- Address Lena and Aller Asturias Centre
- Distance Distance: 22,2 kms
- Difficulty Difficulty: Short
- Code Code: GR100 Vía de la Plata Route
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On foot
On foot:
6 h. 30 min.
One way - Greenways Greenways: 6 h. 30 min.
- Start point Start point: Pendilla de Arbás (León)
- Route type Route type: hiking
- Tour type Tour type: One way
- Layout of the route Layout of the route: Download kml, Download gpx
GR100 Vía de la Plata Route - Stage 6 and 7
Take the N-630 road from Pajares. Once you pass the turn off to Busdongo, you come to the turning to Complongo de Arbás on the road to Pendilla.
This trail commences in Pendilla (1,337 m), where you head north until reaching Propinde Pass (1,583 m), with "Three Boroughs Peak" (2,020 m), bordering Lena, Aller and Villamanín (León), to the right of the pass.
The trail continues on the flat along Carraceo Ridge, located between the boroughs of Lena and Aller, offering spectacular panoramic views of Pajares Valley, to the left, and Las Ubiñas Massif, straight ahead.
Continuing along the trail, you come to Mayau Fierros mountain meadow (1,600 m) and Cruz de Fuentes (1,620 m) to then climb over La Boya Peak (1,728 m). There you can see the "Castiechu La Carisa", a Roman military camp dating from the 1st century BC, built at the time to battle against the Astur tribes who had raised a great defensive line at La Boya Peak to prevent the Romans from advancing.
At this point, the trail heads downhill towards Portiechu La Boya (1,593 m), Mount Faro and Mayau Buxián mountain meadow (1,480 m) to reach Mayau La Caba mountain meadow, where you can enjoy beautiful views of the Aller and Lena Valleys. The trail continues on from there to later branch into two, one fork heading eastward on Cochá el Aciu (1,468 m), in the Aller Valley, while the other, original route heads westward on Brañarredonda, in the Lena Valley.
Take the trail to Brañaredonda where, further below, you will see Mayau Carboneo mountain meadow in the village of Congostinas. Both routes converge at Mayau Carraceo mountain meadow (1,213 m), where you can choose between several directions: Moreda (Aller), Santa Cristina and Carabanzo (Lena) and Congostinas. The shorter route is to the village of Congostinas, which you reach after passing through Calaverdás, Linares de Arriba and Linares de Abajo. Continue on for about 4 km until reaching Puente de los Fierros, where the trail ends.
Pendilla - La Boya Peak- Mayau Carraceo mountain meadow - Congostinas
Pendilla de Arbás (León) - Carabanzo (Lena) 22
The Carisa was the first and main Roman road in Asturias, and owes its name to Publius Carisius, the legate of Octavian Augustus in 26-22 B.C., who ordered its construction. This mountain road is only a segment of a much longer itinerary, which has only survived to the present day. Justified historical and geographical reasons lead us to situate the headwaters of this road in the present-day cities of León and Gijón, which reached urban status in the Empire.
In this way it linked up with the main land and sea routes of communication in the Empire.
The Carisa Way can be travelled on foot or by mountain bike, as its itinerary is signposted and approved as a GR 100 Vía de la Plata/Vía Carisa long-distance footpath (Stage 7: Carabanzo - Pendilla de Arbás).
The starting point, in a south-north direction, is in the León town of Pendilla de Arbás (municipality of Villamanín), which we will reach by following the N-630 and taking a detour, after passing Busdongo, in the direction of Camplongo de Arbás. Once in Pendilla de Arbás we will find a large car park and the GR information panel, the point from which we will begin our route. We shall continue northwards along a wide track, which leads us along the eastern slope of the Pendilla valley at an even height until we reach the pass of the Propinde pass, where it climbs up to 1,800 metres by means of a system of zigzagging ramps in the place of Las Retuertas.
The route then enters Asturian territory, skirting the Tres Concejos/Tresconceyos peak (2014 m), which serves as a natural boundary between the Asturian municipalities of Lena and Aller, and the León municipality of Villamanín, where one of the best remains of the platform, almost 5 metres wide, has been preserved.
During this route we will enjoy exceptional views thanks to the altitude through which it passes. We continue on a flat path along the Carraceo range, the dividing line between the councils of Aller and Lena, and we will see spectacular panoramic views of the Pajares valley, located on the left, and the Ubiñas mountains in front of us.
At Cruz de Fuentes the route joins the royal road and from here it heads towards Carabanzo, passing the Boya peak (1,728 m), where the Curriechos/Curriel.los Roman camp is located, some 100 metres above the Via Carisa. It is a seasonal camp with approximately 1.5 km of active linear defences, which required a garrison of more than 2,000 men, and an area of 8-9 hectares.
It is one of the highest military settlements in the whole of Hispania and one of the highest in the Empire.
From this point we continue on our way and after barely 1 km we come across the hill of Homón de Faro, where fortifications erected between the 7th and 8th centuries were found, which were probably built to contain the Muslim invasion, and the Cantu Busián, a place where the defensive line ended in a square tower.
We continue on and pass by the Busián sheepfold, La Cava and further on the path forks in two: one variant goes eastwards through the Acíu pass (1,460 m), where the track connects with the track that goes up from Nembra, on the Allerano side, and the other westwards through Brañarredonda, on the Lena side and the original route.
We continue towards Brañarredonda, an itinerary from where we can see the Mayáu Carboneo, already in the village of Congostinas. The two options converge at the Carraceo mayéu (sheepfold). We continue along the mountain range to reach the Espines mayéu (fold), at an altitude of 1,100 m, and continue towards the Las Cruces pass, to finish in the town of Carabanzo (Lena), after having covered almost 30 km of this route.
The Vía Carisa and the transmontane branch of the Silver Route, as well as the archaeological sites of Pico Chagüezos, Monte Curriechos and El Homón de Faro (in the municipalities of Lena and Aller), were declared an Asset of Cultural Interest, with the category of historic route, in October 2017 (Decree 68/2017).