part, and except for the beaches of Barayo and Sabugo, the rest of the coastline is cliffy, with several small islets.

These cliffs are constantly battered by the waves, forming numerous rocky outcrops and caves during this eternal battle.

Plant life

The beach and dune vegetation is in an excellent state of conservation, with a good representation of upwelling communities of the class Cakiletea maritimae. At the ends of the Barayo inlet there are cliff vegetation complexes typical of the western Asturian coast, and on the slopes that close the mouth of the river, the Galician-Asturian oligotrophic carbayera series dominates.

The existence of cliff vegetation communities, dunes, reed beds and the well-preserved post-dune alder groves make up a unique group in the region.

Wildlife

The most important specimens of Barayo's fauna are the otter, emblem of the reserve, which can sometimes be seen walking along the beach - a fact unique to western Asturias - and the oystercatcher, of which approximately ten pairs breed annually in the region. Both species are included in the categories of Special Interest and Sensitive to habitat alteration in the Regional Catalogue of Threatened Vertebrate Species.